Jeff is very rude. I pointed out that he spelled twitter wrong on his website and he got very angry. He blamed someone else but then wouldn't let it go. The masks were also mediocre quality. read more

Years ago, I met Jeff at the International Mask Conference and I was amazed by his masks. In fact, I purchased masks from him at the time and was preparing to purchase more. However, due to a recent exchange where he was extremely rude and attacked me attacked me out of nowhere will mean that I will never purchase from him again. This is all very disappointing and I genuinely fear he may be facing some personal issues outside of business concerns. read more

We had a party for our 3-year old's birthday with Jeff. It was so much fun! There were about 12 3 and 4-year old kiddos with their parents and the space was perfect for it. Jeff started the party by introducing his pet bird, which the kids loved, of course. Then he led them through 2 art projects: a bird puppet and a bird mask. We were all so impressed by how great he was with the kiddos and by how much they loved the activities. Some of the parents sent me pictures later that night of their kids playing with the masks and puppets at home. It was a hit! He also provided us a place to set up pizza and cake, which was just perfect. I'd highly recommend doing a party with Jeff. I'm sure his classes are also fantastic; he's a talented guy and he's really good at sharing it with others. Bravo! read more

The Art Side Out Art Studio is in the arts venue building at Six Corners in Portage Park (4041 N Milwaukee Ave). Artist Jeff Semmerling is the owner and main artist....with an emphasis on the making of masks. He recently sent several of his creations to Broadway in NY for a theatrical production! He also makes masks for Madri Gras in New Orleans...which he personally brings down to NOLA for those celebrating to enjoy! You can learn all about mask making and more and he even hosts birthday parties and other celebrations as well in his studio. Jeff has given of his time and talents to the Filament Theatre and several organizations in Six Corners (Portage Park) and Chicago. He will be downtown soon for a Halloween parade that features life size and bigger creations of fish, birds and other creatures. Jeff also produces the Vaudeville at Six Corners show at the Filament Theatre 4 times a year which has dancing, music, storytelling, jugglers, magicians and more! I can highly recommend Art Side Out Art Studio to you! Photos from the recent Open House Chicago event: https://www.flickr.com/photos/92160342@N07/albums/72157671793982794 URL: http://www.artsideoutstudio.com/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/JeffSemmerlingMASKSHOP/?fref=ts read more

we simply called about classes and Jeff the "master mask maker" was needlessly rude...my wife asked about oil painting classes and he said they didn't offer them...she then began to ask one follow up question and he interrupted saying " why don't you clean out a closet...go in there and paint" then he hung up! I guess maybe Jeff just had his grumpy mask on that day! Or maybe his plans for the puppet show fell through.... read more

We had a wonderful birthday experience for our 4 year old son at the Inside Out Studio. After some warm up art activities, we got right down to mask masking and kids had a blast (the parents, too)! This isn't your typical, rent a room party. The owner Jeff Semmerling is a master mask maker and is there to help the kids along the whole way. For younger kids, parental help was essential for tracing and cutting, but older kids could mostly create their masterpieces all on their own. They each left with a beautiful mask of their own making and it was wonderful to see them all flying around the mask shop in their personalized bird masks. Jeff even made a special dragon mask for my son because he loves dragons so much but was a little young to piece together the more complicated project. Highly recommend this for a birthday party for kids of any age, especially if you are looking for something a little different. read more

Art Side Out Studio - Amazing birthday parties with kids ranging from 4-7. They had an absolute blast (and the parents too)! - Arts & Crafts Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

My 8 and 5.5 year old just finished a camp session at the studio. My 8 year old left very upset ... Why? Because it was over. They loved every minute and want to recreate more of the crafts at home. We look forward to returning for more camp days on CPS days off. Thank you Jeff et al. read more

This place is awesome. The owners are wonderful with the kids and very talented. My kids both attended the 4-hour 'camp' days during this winter break. They were the youngest kids there and were still totally engaged. My goal was for them to have art class, not for me to have 4 hours alone, and I'm so glad I sent them because this is a legit studio. The kids worked in almost every medium possible over the course of 4 days and had multiple impressive projects to bring home every day. They learned about famous artists, they made elaborate sketches on subjects given each day, suncatchers, 3D art using scissors, glue, paint, drawing tools, they made paper mache/clay animals, 3D trees adorned with hand-drawn wildlife, holiday trees using curled paper as the color for a textured effect, and of course masks. My child who shows no interest in art at school loved this class and begged to go back every day. Their time was much better spent here than at a sports camp. Thanks to Jeff and Donna - support this local business! I'm so glad I did! read more