Need to get your creativity flowing this summer? Have an itch just below the surface that’s pushing you to learn some painting, pottery or even cake decorating? It’s easy to be envious of people with crafty hobbies – after all, even us writers here at Woodland Hills Magazine feel like the idea of making something new just because it’s fun is somehow out of our reach, but not with the best art classes. For years, we’d watch our friends make fresh jam while our neighbors churned out screen print designs onto T-shirts…wishing we had our own craft to hone.
While we still yearn for making a full-sized vase or plate, there are definitely some places to scratch that creative itch around Woodland Hills that we’d like to make you aware of. As you might expect, Los Angeles boasts spaces where you can try just about anything, from candle-making to Jaipur block printing and woodworking – if you can dream it up, there’s someone who can teach it to you. The following businesses represent our picks for getting started with a new craft.
Calico Canvas, located at 4901 Topanga Canyon Boulevard Suite B, offers meaningful and fun artistic development for kids and adults of all ages, whether you have never thought of yourself as artistic or you are looking to expand your artistic skills. The business specializes in oil painting but teaches a variety of mediums, offering specialized classes and workshops such as Watercolor, Drawing, Sewing, Acrylics and more. A Monday through Saturday schedule varies depending on whether the focus is on children, teens or adults.
Clay Play & Arts, located at 18510 Devonshire Street in Northridge, is an intimate pottery studio that is designed to give everyone from beginners to experienced pottery folk an engaging and welcoming studio experience, allowing kids and adults alike a chance to make a pot – bowl or cup – and choose one glaze color from a selection. Many Woodland Hills residents have been signing up for Clay Play & Arts’ Intro Class, offered to kids six to 12 years old and adults 13 years old and above, running 60 to 90 minutes long depending on class size and consisting of lessons on how to throw a pot on the wheel. Anyone interested in becoming a member of the studio is required to attend an Intro Class beforehand, and the studio only accepts reservations ahead of time for optimal scheduling availability.
Color Me Mine, located at 16350 Ventura Boulevard Suite B in Encino, allows you to experience the joy of creating your own unique masterpiece by way of a paint-your-own pottery studio that offers a varying selection of ceramic items to choose from. With 60 colors and a number of tools and techniques at your disposal, you can bring your vision to life in a fun and relaxed atmosphere. Your finished piece will be hand-glazed and fired, and is normally ready for pickup in seven days. Open every day except Monday.
The Gourmandise School, located at 395 Santa Monica Place #323 in Santa Monica, is a recreational cooking institution offering hands-on cooking and baking classes for everyone from beginners to professionals – including adults and kids – that focus on teaching classic techniques. The school features mostly in-person classes, though some virtual variants are offered each month at 90 minutes to two hours in duration, conducted via Zoom; in-person classes are two-and-a-half-to three hours long and hosted in state-of-the-art commercial kitchens. See The Gourmandise School’s full calendar of classes to register.
Fire Glass Studio, located at 21123 Victory Boulevard in Canoga Park, is recognized as the premier “glass fusion” art studio for kid’s crafts and adult glass art education in the San Fernando Valley/Los Angeles area, offering professional support for glass artists of all levels. Looking for a family-friendly new visual art activity or kid’s crafts engagement? Are you a seasoned independent glass fusion artist in search of a glass art studio that has everything you need? Fire Glass Studio provides the perfect venue to unleash your artistic potential in a fun and inspiring glass art studio space.
My Creative Outlet, located at 21758 Devonshire Street in Chatsworth, opened in 2016 as part of the West End Arts District, and since that time has honed its mission to make this a “go-to” destination and a “walkable community.” The boutique supports the work of local artisans, and it’s here you’ll find a wonderful selection of unique handmade items including mosaics and fiber supplies/tools, great for weaving, wet felting, sculpting wool and more. Open Wednesday through Friday from 12 pm till 6 pm and Saturday from 11 am to 5 pm.
Whether you’re looking to make some magic at the wheel or you want to take a shot at crafting masterpieces from glass, the aforementioned best art classes in Woodland Hills businesses offer great ways to officially scratch your creative itch.
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