Barb is an amazing artist and teacher. Her "negative free" attitude for both her and her students…read moremakes for a safe and pleasant place to let your creativity run freely. She does sell a few art supplies, paint, pencils, kneaded erasers, but not a lot. You can bring your own however and she will gladly help you improve your art skills. Barb is without a doubt one of the kindest human beings I have ever had the pleasure to meet. Her classes are frequent, and very reasonably priced. I highly recommend Barb's Fine Arts. Stop in and check it out for yourself. I'm sure you'll be glad you did. :)

From the owner: There's nothing quite like adorning your home or office with unique art pieces. Barb's Fine Art…read moresells artwork that you can't find at your favorite home decor store. We'll help you pick something out that truly speaks to you. If you don't find it on our walls, we can create a commissioned piece for you.

This is a great gallery with a variety of mediums to capture your creative interests. From clay…read morepottery and glass blown art to paintings and stonework, there is something for everyone. I also found prices to be reasonable and affordable. The owner, Mark, is a delight, and the artists are quite personable. I had the pleasure of meeting a few of them and even walking away with a beautiful piece from one of them, Chris Sell. There is a parking lot right outside the door and a ramp to support accessibility. They make good use of the space they have, displaying pieces at every turn without making you feel like you are going to bump into something. I recommend checking it out if you haven't yet.

From the owner: 22+ Regional artists displaying all medias of art from oils, acrylic and metals to glass, stone and…read morewood. Owner Deb has a working studio. Classes are taught from age 4 to advanced. We do all styles of art parties/events for kids to teen classes to adults. We help with family therapy and team-building for businesses. We also do limited restorations. On Saturdays 2-5PM, we have an Artist Forum open to all artist, all mediums, all levels. A free for all chat session for motivation and sharing of spirit and ideas. No program, no fee, just camaraderie and fun for anyone.

The Potters Obsession is a perfect activity for literally all ages, my partner and I went and had a…read morewonderful time! The employees were super helpful and nice and there is a great selection of pots to glaze! It only takes a week for them to fire and so far it has held up great!

We have had a phenomenal experience with Potter's Obsession. Did a Facebook message to inquire…read moreabout times and to set up a birthday party...had a response within minutes. It was that easy. The tables and chairs were already prepared for us when the party showed up. I believe everybody and their dog decided to come at the same time that we arrived. It was a little chaotic, but the owner and her staff handled it very well and was able to accommodate everybody. Our birthday party had 5 10-year-old girls and myself. The girls looked through all of the different ceramics and chose what piece they wanted to glaze. We looked at the color chart, wrote down the numbers of the colors that we wanted, and the staff got everything ready for us. The glaze goes on light. The more layers that you glaze the darker it will be when it is put through the kiln. It took us about 90 minutes to finish. The pieces range $5-25. There is also a $7 fee (paint and kiln) per person. Our pieces will be left there for a week and then they will be packaged up for us. To make the experience that much more special for the birthday girl, they are able to put their handprint up on their wall along with their name and age. Choices to glaze: Bowls, mugs, plates, animals, banks, sports, holiday ornaments, lighted signs, vases, calavera, etc.

This store is amazing with a variety of products for scrapbooking and stamp making. There are other…read morecrafts, too, but my mind focused on those two. It is so nice to shop for scrapbooking at a retail outlet specifically for the paper arts. I live three hours away and I know I will make another trip back.

There is always something fun and new to discover in the store! A paper crafter's dream come true!read more

Strolling along Newbo and came upon this store. The owner is super friendly and helpful. Obviously…read moretakes pride in her store and gave an impromptu tour. The fabrics are elegant with bold colors. There are several class options where one can create their own art using fabric and sewing. Available for novice to expert.

Love this concept! They take paintings by local artists and make them into fabrics. There are…read moresome beautiful colorful choices, and they also hold classes on how to make some really cool things using the fabrics - wish I lived there, I'd take a class (or 2)!

This place is so much fun. I've gone to two painting classes now, once alone and once with a date…read moreand I had a blast both times and came home with a beautiful painting. The teachers are great and show you exactly how to make your painting look like a professional painted it. An evening well spent!

I hadn't been to this new location of Brush & Barrel before (they moved to this location from the…read more1st Ave location in 2021), so this was a great chance to check it out. My husband and I had such a great time testing out our creative brains as we painted Picasso-inspired faces. Thankfully, the staff were generous with the paint! I think I asked for more paint 3-4 times... maybe I just like to glob in on, though. :) The space we painted in fit approximately 20-25 people. There was another room where splatter painting occurs. I think every one of us in our group said, "OooooOOOOooooo," as we passed that room on our way out. I will be curious to check it out sometime.

Cousin elected for her bridal party to experience a fun, yet stress-relieving pottery event,…read moreinviting a friend she knew from her pottery class, also held here, and me along for the ride. The instructor knew my cousin and thanked and commended her for sharing her love for working with clay with her friends and family. After showing us the basics of creating a slab mug: base, foundation, and formation of a handle, and how to construct them altogether, we each were given a ball of clay to create our masterpieces. We had access to several rolling pins, stamps, and pottery tools, as well as several paint colors to decorate our creations with. We were told that after our pieces are allowed to air-dry, our instructor will apply a final glaze, bake these in the kilns, and give them to my cousin so that she may send these off to us. Expect about a two-week turnover time. Don't worry about ruining your clothes as you work on your creations, because you will get clay and paint on yourself- bring an apron if you want extra insurance. I had blue paint all over my favorite Crazy Shirts red Honu shirt, but it all came out in the wash and left my shirt looking as vibrant and feeling soft, as always. The building that houses the ceramics store also has other classrooms (drawing, painting, mosaics, etc.) and shops to peruse and purchase from. My cousin and I returned a few days after the event and enjoyed looking at other students' finished clay works and shopped at Illuminations, which showcases crystals and gems, jewelry, incense and herbs, and chocolates, to name but a few of so many interesting finds! Would definitely return on my next visits with cousin and her new groom!

I enjoy taking glass classes here. The people have all been very friendly and it helped me meet…read morepeople in the area when I first moved to Cedar Rapids. The only problem I have had here is the cost of the classes.