Art Wheel Studio — Attraction in Imperial Beach

I received several one-on-one lessons from Jeff at Art Wheel a few summers ago. I had never sculpted before and had no idea what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised by just about every aspect of the experience. The studio is a very relaxed environment, well lit and with the proper tools to make my vision come to life.

I recommend spending some time considering what you want to sculpt, make sure it's something meaningful and interesting to you, as you will be spending lots of time with it. I sculpted Gollum from the Hobbit. I think the design I came up with posed a lot of difficulties, especially for a novice student. However, clay is a very forgiving medium. Make sure you're willing to bring your patience with you. Be willing to redo something if it doesn't look right.

Jeff is a great teacher and artist. He gave me advice about composition and design. He taught me how to use all the tools and how to get the clay to obey me. He's incredibly pleasant to work with and when things are going well he allows students to take responsibility for their own work. The whole process was fascinating from start to finish. It's an amazing art form and is the most relaxing activity I've ever taken part in, one of my favorite things I've ever done. If I ever wanted to sculpt a statue like this again, I'm confident that I now have the skills to do it on my own. However, Art Wheel was so pleasant that I'd love to return to pursue more ambitious projects, I'm sure there's much more I could learn. I look forward to working with Art Wheel again in the future and I give them my highest...

We booked a 2 hour Intro to the pottery wheel class. Jeff was great. Very knowledgeable and great at making sure we learned and understood the proper ways to make a successful piece of pottery. He told us up front, don't expect to be a pro at this in 2 hours. He was right, it takes time to make a presentable piece. And if you listen to his instructions, your success rate will be great. We came out of the experience with a couple of descent pieces each and a great respect for the artistry of pottery. Jeff is a great teacher and human being. It was very nice to meet him and learn from him.

Not sure what is up with the bad reviews. I chalk that up to people who are uptight and can't listen to simple instruction. Because Jeff's way of teaching is very easy to follow, if you listen and pay attention.

We highly recommend Jeff and the Art Wheel. We had a great time and hope to...

The instructor is a nice person but not a teacher. At all. I felt uncomfortable, did not understand a thing (the big part of it was me as a completely unskilled, however very much encouraged to learn, newbie). When I pointed it out, and asked for a help, that had no effect at all. After instructors explanations in emptiness, no one out of group of four succeeded in doing something distinctly reminding a cup or a bowl by themselves. Instructor just came and did a pottery for himself.

Hence, that was a smart way of selling HIS pottery for $75. With groupon. No one acquired any skill, it was not a fun experience. Moreover, no one wants to pay that much for pottery that sells $2 at Walmart.

I give 2 stars just for tea that was really tasty and helpful while you are outdoors for 2 hours...