In response to Maria: I have no incentive nor desire to mislead readers. I am telling the truth…read moreabout my experience with your business. Respectfully, within our exchanges, you did not address my concerns, you doubled-down and responded in a defensive way, as you are doing in your response here. You responded to what you thought my concerns were, and sent the complaint directly to the teacher with no context, leading to a situation wherein my concern was not only not addressed, it was inflamed and taken out of context. It felt like being ganged up on. The difference in the public response here, however, is the apology. Offering to essentially boot us from the class is not akin to working with us towards a solution to keep us as customers. It reads as, "my way or the highway", which is not exactly a great way to deal with children and families. Notably inappropriate is also posting the status of my payment method on a globally public thread. Highly unprofessional. It shouldn't matter, since you were going to refund me anyway. I did not receive an email beforehand that the card didn't go through, either. We have been attending classes at this location for months with no issue with payment, and attended one class that I found out through this exchange was unpaid for due to a card being compromised. Is it not your job to inform people when their payment doesn't go through? Why did you deem it important to publicly shame/blast someone for their payment information? Very odd.

I've attended multiple classes for over a year here. Masha and Maria are dedicated and patient…read moreteachers. They're honest (psst.. it's constructive criticism) and enthusiastic to teach and show of what they know. The last course I took was the Human Anatomy and that was advanced but a ton of fun and a good amount of knowledge has been learned and applied when I'm no longer in class. I'm looking forward to continuing here. Thank you Maria and Masha!

Community School of Music and Arts is a great place for learning. The staff is organized, prepared,…read moreknowledgeable, and encouraging. They create a positive and inspiring environment that helps students grow both creatively and confidently.

Young Chamber Musicians greatly enjoyed producing both our Winter Concert and Finale Concert in…read moreTateuchi Hall at the Community School for Music & Arts this season! Thanks to CSMA's great staff for making our students, coaches and audience so welcome!

Our 4-year-old daughter is enrolled in the new drawing class for younger kids (3-5 years old) and…read moreabsolutely loves it. She looks forward to it so much that she asks to go every day. Teacher Robin has been wonderful. She is incredibly patient with the kids and does a great job keeping them engaged and focused throughout the session. The progression of the class is also thoughtfully designed, starting from basic tracing and moving to learning how to color properly, stay within the lines, and color in a consistent direction. It is impressive how much the kids pick up in such a short time. We have also had a great experience with the communication and scheduling. Both the office and Robin are very responsive, and everything has been smooth and easy from the start. Overall, it has been a fantastic experience and we are very happy with the class.

My kids spent over 10 years at Drawn2Art Los Altos, and it has been a wonderful experience. Instead…read moreof an art classroom setting, it's a studio setting where kids are given the freedom to choose what they want to work on at their level. The teachers provide personalized guidance and introduce new media along the way. The staff is always helpful and responsive. There is a super easy system for reporting absences and scheduling make up classes. It has been such a positive part of my kids' lives, they didn't just become more skilled artists, but also developed genuine love for art as a way to express themselves.

My eldest daughter, a high school senior, is an artist, and I wanted to find her additional art…read moreclasses beyond what she was getting in high school. She's worked with Maria and Svetlana for the past several years, in classes including live figure study, live portraiture, animation and advanced portfolio prep. The teaching and guidance at the Art School of SF Bay has been exceptional. And better and better, my daughter has been accepted to top-ranked animation programs including CalArts, Ringling College of Art and Design, RISD and more. I cannot than Maria and Svetlana enough.

I really enjoyed my weekly class. Masha is an amazing teacher and will help you at your level. I…read morelearned so much during class, can't wait to take more!

Great summer camp for kids and was fun! Nice experience…read morewith teachers and TAs , good projects done during the camp.

My son and daughter had a great time during art camp this week! They loved the Wizard theme and…read morethought it was super fun!

Amazing art program. Excellent art education. Many students got accepted by prestigious art…read morecolleges/universities with high scholarships. Director, Yousun Kim received Excellent Educator awards from Scholastics Art and Writing several years in a row. I sent my daughter and son to the program. Results were excellent. I highly recommend the Soho Art Studio for Portfolio for college admission, AP art, and high school/middle school/elementary school student art education.

From the owner: What distinguishes Soho Art from the rest is the growth of creativity enhancing the full potential…read moreof our students to win many awards. At Soho Art, the student's daily thoughts become strikingly creative ideas with one's own thoughts and feelings expressed as visual images. Students will naturally have a wonderful artistic experience of making all of the above happen. With 25 yrs of teaching experience, Yousun helps high school AP students to achieve 5 scores on their AP assessments. She also helps students develop their portfolios for applying to the top professional art schools. In 2017 to 2023, Yousun Kim received the U.S. nationally recognized Scholastic Art & Writing Award for Outstanding Educator.

We had such an amazing experience! I brought a group of 12 women for a team art class, and…read moreeverything was so organized from beginning to end. She was incredibly helpful, patient, detailed, and flexible with such a large group. What I loved most was how she was able to collaborate with all 12 of us and still make the experience feel personal. Everyone felt included, supported, and able to be creative in their own way. You can tell a lot of thought and care goes into what she does. Our team had the BEST time, and I would absolutely recommend this experience for a team outing, celebration, or just a fun day together. We will definitely be back!

We had a team-building event here recently, and it was one of the most enjoyable things we have…read moredone together. Deepti made it so easy for us to jump right in and get creative. She was super encouraging and had ways of helping those of us who don't get the chance to paint very often create something we could be proud of. Even the very-beginners did art we would be happy to show to off others. Some of us enjoyed the process so much we didn't want to leave and stayed as long as we could. I would love to take one of her regular classes!

This art center has an excellent environment and a creative atmosphere. I will be going to visit…read moreRainbow art studio again .

A gem for budding artists where they get not only a very organized curriculum but also TLC for them…read moreto develop thr much needed confidence for their talent to flourish.

Loved meeting Natalia and seeing her beautiful work! Definitely worth stopping by to admire and…read moresupport local art.

I am happy to have private art classes with Natalia! She is…read morethe first person who convinced me that I can paint, her unique style for teaching gave me confidence that all people can paint, it's not dependent on talent. Natalia always has feelings about your mood and how much you are involved or not to the process. I am totally recommending Natalia as teacher, but not just, she also amazing art artist, her art, style really amazing! After 3 months I can say "I am in love with painting "

I took Tom's "DSLR/M Jumpstart" class this June. Glowing review follows…read more.. But first, a bit about me: I've been a latent photography maven since my early teens, starting with a Polaroid and quickly graduating to my dad's old Bell & Howell 35mm. As things often do, it found itself on a shelf until the advent of the iPhone and ever-present cameras. Discovering that I enjoy taking nice shots, but always knowing I could do better, I finally splurged on a "prosumer" Canon mirrorless. Not wanting to let it be relegated to the same fate as the B&H, I immediately went looking for some classes, and found Tom literally one neighborhood away. I immediately liked his no-nonsense commentary about how good photography connects us to our memories and what we experienced at the time, but also his keen level of humility; I think that's essential to being a good teacher, as hubris stands in the way of connection with students. When I arrived, Tom had a cozy kitchen table set up for three students, with brief handouts at the ready, and a table full of curios just begging for practice. Alas, one student was a no-show, but we had lively chat until Tom decided to get underway. There wasn't a single boring moment in the day; Tom immediately got both of us familiar with the controls on our fancy cameras, then started reviewing the basics of photography. It wasn't a theory class, per se, but he spent as much time as it took going over both how our cameras take photos, and how we perceive them. The room was set up for a simple PowerPoint-style presentation, but it was always in the background as we moved back and forth between our devices and discussion. Just setting expectations: about 75-80% of the class is "ground school" -- we worked with our cameras and settings indoors, practicing a bit on nearby objects, and then venturing outside for some practice. Tom made it fun, setting us up for a bit of a scavenger hunt in his back patio that's clearly designed to get us looking at the objects a little more deeply, and playing with focus and depth of field to achieve artistic effect. By the end of the day, I didn't feel like a "pro," by any stretch of imagination. But I did feel like I had the potential to get there. I haven't switched my camera back to "Auto" mode since the class. I've taken some lousy photos, and then realized what I'd done wrong. And I've taken some amazing shots. My only gripe about the class? It's too short. I left wondering, "ok, what next?" Tom offers a number of other opportunities like photo walks, and I'll be taking him up on them in the near future, but I definitely felt like there could have been a second day. That said, I think that's a good thing: the class achieves a "jump start" for new photographers, and leaves you wanting more.

Tom Upton: Before taking this camera class, I was completely stuck, frustrated, and a little…read moreintimidated. I didn't know where to begin! I really enjoyed the class! It was helpful and interesting, and Tom put me at ease learning about all those buttons, and settings. He explained everything clearly and patiently and made the whole experience fun. I came away feeling much more confident using my camera and excited to put what I learned into practice. I highly recommend PhotoTrainer and Tom!!