This is a course for amateurs and professionals who hope to learn the true method of Italian…read moreplastering. Regardless of which one you are, you'll leave this course confident and ready for business. Students lucky enough to take this course graduate part of an elite group of individuals with a skill level exceeding most any other plaster artist in the states. This is an incredibly impressive program that will wow any student - pro or amateur. This is a phenomenal program run by true professionals and gifted teacher, Ayn Riggs. (The proprietor of Italian Plasterworks, Solana Beach, CA). Prior to becoming an Italian plaster master, Ayn was a tech security genius. Ayn is a patient and relaxed instructor with a great sense of humor and one goal: your success in perfecting the true Italian method of plastering. (Even after students graduate they are encouraged to call Ayn directly with questions any time). Ayn offers a fascinating heap of knowledge that spans materials, how to handle clients, how to bid jobs, plaster technique, history of plaster methods, how to begin a business and build a portfolio, and more. We learned how to quote jobs accurately, estimate, order, mix, color tint, handle, apply, finish, cure, and enhance all of the plasters. Ayn has a style that is direct and honest with no-bullshit, and she's an exceptional, and enjoyable teacher to train under. Italian plaster runs around $10-$30/square foot, so I took this course hoping to learn to do my own house. I came an amateur, and left a confident professional. In my class were two other home owners with the same goals, as well as two professional house painters looking to add a skill to their trade. The course has 7-10 students at a time, and has previously had up to a year waiting list, with students flying in from all over the country. Lunch is included every day. We all graduated this program with 32 over-sized portfolio boards, showcasing 32, different stunning Italian Plaster finishes. I've set the boards around my house now, and am choosing which colors and plasters to put where. The different techniques we learned span old world, and uber-modern, to mid-century modern and more. Day 1 was spent prepping each "wall" board and fumbling with our trowels like morons. Day 2, we learned even more about the elements with which we worked, and fumbled more with our trowels. By day 3 of standing and pushing a trowel, my right shoulder was worked into a knot, and i was exhausted. (Word of advice, use your stool to sit on at every demo.) By day 4 your confidence begins to improve and you begin to actually have fun. Then you realize you still suck and class is almost over. Day 5 you can almost pronounce some of the Italian names of the products with which you've been working for a week. Day 6 you have 32 amazing boards **This course was so exhausting and intense, I cannot recommend attempting to work or even socialize (even after hours), for the six days you're in the course.

Ayn was extraordinarily patient with me and was very generous with her time when I dropped in to…read moresee the school. I had quite a bit of experience, but she essentially gave me a free lesson to bridge my substantial gap in knowledge. Using her products my project came out spectacularly well on the first try. It was a large bathroom so a lot was at stake. Thanks Ayn!

We had such a wonderful experience celebrating our daughter's birthday at Artberry Creative Studio!…read moreEverything was beautifully organized from beginning to end. Their website is beautiful, well organized, and provides clear information about the parties and what to expect, which made planning everything so easy. The artist really listened to my ideas and created a custom birthday theme especially for my daughter, from the decorations to the art project itself. My daughter loves orange tabby kittens, so the girls painted an adorable orange tabby kitten on canvas with acrylic paint and then personalized their artwork with gems, buttons, stickers, and ribbons. It was such a creative and fun project, and the girls absolutely loved it! The studio was beautifully decorated, and everything was thoughtfully prepared for the girls when we arrived. Aprons were provided for all of the girls, and my daughter even had a special birthday girl apron, which was such a sweet touch and made her feel extra special. The girls had so much fun painting, creating, and spending time together. We are so happy we chose Artberry Creative Studio for our daughter's birthday. It made her celebration feel truly special, and each girl went home with a beautiful piece of artwork to remember the day. Thank you for making her 10th birthday such a wonderful and memorable experience!

We visited Artberry kids art studio during their open house, and it was such a wonderful…read moreexperience. My kiddo had a blast in the sample class, and I was so impressed with how organized and thoughtfully set up the space is. The studio is bright, cute, and very inviting. You can tell the founder has a ton of experience and a true passion for helping kids explore their creativity. So excited to have this in our Town Square!

Our community is so fortunate to have the wonderful Fallbrook School of the Arts…read more I've been fortunate to attend an Art History class and Calligraphy class recently; both instructed by Dixon Fish. Dixon is a highly regarded artist master printmaker, and instructor. He's also responsible for the great display window designs at the Fallbrook Art Center. I highly recommend checking out the available courses at: http://www.fallbrookschoolofthearts.org/

Love FSOTA! Always great classes, you don't get "art shamed" when going to try something new…read more Encouraging environment and changing selection of classes to bring out your inner artist! My only wish is there were more classes in the evenings for working people. We need art therapy, too!

UPDATE because I was thinking about this place, as I got an email from them. I get them often and…read morealways look forward to it. About 6 months before we moved from Oceanside to Temecula area, I planned on attending Watts Atelier. I did a lot of research and found them because I wanted to study anatomy, for my sculptures. Sadly, the class didn't fill up enough, for them to justify that specific class. I went to the facility priorly though. I was soo blown away by the atmosphere. Wonderful! I longed to go there and just sit, if I needed to. Sometimes you just know. Your spirit shines. I watched a demo of a portrait drawing and felt incredibly inspired by it. If I lived closer, I'd find a way to go there. I recommend them whole heartedly.

Mastery of any kind is not an easy road. Getting anywhere near the vicinity of mastery is pretty…read moregrueling. And when you start it will be frustrating and somewhat demoralizing. But nothing worth having is easy, right? Known around the world for its reputation, Watts is one of the few ateliers in the country reviving the tradition of 19th century studio study in Europe. I learned there is no 'right way to draw' in my undergrad program and I have nice, shiny diploma to prove it. But the collective energy of hundreds of years of artists like Fechin or Bouguereau have developed a way to see the human figure in greater depth and knowledge than any technique I've come across. I'm seeing my diploma has the right spirit, just not the proper guidance, so I've decided to move to Southern California to even get near this ancient knowledge I need to become a better draftsman. I discovered Watts through a rabbit hole of instructional drawing videos and landing on a video of the owner, Jeff discussing how to be a successful artist, which had all the right affirmations I was looking for. Based on what I saw, I decided to test drive their two week boot camp in August to see if I could cut it at a place like this. I was woefully unprepared and could barely hold the conte properly, let alone put anything on paper that didn't look like seismograph output. I was overwhelmed by all of the information that I was lacking - angles, proportions, plumb lines, perspective, curves vs. straights and on and on. I nearly gave up, but Jeff and Krista encouraged me to stick it out, and with the help of the instructors and other students, I had a small breakthrough. It just took a push for me to realize I knew more than I thought and was capable of understanding their technique. With that, I decided to move to the San Diego area to study as long as I can at Watts with a full-load of classes in the winter term. I am currently in week seven and will be here for the foreseeable future, nothing I've ever done has come close to teaching me this much. They are proponents of the Frank Reilly method of representational drawing and you work mostly in charcoal on newsprint for speed and efficiency. Mixing demos with one on one instruction, the skill you get to see inform your own work is mind-bending. There's no coddling here, so if you're a mildly skilled artist you will be humbled, but if you're looking for someone to stroke your ego (ahem, Chai T.) you may want to go to a wine & paint. Their program is not the hardest thing I've done, but it is up there, and I have this innate desire to keep it going. I came here to hone old skills I forgot I had after nearly 15 years focusing on visual and UI design. While I am far from being proficient, the process is invigorating. You're not learning to draw, you're learning how to build a human being on paper. And the more I learn, the more I want to know - forcing the strange, underhand grip of the charcoal to put marks on paper that come close (hopefully) to what's in my head. I have a whole range of classes from 20 minute head lay-ins, figure two, three and five minute quick sketch, fundamentals, facial expressions and even painterly drawing and I'm still reeling (in the best way possible). Jeff conjures up a certain type of energy that starts with him and permeates through the instructors down to the other students. Everyone is here to learn from the best and so willing to help one another out as no one is at the same level. I am absorbing more in two months than my whole undergrad program ever got close to, and my goal is to become proficient by the time I'm 40 and take my career in a whole different direction. If you're not serious, it may nudge you out fairly quickly, but if you have this desire to create art that you can't explain away, you will most likely find what you're looking for here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX0MrnzBJ8M

Amazing teachers and very convenient parking! Miss Linda always greets you and has so many…read moreinteresting stories to tell!

My kids are really enjoying their experience here. I am really amazed at how quickly the…read moreinstruction is helping them blossom. Thank you for your amazing school, as well as amazing outlet (during this pandemic). My family is so grateful!

Been looking all over for a figure drawing place to to improve my eye at work. Super stoked i…read morestumbled into Elissa's awesome sanctuary. Wonderful cozy studio i go to every Sunday evening, Elissa provides a very warm welcoming environment with friendly professional figure models. You can only get better by simply just doing the thing you wanna get good at, SDAL is a great place to provide that space for all levels.

We are so happy we found this place! My daughter wanted to draw and paint in an intimate studio,…read morewhere the owner cares. Elissa is the right person, and now, after more than two years, we share the feedback. It's a fantastic place. Elissa has coached her, encouraged, and she provides each student with instructions catered to her skill level, passion, and comfort zone. Our daughter plans to continue honing her skills for next couple of years, until the end of High school. 5 Stars!

I've always been drawn to nature and revisited landscape painting with oil paints about 7 years ago…read moreafter having not painted since grade school. I've been quite fortunate to have painted with several very talented painters who happened to be instructors, as well. The Art Academy has given me the impetus to paint not only more often, but with confidence, especially, at the painting's sometimes difficult initial stages. I dove into the class after having had it recommended by an artist friend of mine. After several years in Stuart's studio class I've learned an entirely new approach to both studio painting and my original goals for plein air techniques. I'd recommend this course for painters at every skill level. Jim M.

Highly recommend Art Academy of San Diego! Stuart is a skilled artist and personable guide to…read morecreating your art. -CynC

During the Covid madness, although we are still in it, they forced you to take zoom classes. I let…read morethe front desk guy, don't recall name, know that the zoom lessons would not work in my house due to bandwidth and my family now working remotely. They refused to work with me, refused to help or pause my membership. I told them I would happily come back when the corona virus situation was over. He told me he would call me back once he spoke to the director on what they could do for me. I never received a phone call. I had to email them and let them know I wanted to cancel my account. Come to today. I called, hoping to bring my kids back because I received an email from them stating they were going reopen on June 6th. The same guy answered the phone and recalled me. I asked if students were now coming back. He said he remembered me, that he couldn't help me because I didn't want zoom and he didn't know when the students would be allowed back. I validated the email, "We are happy to announce that we re-opened on June 6th! Students may take lessons online or come in to our studio electively based on their feelings of safety. We will continue to provide online instruction to any student who prefers to continue distance learning." He flat out lied to me. Beware. If you have any issues they will not take care of you, or help you out.

We love our music teachers! They set up a reward system that encourages students to practice and…read morethey listen to/incorporate the kids' interest in genre to keep them passionate. Everyone here is so nice. I love their communication after each lesson with feedback and suggestions. Great job!

Our child thrived in this art class. It was the highlight of her week. We are so grateful to the…read morestaff for coming up with such sweet and complex projects to challenge and delight our 7 year old and !

My daughter takes Cre8art Studio classes through her school's after-care program, and she…read moreabsolutely loves them! Every week she comes home excited to show the creative art projects she's made. The owner is fantastic -- super organized and truly on top of things, always sending emails and keeping parents informed and connected. I couldn't recommend Cre8art Studio more!

My second session at Golden Child tattoo.... As AMAZING as…read morethe first!! Kat is SO wonderful!! The place has a great vibe and everyone is so nice.

Matthias was my artist that took care of my first tattoo very great guy asked me about my tattoo…read moreassured it's what I wanted the font style and the size of the lettering. Phenomenal work. Great atmosphere the artist in there also have amazing work. I 100% recommend this tattoo shop beautiful work! I Will come back for more work in the future My tatto is wrapped right now I will upload when it's ready!