My daughter loved the art camp she attended. Beautiful art came home, she was content and wants to…read morego back. Highly recommend!

I sent my daughter here! She loved it, Definitely a Perfect match! She wanted to go to art school…read morefor so long and she loved Worx of art!

What a gem this place is! It sucks that this place was super hidden and their parking was a bit…read moreweird but they also had more parking available beside the plaza. They had a decent size playground and a bouncy castle, separate section for food and lounge which was super nice. Every guest was able to spread out. When you first walk into the place, you were greeted by a sign to take off all your shoes. On your right, there was the splatter room - more for big kids to express themselves if they didn't want to paint. In the left part of the shop was the pottery area. There were many different selections to choose from. The kids loved this but were discourage about their selections since they were only able to choose from the 1st shelf to the third. However, they still enjoyed it very much when they started painting. In the back of the place, they also sell espresso and coffee. Some of us were waiting for a bit and then gave up. There was only two people attending to everyone so it was okay. Do come here, you will definitely enjoy yourself! TIP: do not wear white anything. Don't even wear white socks! The teenagers had to take off their socks to go into the splatter room and end up stepping in paint. DO COME with the expectation to get dirty! ENJOY FELLOW YELPERS!

First time coming to a ceramics workshop and I honestly had a great time. I went on a Saturday…read moreafternoon with my sister and niece (She's 4 and thoroughly was excited!) Pieces to choose from ranged depending on the size of the figurine. There were different animals including figurines, cups, plates, piggy banks and something similar to a jewelry/keepsake box to choose from. - Cow figurine: 15.00$ - Pig figurine: 15.00$ - Mermaid figurine: 26.00$ These prices included the use of their space, brushes and allowed us to choose what colours to use to paint our figurines. There was no time limit either, I think we stayed for about two hours. The girl working there let my niece play in the play area as a party had just left, which was really nice of her. Anyway, we paid and she informed us they would call to let us know when to pick up our pieces. Approximately one week. She called exactly a week later and we picked up our items. We felt the paint was a bit thin so I guess next time we have to do multiple layers to have a better end result. The only con is the parking is limited and cramped. There's more in the back of the building though. Besides that, I would recommend this place, it's great for parents to bring their kids. It's such a fun and relaxing environment, worth giving it a try.

This school can be different for everyone's need but it was truly not for me. For those who have…read morespecial learning needs and lack creativity, closer guidance is needed. The school will not cater to those needs and for that reason, I strongly do not recommend this school due to my experience. As a former Toronto Art student, l still lack creativity, especially drawing by hand, even after leaving the school. I realize that most portfolio schools run on a business system and would take your money. A good example would be this school. As an unhappy client leaving the school, I am now with an art teacher who is preparing me for next year's submission (2021), as I was not able to beat the challenge. I felt mentally unconfident and physically exhausted from being at this school. I was recommended by both the directors to attend the school daily in order to improve my artistic and creativity skill set. However, as my experiences were settling in, the classes did not help me improve despite already increasing the classes prior for the submission. I spent more than a year with this art school believing they would guide me and ease the stress to prepare me for Ryerson's Architecture Science program in 2020. I was wrong. I thought this school would be the best fit for my and sister's needs since we really lack with drawing creativity. I found it was hard to absorb information by the art director, as his style of teaching was to show the person rather than explaining how the technique works. Sometimes I felt that I was forced to do art in a way that was not my style and asked to do something else but ended up being rejected due to the director's standards. As a result, I was making a portfolio for someone else instead of my own, but the purpose of me attending the school was not only to fix my drawing skills but to show a story of my own personal art pieces. I believe that a portfolio should contain one's own style and art of a storytelling book. In every portfolio made by an artist should tell the viewer who they are as a person, their identity, their style, and how they express their creativity to the audience. For me, I did not feel the atmosphere of my portfolio was portrayed that way. As for every portfolio class, I thought payment went towards you getting help, inspiration, and importantly, confidence. I left the school with doubts, but I have learned how to draw and paint essentially. I am merely missing the essential part of creativity, which I thought the school would have provided me. Overall, I felt my bad experience with Toronto Art outweighed the good. There was favoritism that played a role in the group classes for those who are more advanced, around the director of the school. It should be natural that instructors would pay more attention to those who are struggling, rather than helping those who are most likely to I wish I withdrew out of the class 5 months prior to the submission because now I wasted time and money while not getting what I want realistically. There were times where I was not able to attend some sessions due to conflicts with scheduling from personal events but I would tell director's wife in advance. I rather tell someone in advance than not show up and say nothing. I understand it is hard running on a portfolio business when a student is not able to attend the class but it is unprofessional for director's wife to sigh or give a signal of attitude. What I do not understand is that I was told not to ask for help frequently, as the wife's director said that it would scare and annoy the art assistants and they would be more likely to quit. I rarely asked for help and truly if I do ask for help, I try not to rely heavily on the assistants, as I am fully aware that I was unhappy when she told me since as I found that this was very unprofessional and rude to tell me this. I was not happy during times when I needed the director to help but he left early due to family or personal commitments. I do respect his private life but as someone who runs an art school, he should be more dedicated and passionate with his students, rather than leaving them with art assistants. From a client perspective, I am paying the school to get the help I need. I find that this school only runs on a money-grabbing system, rather than being passionate to help those who strive success. Nevertheless, I found this school is not best fit for me and will not come here again as I have not achieved my goal. I will not recommend this school to my friends who share similar difficulties as me. The school left a bad impression on me, resulting in a struggling mental state of confidence within art. From an unhappy client DO NOT GO TO THIS SCHOOL as I was threatened by the school after posting my google review. I was not only mentally but physically damaged by this message. I really find this school very unprofessional and rude especially to those who are not happy with their service.

Excellent teachers and student teachers. They really helped guide me in the right direction with my…read moreportfolio and the teachers were always willing to help. Great teaching style, they would usually give me a project prompt to explore and would let me brainstorm on my own and when I needed help or some extra guidance or even just someone to bounce ideas off of, they were always there to help. Highly recommend.

Yesterday was my first time at this place, and today I'm coming here again! I really enjoyed coming…read morehere. They had lots of different painting options and lots of different activities. You could either do some painting or play some games like legos and other games you could buy somewhere at Walmart, but usually, you do both. When you get hungry, you could snack on something, I recommend bringing the snacks from home. If you can, definitely bring some friends, it will be way more fun. The supplies there are pretty good. Now, around every other day, the whole class does a different type of art, for example, one day we do painting then the next we do 3d art, which is what happened for my first day. So you know, I found out that around every day, we go on mini field trips like to Tim Hortons or the bakery nearby, sometimes Promenade. But make sure you bring your own money if you want to buy something. I just found that out so I don't know the details. Not lots of people there so that's great in case somebody wants that. Katerina does come around at some points to help but any other time, she either vacumes or plays with the legos or games with the little games.

I am very thankful to Katerina. My grandchildren adore spending time at the Art school. I hear a…read morelot of delightful stories each time i drive my loved ones home. The variety of activities is great and the approach is professional. Katerina also offers adult classes, I believe, I shall participate myself in.

My lifelong dream was to learn from the masters and only when I registered with ARA was that dream…read morefully realized. I am now approaching portraiture with fearless enthusiasm as I learned from the best.

Hands down, the BEST art school in Toronto, if not Canada…read more The school is founded on the simple belief that everyone can draw because it is a craft, a technical skill, that can be learned, like measuring with a ruler. The reality is that this is true, anyone can learn to draw and it's that simple. No bells. No Whistles. Aside from the fact that you will learn to draw beautiful realist pieces, this school is run by genuine artists with decades of experience and real heart. The atmosphere is warm and welcoming, with flexible hours to accommodate working professionals and students. You will begin with Bargue drawings. Once you have completed this portion of your studies (it could take 1-2 years depending on your skill and time) you will move into oil painting. Also, there are weekly life drawing classes utilizing charcoal. If I could go back in time, I think I would skip any consideration of a fine art degree or enrollment at a school like OCAD, because you can easily graduate from these programs in four years and still be unable to draw. But at the ARA, if you have time, patience and passion, you will learn to draw, no matter who you are.

A "real art" school with experienced and qualified instructors. For adults and children…read more Experienced or not. Various techniques and media used. Day time and evening adult classes (open studio time and classes available). Kids classes available after school and saturdays. Summer Art Immersion Day Camps for kids available. Full and half day options. each week explores a different theme from impressionists, abstracts, cubism, renaissance, sculptures and more. For kids 4-8 and 9-13 yrs old. I have art experience and go weekly for open studio as well as classes. My two sons also go! my 11 yr old goes there for printmaking. my 6 year old is there for mixed media. both boys love the instruction...more than what they would learn about art from their regular school. love it!!!

From the owner: Our mission is to engage our students with the world around them using eye, mind and hand. In our…read moretechnologically-driven society it is increasingly important to pause and reconnect with the material world. There is a fundamental drive in all of us to create. Young children naturally express what they see, think and feel through their artwork. Often, this natural process becomes inhibited as they grow up. At Freehand, we are committed to nurturing creativity in young children and re-igniting it in everyone else. We provide a focused and informed approach to art instruction which allows students to discover the expressive possibilities of new materials and techniques. All of our instructors hold degrees in fine arts and/or education and are working artists.