Discovered this gem through a LivingSocial offer: BYOB mixed media arts class for two for $55…read more Booking: Due to the demand for such a unique class and the typical size of classes (4-8 people), you'll want to book 2-3 weeks in advance. I called in early January and booked a class for the last Friday of the month (about 2.5 weeks out). The Location: Nice, quiet neighborhood tucked in the hills off the 192. She's at the end of a cul-de-sac, so there is a good amount of street parking. You walk down a long driveway, take some stairs down into the hillside, and then you enter LeAnne's adorable and intimate art studio. There's a canopy overhead made from yards of fabric loosely draped over tree branches. Two little tents house vintage aprons to protect your clothes, LeAnne's own artwork examples, drawers full of arts supplies, and more. There's a cute little wicker patio furniture set off to the side, next to the rabbit cage. And everything is lit by strings of twinkling lights. Wonderful atmosphere to get the creative juices flowing! The Group & the BYOB aspect: I went with a coworker, and we were joined by a couple. There was supposed to be another couple coming, but they cancelled. Personally, I was pleased with the small size of our group, because it facilitated great conversations and we all really opened up to one another! My friend and I brought our own beer and some cheese and crackers. The other couple brought wine and cheese as well. Highly recommend bringing a good array of treats to snack on while you work; it makes the whole thing seem like a fun weekend gathering among good friends. The Experience: The class is listed as a 2.5 hour class. We stayed from 6pm to nearly 10pm. We got so into our artwork and our conversations, and everyone was having such a great time, I had no idea we had been there so long! LeAnne was amazingly patient and never rushed anything, always allowing us to take as much time as we wanted on each layer of our artwork, and really encouraging both our art and our conversations to develop and grow organically. Her instructions were the perfect balance: enough guidance and suggestions that I didn't feel totally lost, but without strict boundaries, gently pushing me to take creative risks and explore. Not only was the art process itself a great experience, we had a great time getting to know the other couple in our group. I feel like this is the type of class you could make some great friends in! Recommendations: 1. You do have an apron, but you should still wear clothes you wouldn't mind getting paint on! I made the mistake of coming straight from work and almost ruined a pair of nice work pants... (my coworker saved them though!) 2. Bring snacks! If it wasn't for the second group, our snacks would have been long gone early on. 3. Bring a plastic bag or a tarp to put your painting on when you drive home! You put a lot of layers of media on your canvas, and it may not be dry when you leave. All in all, I'm incredibly happy I stumbled upon this LivingSocial deal. I would go back for another session in a heartbeat, and I highly recommend it to friends, couples, anyone at all. There's nothing else like it in the Santa Barbara area, and it's an experience worth trying at least once. Even if you don't think you're creative! You will make a masterpiece, and it will be associated with a great night.

The whole event was great but the towards the end when it came down to pay most of my groups of…read morefriends had groupons and the owner seemed very irritated like as if she didn't want us to use them.

Signed up for a hand-built bowl making workshop and loved every bit of it. Our instructor was Elise…read moreArnold and she did a great job teaching us the basics and sharing many techniques and tips along the way! She had a lot of options for us with regard to the shapes we wanted to build. The price point is decent - although a bit on the pricier side, but so is everything in SB/Goleta! :) Would highly recommend this place to anyone wanting to try hand-building/pottery. I'm definitely going back there.

I watched too much Great Pottery Throw Down and had to give it a whirl, but where? Fortunately, I…read moreencountered this really amazing resource in Santa Barbara. They have pottery wheels, benches, glazes and kilns plus classes and workshops so you can learn how to do pottery. It is harder than it looks but worth the effort. I can finally center my clay! Yay, I got it, my second time through a Wheel I class. You need to try things a few times to get them, at least I do. I big thanks to Jared for his teaching. Now on to opening the clay . . . learning could take a while. Still, if you have any interest in pottery, you are lucky to live in Santa Barbara. As for the workshops, we tried the Raku Workshop and it was awesome. I don't think you can go too far wrong with that as you don't have to make the bisqueware. Listen to me using pottery lingo. Anyway, you can buy a pot to glaze and the Raku drama is available. So fun!

Run away! Complete scam and theives. They never scheduled us fir a time to go horseback riding and…read morearchery after we paid the money for the experience and refused ti send the money back after being so aggressive on the phone as I asked for the money back due to the unprovided service. So unpleasant and uncomfortable

This lady is unprofessional and a thief. I signed my two children up for a camp over winter break…read more I asked to pay credit card, but she kept insisting Zelle. I signed up for Winter camp. I was informed to pay my last installment the day before camp started. I paid the day before camp, and she said. "Thank you!". Within a few hours she texted me saying her barn flooded and camp was cancelled. I asked for a refund seeing as I paid her HOURS before and she said no. She obviously knew she was going to cancel, but still accepted my payment. She said she had already spent it. She only offered credit for Summer. (Which I was not happy about). When I tried to explain that it was hard on my family to be out $600 she started ranting on and on about how the city owes her family money and land. She had no care or compassion for how others felt she just wanted for herself. I held my tongue thinking I might use the credit in the Summer. I didn't want to cause drama if for a small reason I still let my children attend. She even had the audacity to ask for another $100 donation after I had NEVER even experienced camp. Then after winter camp being cancelled, Spring camp was also cancelled. She didn't even know where Summer camp would be or when, but still said I could only keep credit. After reading about all the other people in town having horrible stories, I decided to ask again for a refund since we would not be using our Summer Credit. Again, she had no willingness to help refund my money, even a partial amount. She is not fingerprinted to work with kids, she has no camp license (or at least has not been able to show me one) and she is incredibly rude. As a local teacher in town I would NOT TRUST kids with her.

Loveeeee Art From Scrap! I can spend at least a couple hours in there every time I go. I am always…read moreinspired and the employees are so kind. The prices are great and the selection is amazing. I hope to participate in a workshop soon. They sell everything from pencils, pens, photos, books, magazines, art, jewelry, knock knacks and more!

Wow!! So good to know this place is here! I don't need to own everything they offer, just nice to…read moreknow I could find it if I needed it! It's fascinating to wander through the aisles, noting every miscellaneous item (photographic slides, assorted flags, vintage postcards, weird jellyfish-like shavings from skateboard wheels - - it really goes on and on! I'm also adding this to my circuit to visit when I have friends in from out of town!

I went to a holiday card-making free event that Brian offered as a holiday gesture. It was really…read moreenjoyable. He did a good job demonstrating how to draw a snowflake (the theme), plus he gave us some background about how Snowflake Bentley was the first person to photograph actual snowflakes. Super interesting. I'm not very talented, yet that wasn't the point. The point was to be creative and have fun, both of which occurred. If I did wax art again, I would do a cream-colored card so I could see what I was drawing. I would also sit under a strong light. I recommend Brian's art classes to adults (and their families).

My 8 yo son and his friend took the comic drawing class with Brian and they loved it! They already…read morelove making their own comics and they said they had a blast and he helped them with their drawing and with creative ideas. They've asked to do another class, which we'll prob sign up for in a couple months. Great experience and I recommend for anyone looking to take art classes!

My wife and I took a beginners class last weekend - what an absolute blast. My wife is the artistic…read moretype, and I'd picked the class for a birthday gift for her. I think I enjoyed it at least as much as she did. Tammy is a wonderful instructor, and very encouraging. For first timers, I was very impressed by what some of the students were able to accomplish. A wonderful experience that we will definitely do again!!!

Recently a friend told me about how great Tami was and her School of Mosaic Art. I checked out her…read moresite and saw a posting for a Pet portraiture class being taught by visiting artist Donna Van Hooser and decided I HAD to make a trip down south. Both Donna and Tami did not disappoint! Tami, who owns and runs the school, was great - she was full of knowledge, which she was willing to share. I was surprised at the extensive list of top notch visiting artists she's coordinated to teach at her school. Will definitely be back. Donna was a great teacher. First, she picked and prepared the exact materials that each student would need to complete their project. She even included some tools that she created herself. She was thoughtful and attentive to each student in the class no matter their work style or skill level. Her enthusiasm for her art was contagious. Very excited to finish my project!