Our daughter has been going to the after-school art program at Artist Center for many months now…read moreand she loves it. Monica is a great teacher who really knows her stuff. She has over 25 years of experience and has even worked with studios like Disney and Warner Brothers. Our daughter has picked up so many new drawing techniques and her skills have really improved. It's right on Castro Valley Blvd so it's super easy to get to. Definitely recommend for any kids who want to get better at drawing!

Me and my future wife had an amazing time at the paint and sip! Monica was interactive, she made…read morethe entire process fun and was patient with us while helping us perfect these paintings! This was a 10/10 experience and we will be back again!

Allison is a wonderful art teacher and my daughter really enjoyed taking her art classes for the…read morepast year. She is a kind spirited person and really awesome/patient with kids of all ages. Her classes are fun and creative. My daughter always had something beautiful to bring home, and alot of them are hung up in her room at our new place :) Art classes can get expensive but i find Allison's fees to be very reasonable and it is for an hour and a half...Unfortunately we moved out of SL and the classes had to stop, if we were any closer, i would sign my daughter up for her classes in a heart beat! There is a beautiful garden and a play structure right in front of her school, another plus!

Mulford Gardens is a sweet lushly vegetated, pergola blooming playground, outdoor venue, and art…read moreschool tucked off a side street on the industrial section of San Leandro. I saw a sign for a children's art camp and took the opportunity to enrich my little peanut who goes through paper like a bag of Doritos with a little formal instruction. The camp lasted a week, three hours daily, and concluded with a celebratory art show and family friendly picnic. The instructor, Allison, is a talented life long artist from a family of artists, who currently runs the day to day functions of the park along with the school in the rear building. She is amazing with rowdy smocked children running amok flinging actual paint and canvases--not washable fingerpaint, but wear your play garb for a genuine, stain inducing introduction to techniques of fine art. My daughter came home with a bagful of illustrations of every animal known to man, a finished canvas, and a memory of an experience she wants to repeat again. Fortunately, the school offers both after school programs during the year and multiple sessions in the summer. Additionally, there are adult classes--one in the late afternoon and another on Wednesday evenings that I recently decided to dip my 'haven't painted in 20 years palette' into. It's been a fabulous three classes so far. A traditional art curriculum with warm ups, exercises in charcoal still life's, cross hatching, scratch etching, and sustained work on oil canvas. Allison knows when to give guidance and when to let you figure out brush strokes on your own. I'm learning to ride my "artist" bike all over again and enjoying every challenging, creative moment. I highly recommend this obscure little school in San Leandro. I hope it grows like the garden it's situated in.

Wonderful piano teachers who are all very nice and knowledgeable. However they're not focused on…read morehelping the children get through the piano level tests. Most of the kids are here because they enjoy learning music so it'll depend on your goals. Otherwise this school is great. They have student recitals to help the children build confidence in front of crowds which is a nice add on service as well.

The staff members are very nice!!! The teachers are very friendly and "informative" /knows a lot…read moreand can provide students with the best info!!!

My daughter's drawing class has been going on for 8 weeks, and she has completed 8 pieces of…read moreartwork under the careful guidance. Although her lineworks are not very mature and the colors are not very neat, these imperfections add up to a very unique style. Mindart's teachers are very creative in choosing the theme every time. Every time my daughter finishes a piece of artwork, I cannot believe this is something made by her!

I don't consider myself a natural artist, but after taking Introduction to Silkscreen with Emily…read morehere I feel like a spark of potential was finally lit. I thoroughly enjoyed the flexible after-work hours where I could relax and concentrate on just a few set tasks that go into making a screen and prints. The small class size felt both intimate and collaborative. I also loved how the teacher provided great materials to experiment with and Kala had all the necessary equipment. I'd love to come back and take more silkscreen later in the year!

Kala has some great art programs. One of them is Drink and Draw, a post-work evening activity that…read moreinvolves drinkin' an' drawin'. It's a rare opportunity for working folks who love art (but never get to do it) to be artistic and creative. We also hoped it would be an opportunity to meet people, relax, unwind, drink some wine, and hang out... but we discovered one fine weekday eve that it was lots of Draw but very little Drink. There are some serious art students in Berkeley! The art instructor was knowledgeable, talented and inspiring, and brought some great materials for us to use - handmade paper, high-quality ink, brushes. We did have to supply some of our own stuff, like scratch paper, pencils, erasers. She taught us new techniques and was very hands-on. A few completed projects even looked frame-worthy. Kala offers great programs if you want to do art in the evening. However, if you actually want to hang out with friends, catch up, and Drink with your Draw, you may want to go to a bar. Just sayin'...!

Such a cute art studio with a variety of artsy activities! They have a variety of colors of paint…read morealong with a lot of different things to paint. It's pretty quiet in here compared to other places which I love! Parking is super easy since it's in a plaza, the people that work at this studio are super friendly and nice, and they offer so many other activities - I saw a kids painting night happening before, they have glass fusing, etc. They also have an area in the back where it looks like they do most of the classes so the pottery painting is almost always available!!

Its great creating art here. Getting to create and be at peace is priceless. Its where i keep…read morecoming back as its fun

I took the 4-hour stepping stone mosaic class with my 10-year old niece and we both had a lot of…read morefun. First time, taking any class at the Alameda Art Lab but not a newbie to mosaics or the arts. I used to be quite artsy and crafty back in the day and now, it seems like a luxury to find time to do something creative and take a break from adulting! All supplies of cutters, nippers, stepping stone and glass provided with a quick introduction to using the tools with some guidance and instruction to start your art piece. JaYing, the friendly and patient owner/instructor will walk around to assist if needed, check your progress and guide you to ensure you get your item complete. Item is left for grouting and student called when ready. A great class to bond with a friend(s) or family and make a day to get in creative mode and have fun. Personally, it allowed me to take time to enjoy something I really love as I find art very therapeutic along with spending time with my niece. The time flies by... :) The Alameda Art Lab offers a variety of classes from stained glass, mosaics, glass fusing and jewelry making and other fun things. Items are available for purchase for yourself or as a gift. Highly recommend trying out a class!

I absolutely love this place! Both my kids have attended summer camps here and my husband and I are…read moreregulars in her stained glass class on Wednesday eve. JaYing got me my start in stained glass and now I can't get enough! Plus, the community here is wonderful- you can meet some really nice people .

I love Anita! She is an awesome art teacher and has amazing classes for people of all ages. On…read moreThursday evening's is adult art class. My semester was great and accomplished some really nice pieces with her help. Love how she nudges you to try all different types of media. My next piece was doing charcoal, a medium that I never used before. We just had an art show at the end of the semester. The talent from everyone was incredible! I was especially impressed with the kids art. Wow! She also has summer programs for the kids. Wish I had this outlet when I was there age. Highly recommend! Looking forward to developing my skills deeper over time with her. Thank you so much Anita. ;)

In my second semester and no plans to stop. This has become something of a Thursday evening ritual…read morefor me. I took a chance and signed up after admiring a new friend's collection of art in different mediums and styles and she told me all about Anita's class. This has given me a chance to try being creative, to trust myself and break out of trying to be pixel perfect. There's always a choice of assignment. I like to work slowly and deliberately. Others finish a project and move on to the next in a session or two. The perfect thing is that this is at your own pace, with guidance and education from Anita. I'm learning to appreciate the time and intention that goes into a creating a work. And I find the time relaxing and meditative...it's a wonderful change of pace from my day-to-day work. Give this a go - you won't be disappointed!

My daughter had her birthday party here with a small group of friends. They made a clay project of…read moreBluey. Each one had a blast and enjoyed their time in the studio. From start to finish, Emma was great with communication in planning. She texted over project options with paintings or clay art. My daughter chose clay and Emma sent over photos of sample projects she could choose from. My daughter asked to do a "Bluey" clay art project and I thought to ask even though I didn't see any samples in the studio. Emma asked for an image and within a few days they created one for the guests to replicate. That was appreciated as my daughter and her guests love Bluey and were so tickled to be able to make one. We did have a hiccup on the day of the party but Emma, her studio manager and staff were able to accommodate everything without batting an eyelash! I appreciated their flexibility and ability to pivot flawlessly. The staff were so helpful with setup and always making sure everyone had what they needed. They took care of cleaning up the space, and disposing of any party remnants for us at the end of the event. Our instructor was so friendly and talented. She went around to help any of the guests who needed assistance on their project. Emma was so friendly and thoughtful. She made sure there were personal touches and made sure each guest felt special. She checked on us frequently during the event as well. My daughter loved it and so did her friends. I wouldn't hesitate to hold another birthday party here again. Thank you to Emma, our instructor, the studio manager and the staff!!

Amazing place for various art classes from painting, sketching, craving to many more. Teachers are…read moreprofessional and some are retired college professors. Highly recommend

I don't even know where to start with Clay Clubhouse, Jo and Denise. 1.5 weeks ago, my friends and…read moreI randomly decided to throw a friend a surprise bachelorette night. We landed on ceramics and it was so fun! Jo was so kind given our short notice. Other places couldn't accommodate us because of the later time we needed (6-8pm), they don't do private events and it was simply too short of notice. Jo was able to make our dreams come true given all these factors and was so kind and chill about them! I asked if we could bring some light drinks and bites, and not only was it a yes, she actually provided the champagne flutes!! So easy to work with her. So we get there yesterday and Denise was our instructor. She greeted us, let us settle in and just had the best of vibes. Once we were ready to start, she explained very thoroughly what to do. I'll be honest, I was really bad! Like in the 1.5 hours we got to make stuff, my friends used probably 1-2 clay balls while I got close to 10 bc I just kept failing! Denise was so supportive though and tried to help without hovering or taking over. I never felt judged or like I was frustrating her, even though, wow, I was like such a toddler about it! I wasn't able to make myself anything, but she made me a bowl and I just thought that was so kind and sweet of her. She's really funny and so good at what she does, both creating ceramics and teaching it! I don't have all of their packages memorized, but it's very clear on the website. We did the private for 4 people and added 1 person. 2 hours and you can make whatever and however many you want. It was $465 total and so worth it! You get to choose your glaze, which are all gorgeous options, and it will be ready in 4 weeks. I loved this experience and even though I struggled, I would do it again, especially at Clay Clubhouse. I recommend wearing clothes you don't care about or bringing an apron or baggy tee you don't mind getting splashy. There's a really cute Mexican place next door. We didn't go because it was packed but you'll probably have the best night doing some ceramics and then celebrating at Bombera! Go do this, have so much fun, get messy, support local artsy businesses and enjoy!

Jo was cool, but the teacher that day, chris, she works at another location but I attended the…read moreBIPOC Queer open studio and I almost walked out. I'm used to be marginalized and excluded just didn't think it was gonna happen at this place.