The Studio's painting instructor, Abraham--who demonstrates an amazing capability of adapting and…read morespecializing in multiple types of subjects and styles--expertly broke down the painting process with even-paced classes and created learning moments to help ease me from acrylic to oil using a mix of mediums. I've learned a great deal about starting a painting, properly mixing color palettes, color theory, and proper brushes for certain techniques. Each session progressively improved my skill set and over several weeks, using these methodical college-level processes, I was able to accomplish an oil painting at my own pace.

My 9 year old was looking to learn how to sew. She had such a great experience. There aren't many…read moreplaces that teach classes for kids. I was impressed by the instructors patience and skill. Will definitely sign her up for more classes.

I joined the adult drawing and painting class about a year ago. I hadn't painted since high school…read more The class has been a delight. Jessica the instructor is a great guide, flexible, informative and patient. This class isn't cheap but they supply ALL THE ART SUPPLIES and we've painted in acrylic, oils, and watercolors and drawn with charcoal and pencil. Paper, solvent, linseed oil. I was really nervous the first class, but the piece turned out better than I expected. I find the class calming, almost meditative.

I am so very happy with my experience painting pottery here! I came in with a friend on MLK day and…read moreit was pretty quiet until later in the afternoon. The staff are super friendly and helpful. They're also faster at getting your pieces back to you than a lot of places I've been to before. One thing to note is it does get pretty cold inside when it's cold out. We will most certainly be coming back!

We signed up our kids for summer art classes over here. The classes were great and the children had…read morea good time. One of kids was drawing and coloring flowers and the other was drawing and coloring animals. Both turned out pretty good. We would have liked to continue in the Fall, but could not due to conflicts with other activities.

I have a very artsy fartsy adorable little girl. She has always liked drawing, painting, crafting,…read moreand anything remotely art like. When she turned 5, her only request for a present was that we found a place where she could take art classes "for real." I looked around for a place that did children's art classes, not just something that did projects, but that taught the fundamentals of art to kiddos. Luckily, I found Art+ Academy and it has been great! I have a very happy kiddo now since she has her real art classes. Here's the scoop: 1. Small class sizes. They monitor how many kids are in each class to make sure the student to teacher ratio is always low. The kid's all learn from each other, as well as get a lot of individual guidance to help their skills develop. 2. Classes for kids are separated into small age groups to keep the learn levels on the same playing field. The classes range from 4-5, 5-7, 7-9, and 9-12. It's nice that 12 year olds don't have to be with the 5 year olds. Peer groups help everyone learn better and faster. 3. They also do teen and adult classes, so really anyone and every can take classes if they are interested in them. 4. The teachers, at least the ones I have met, seem to really care about the students. They offer help and guidance, but still let each student do their own artistic styles. They really want each person to believe in their own artistic abilities. 5. The price seems very reasonable for the quality of the classes. If you or know someone who is interested in art classes, I highly recommend Art + Academy.

Yeah! I was sooo looking forward to this class with Board & Brush and The Fancy Marshmallow Co. The…read morecollaboration of the two Cedar Park small businesses has been all I could talk about. Greeted with excitement, owner Rochelle of Board & Brush had me check in on her iPad. Showed me to my seat where we chatted for a bit. I saw my project in its raw form. I'm so excited to tackle this project. This is actually my second time coming so I know a little of what is expected. Rochelle does an amazing job taking you step by step and helping you. Even if you're not a crafter, never even handled a paint brush, Rochelle, and her staff are very patient, and very helpful. You start off with a raw board of pine. You're given a couple minutes to release your stress on the board. Hammering marks using chicken wire, a hammer, a mallet, and a large screw. You'll sand it lightly, and then stain it. Then it's time to stencil. Using a semi dry brush, you'll dab your brush on the stencil. Give it a minute under the fan to dry and peal the stencil off. And you're pretty much done. You get an official Bb logo sticker to complete your project. I recommend signing and dating your project on the back. Viola you're an artist! The Fancy Marshmallow Co. owner, Tina, she is such a sweetheart. She set up her beautiful marshcuterie spread. All made from scratch. Soft, fluffy, and flavorful treats. She has the cutest treats. All kinds of shapes and sizes. My favorite is the strawberry champagne. Trust me, they are amazing. Tina also brought in her hot cocoa mix ingredients and we all got to make our own bag of hot cocoa mix to take home. And we got to pick our goodies from the marshcuterie and box them up in the cutest boxes with heart printed tissue paper. Such a sweet touch to a fun class. I highly recommend coming to Board & Brush. Such a fun girls night out. They are BYOB, so it's a great group celebration. The Fancy Marshmallow, such a cute boutique, I've been several times. Tina comes up with the most delicious home made treats for all holidays and celebrations. Her boutique is the girliest cafes in Cedar Park! So darling. Check them both out. 5 stars!

Love all of my B&B projects and they are always fun to create. Rochelle is great at guiding you…read morethrough the process & walking out the door with something nice.

Service: 5 Facility: 5, Products: TBD…read more Our group of 5 came to try out making pottery during the Valentine's Day promotion, which is now sold out. Rakhi and her staff, including Maya and Karis, were fantastic. Our ability to follow directions and create the initial form varied among our group, and some had to restart from the beginning more than once. Maya was very patient with us and adjusted how much she assisted by each person's ability. Knowing we were first timers, the staff were very encouraging and helpful as we selected our shapes and attempted to create them. They also helped us personalize each piece with additional designs, and we're very excited to see how everything turns out. There are two parts to this class, creating a piece for baking and in a few weeks we'll return to paint and glaze the pieces so they're food safe. I think we're going to take a longer course the next time!

I attended a Valentine's Day event last month with The ATX Dog Mom Social Club at The Spinning…read moreWheel. There was confusion over pricing and timing. The event post noted one price and when we got to the event, we were told it would cost extra to glaze the bowl which was a necessary step make the clay piece food-safe. We were making dog bowls so of course we wanted them to be food-safe but it was a bummer that we would have to pay an additional fee on top of what we had already paid. I was charged more than others in my group! We were instructed to make our bowls outside on the picnic tables which weren't flat surfaces. The event poster also stated that we could shape our clay by hand or use the spinning wheel. The spinning wheels weren't even offered to us. Overall, I attended this event to make new friends and create something nice for my dog. I accomplished both so that was a win! While I most likely won't come back, this business is a fun concept that is great for groups of young children and I even saw a mother bring in her young daughter with her to glaze pottery together which was so sweet but the pricing and timing to pick up your artwork could be clearer. Also parking is very limited so park next door at the gymnasium.

Christian and Kayla are amazing! This is the best place for my daughter to expand her creative…read moreside! Christian sets up projects and lets her go wild... she comes home covered in paint and a huge smile (she's only 18 months so she loves painting herself and Christian has no problem with whatever mess she makes!) so thankful she has this outlet instead of making a mess at my home!

From the owner: We are a process art studio for children specializing in beautiful messes!read more

Not our favorite place for art summer camp. My daughter attended a week long camp in summer for…read moreclay. Parents are not allowed in the studio and doors are locked. Secure? Yes. But when it's time for pick up, you are in a very small holding cell waiting for them to release your child which was never on time. Even after ringing the bell or knocking you'd still be stuck outside with no one coming to the door. I want to have the option as a parent to enter the room at pick up and see what they are doing or at least be able to look through the door. In addition to the above, not until about two months after the camp did we receive an email stating that her pieces were dried and fired and ready for pick up. We went to the studio to get them to only be told that hers were NOT ready. I requested to be contacted again when they were. A few weeks later I receive another email that was just a reminder for parents to pick up pieces. I responded asking for confirmation that my child's were in fact ready this time. I did receive a response that they would get back to me but they never did. So we never got the art and I never got to see anything she did during the camp. We will not be attending this studio again and I would not recommend it to others.

From the owner: Nilis Art provides quality art classes online and in-person. Our focus is to make sure each kid…read moregets quality feedback on their work and positive encouragement. In order to provide that level of focus our education batches are very limited in size (up to 8 students). We do offer private tutoring as well. We do offer creative art workshops with similar focus on quality. Our focused aged group is 3-15 years old. Kids are very creative and their thoughts are not inhibited by science or rules. We strive to enable the kids to express their creativity using whatever form they choose. It helps improve their focus, fine motor skills and the kids are well prepared to lucidly express themselves in professional environment.

This place is a hidden gem here in Austin- super cool studio with an amazing Art Instructor Amber!…read moreHad my daughter's 11th birthday - choose to do the splatter paint room and kids LOVED every minute of it. Her studio itself is a work of art, so you are inspired as soon as you step onto her property tucked up a hilltop with Lake Travis in the background! Amber does a wide range of art mediums for both children and adults. And we learned she does summer camps too! I would check this place out no matter how old you are- it's worth going to!!!

We just left the Art Barn, splatter paint party with Mrs. Gordon and it was THE ultimate party!! 3…read morehours of structured, chaos, colossal fun!!! Mrs. Gordon communicated everything so well, we knew exactly what to expect and how to prepare for the party. Her structure helped the party run smoothly...well-oiled machine! The girls rain wild. Splatter painted every inch of the room, themselves, and their canvas - followed by the water slide and foam cannon. Honestly, the perfect combo! Even my 12 yr old son jumped in on the fun. I cannot recommend the art barn enough...the moms are talking about the adult retreat next!! Bonus: Mrs. Gordon documents the whole experience by capturing the best pictures and sharing them immediately! Double bonus there is an arcade room my son enjoyed...no one was bored on her watch!

I had such a great experience at Art Direct in Cedar Park! From the moment I walked in, I was…read moreescorted to a private room to discuss options for framing a massive print I wanted for my office. The staff member who helped me was super cool and really understanding about my budget--I didn't want to spend a ton. He made thoughtful suggestions and even brought out visuals so I could actually see what he was describing, which I really appreciated. They called me first thing Monday morning (right after the holidays!) to let me know it was ready for pickup. When I went to grab it, I was blown away--it looks fantastic! I'll definitely be back if I need anything else framed. Highly recommend!

Purchased a great piece from this place the people were nice. It's more of a large garage/thrift…read morestore feel with gems to be found if you look.

I had a great experience today at the Twin Lakes Family YMCA. I was a member about 10 years ago…read moreafter having significant surgery but once I went back to work, I gave it up. Today, at the reception desk, there was a woman by the name of Amy, she was delightful, and although I had a boatload of paperwork to do, she was very helpful and answered all my questions. She then walked me over and showed me how to sign in electronically with my new membership card, (which I was so grateful as now I will know how to do it without addl. assistance) and not worry about checking in! I then took a walk-through the facility paying special attention to the pool areas. Amy had advised me that there was Silver Sneaker Exercise Class at multiple times two days a week, but there was an extra fee attached to it. Once all my paperwork was completed I went walking down the halls to check out everything that was in progress. The pool area is very nice. Very clean with lots of options , there are lanes open in the big pool for lap swimmers. There are classes that happen in the big pool and lessons. I decided it was worth the $40 a month to take the silver sneaker therapy pool class. As It will help me develop a routine. On my way out. I saw a display of T-shirts in various colors and sizes that all had the YMCA logo. I decided it would be nice to have one so I found my size and took it back to the desk where Amy checked me out. She also helped me complete the forms necessary to take the class and made sure they had room as there are a maximum of 10 people , ensuring that you have a good experience. I'm very excited to start tomorrow. I told Amy she really is an exceptional representative of the Twin Lakes YMCA as her customer service is exquisite!!! More to come......

One of the trainers is routinely pushy and rude to gym patrons, and the Y has not dealt with him…read moreeffectively yet. He thinks he runs the place and the rules don't apply to him.