Catapult Art Academy — Local services in Richmond

Mrs. Carmen is wonderful, the kids all love to go to class, and it is such a welcoming environment! Art has always been how my child de-stresses, but I could not believe the quality of the art she is producing after coming to this class. Not only does Carmen teach them not to rush (it takes a few weeks of classes to finish every piece), but she also engages them as a group to help them learn and critically think about art as a subject. Since joining they do group tours of the gallery to discuss what they like from other professional artists and have had a mock gallery opening where they present their pieces to the public. They are treated as young artists not just kids learning a skill. I heard (and I was not signed up at the time) that she met with families to tour a local museum to discuss art history and they did a class mural in town for the Unwind wine shop in historic Richmond on Morton Street as well. Truly the best class I have ever paid for...and I have invested a lot in kid's activities. Do...

I brought my son here for the comics lab and he loved it. I saw how his teacher challenged him to draw his characters in different perspectives. She was kind, patient and seemed to genuinely love hearing kids' stories. At the end of the semester, kids got a chance to present their work to parents. It was very cool to see.

Now my son is doing the more traditional art classes with Ms Carmen. It is so cool to see my son's finished art work. I get to see him try out different techniques. He uses different mediums like pastels and watercolors. He's still very much a beginner - he's only been going for a few months but already I can see his confidence grow. I like Ms Carmen's approach to teaching - she encourages kids to get out of their comfort zone. In class, she'll teach kids how to critique art as well which is very valuable skill - not just for art but for life.

All in all - highly recommend! Glad we have this gem...

It's been a year since I enrolled my 5 year old daughter at the time and it's been such an amazing experience with Catapult Academy. Ms Carmen is such a caring teacher and truly encourages kids. She is one the reason why my daughter loves her art class. Each 6 month, the kids have art presentation to help with public speaking. The first presentation, my daughter was so scared that she couldn't even talk. With Ms Carmen's help, she spoke with full confidence for her 2nd presentation and we couldn't be more prouder. My daughter also learned new painting techniques. The classes are1h15mins so kids are not rushed. I highly recommend this...