The Art Life — Attraction in Houston

Pottery class was good, Jay was helpful and went step by step. The reason why I am giving a negative review is because of the pottery membership that Jay offers. In the end, I know this is Jay's studio and he can run it how he wants, but I was very put off by some things I experienced over my two weeks. In short, misleading information and unprofessional behavior concerning the membership left a bad taste in my mouth.

This studio charges $200/month for the pottery membership. I signed up for 2 week access because that was how long I was in the area for. It was advertised very loosely and informally as "come in whenever there is wheel availability".

From the start, a wheel would only be available for 1.5 to 2 hours per day, which was very different from my expectations based on other studio rules (open studio during opening hours). I had to text Jay daily to confirm wheel availability times. If Jay had private instrument lessons or group art lessons where students might want to throw on the wheel, I was not allowed to use the wheel. I felt that he prioritized people who had paid for lessons vs me, who had paid for a membership.

A couple days into my membership, Jay and his assistant Ari informed me that they were thinking of implementing some new guidelines, like getting wheel covers and having a calendar site to show wheel availability times. These sounded like good ideas to me. However, the next week, Jay informed me of some new pottery membership rules and showed me the poster attached to this review. He said we had talked about them the week prior, but the printed rules were very different from what we had discussed. When I said I wanted to talk with him about the rules, Jay said "What's there to talk about?". He was very dismissive of my concerns and said that "this is the way it's going to be". Again, his studio, but I felt that it was unfair to impose these limiting rules in the middle of my membership which I had already paid for.

Though I didn't know it at the time, this studio is actually quite expensive for what you get in the membership. Limit of 3lb of clay per day, only 1.5 hours on the wheel per day (including clean up time), and firing "twice a month" (the kiln was never run during my membership).

As I was in the studio during a period of transition, I understand that some bumps in the road are to be expected. Unfortunately, I felt unfairly treated and misled by the original terms set out for...

We're absolutely obsessed with Mr. Jay and The Art Life. He is not only excellent with my neuro divergent kid, but my neurotypical kids too. He's so encouraging and taking lessons (piano, art) with him has even helped with their perfectionistic tendencies. Starting something new is hard and scary, but Mr Jay has made it fun and interesting and exciting. The way he talks to the kids is 100% "take no crap" but he's also incredibly kind and helpful. The way he explains things and breaks it down for each student where they are in their art journey is so encouraging for me as a parent because he just gets what they need to hear. My son said his favorite part of art with Mr Jay is that he gets to decide what they work on versus having a strict curriculum. When we walk in he says, "What are we working on?" compared to other art lessons or classes he's taken where the teacher has lesson plans and takes them surface level through things. Mr Jay is taking the kids in depth through the art or piano they're learning. It's fabulous, and I recommend him...

The Art Life has become a home away from home for me over the years. The journey began when I was home schooling my daughter. As a budding young artist, I wanted my daughter to be mentored by someone who was a talented artist, as well as a teacher, and we found that with Jay. My daughter thrived and grew exponentially as an artist. After several successfully years, my daughter grew in ability and confidence.

I decided to take the plunge myself and began art lessons. And what an amazing journey it has been! I have grown in knowledge and creativity when I began as just a novice. My confidence and range of mediums has blossomed.

Not only has Jay guided me to become a more confident artist, he has created an art community where artists of all levels can gather, create and learn side by side. Jay has the ability to work with students of all ages and levels, for all types of art, from painting and drawing, to piano and ukulele lessons, and pottery!!

There is no end to the lessons that can be learned at...