Art League School

Took a Beginners Painting class with Scott Hutchinson. He was calm, patient, funny, and the ideal art teacher for us non-​skilled persons. If you have any previous painting experience (I took all through high-​school and some classes in college), you might want to go onto the intermediate level. I found some of the basic painting classes a little boring but that was my fault.
Supplies: Buy them all before class starts (don’t skimp on anything that seems random because then you’ll pay for it with annoyance and time), but try to see if you can find cheaper online. They sell at the store but materials can get pricey. Also make sure they give you everything you need — don’t just expect them to check off the list you hand them. I had them forget a couple of «small» things that became big deals.
Parking was stressful to find around class time –7pm (I took the class in the middle of our icy snowy winter so it was too cold to walk from a few blocks away).
Overall a very worthwhile experience and worth the money!

Can’t really review school as I registered my son for a camp 6 weeks ago and the day camp begins they say he is not registered and there is not space. I have an email stating it is my camp registration confirmation, yet he is not enrolled. We planned our entire summer of camps around this week which is not available any other time. Now I have an extraordinarily disappointed 10 year old and a week I have to reshuffle and plan for at the very last moment. Person as apologetic but this is completely unacceptable. Make sure you call and speak with someone to confirm enrollment, written confirmation has no value.

Great school to learn how to paint.

I have been to pottery studios across the country and this is as good as it gets! I have taken other classes here too. Excellent all around.

I only gave this place four-​stars because I haven’t personally taken a class here, but other than that, this hole-​in-​the-​wall art school was very impressive. What seems just like one long hallway offers a large variety of classes (according to their posted schedule on one of the bulletin boards). My 7 year-​old niece has been taking classes here for the past two semesters and the work that she shows me, I’m amazed at all that she can do; It makes me an even prouder (is that a word?) uncle. They offer classes for all ages. I do not have the resources to take any classes right now, but I do plan on it in the future.

I have taken two semesters of pottery with Blair Meerfeld, and I am hooked. Blair creates a comfortable yet proactive learning environment, and you can work at whatever pace you’d like. The people and instructors in both my classes have been the type of people I want to invite over for a dinner party, so it’s always relaxing to come to class and know that the environment is calm, creative and comfortable. I highly recommend both Blair as an instructor and pottery as a class.

I have been taking drawing classes at the Art League for about 8 years. In addition I have taken some weekend workshops. I have found all my experiences to be very positive. I have only taken a few instructors, but they all been excellent. In addition I like the atmosphere of the Art League-​classrooms are well maintained and equipped. I have had the pleasure of becoming friends with many of my classmates-​which has made the learning experience even better.

I agree w/​Justin W.‘s review below. I took one pottery class with the Art League. While I found the overall atmosphere to be positive and cozy, I was very surprised that there really wasn’t any formal instruction, despite a professional potter being present. In fact, I got the sense that he preferred not to teach and focus on his own pottery, though he would answer some students’ questions. There was one TA who could help, but other than that, you have to rely on other students.
Had I known that this wouldn’t be a «class» but more like an open studio space, I might not have enrolled. The cost of the class should be a lot cheaper if you’re not getting the benefit of a professional potter teaching you. The school should set the proper expectations. If you’re a beginner, they should have a true beginner’s course where maybe half the sessions include formal instruction. For students who have taken the course before, they should mark the course as being open studio space so you can do your own work.

I’ve taken several classes over the years here and most of them have been really awful. The weaving and fiber studios are great, with supportive instructors, and they will give you a great class experience for the money. They’re the only department at the Art League that seems to have a positive atmosphere. One of the stars is here because of the fiber arts department, otherwise this would be a one-​star review. Note that I can’t speak to the pottery studio atmosphere as I haven’t taken classes there.
First off, it’s worth a note that classes are generally not paced for students who put in a lot of time outside class hours or students who catch on quickly. If you generally find you’re a dedicated student or you’re a quick study you may be extremely frustrated by the extended Q&A sessions many classes seem to include.
Next important note: the Art League asks you to get your supply list from them in person because they want you to buy your supplies from them while you’re there picking up your list. This is a BAD IDEA for you as a student. For several of my classes, the teachers padded the supply list with items we didn’t use, and the store would not let me return them (the store generally does not return items for money back). Best bet is to get in touch with the instructor and ask what you need to bring for the very first class, and buy more supplies as needed. Don’t buy everything up front, and definitely don’t buy them from the Art League’s store.
I’ve taken several classes here, but by far the biggest stinkers were book arts (warning, these are really «art» books, not books you write in or read text from — the course descriptions for the book arts classes are criminally inaccurate) and basic drawing. The book arts teacher criticized me because I prefer more serious bookbinding to books made with origami paper; I didn’t say anything to her about it, but I guess she picked up on my surprise and lack of enthusiasm for our projects and got defensive. One instructor vented endlessly about a series of depressing personal issues, and both instructors were extremely critical. In my drawing class, we spent more time talking than drawing (about 1 hour drawing and 2 hours talking per class), and again, the instructor was quite negative, even going so far as to announce to all the students that without native skill, they would never become gifted artists no matter how hard they practiced (WHAAAT, this is total BS and possibly one of the most damaging things I’ve ever heard an art teacher of any stripe say).
The classes here are quite affordable compared to the average price for an art class, but also mediocre verging on downright terrible in experience compared to the average art class experience. After my latest bad experience here, I’m resolved to save up my money for higher-​caliber studios.

I took a Sunday pottery class here this past summer and thought it was excellent. I studied ceramics as an undergraduate (which was several years ago now…) and found that there was plenty of help when I needed it — but I was also free to go at my own pace ahead of the others.
I interacted with two instructors, plus a number of class assistants, over the summer and always found them to be knowledgeable, helpful, friendly, and genuinely interested in helping me to make the work I was imagining (and offering a lot of great input and help in making it even better!).
I thought the studio space was clean and well organized — and was on par with other studios I’ve worked in. (Keeping in mind that a pottery studio is full of people working with wet mud all day long…) It’s a bit of a hike from where I live in DC — but I think it’s worth it.
I hope to enroll in a class here again soon. As another reviewer pointed out, pottery really is a lot of work and it’s not always easy. I would recommend that if you enroll, you have the time to fully take advantage of attending all the classes and using the open studio access for extra time or for make-​up classes. I wish I had had more time too!

I’m a long time student of the Art League School — more than 15 years. My favorite classes have been with Priscilla Treacy, Jin Chung, Jackie Saunders and Lorraine Oerth. Highly recommend the framing workshop offered four times a year. This school is an Alexandria gem. Just wish they would offer some new class options on weekends. The weekend schedule is stale and hasn’t seen any freshing up in years.

I took a class here awhile back and unfortunately it was not a great experience for me. I decided to try a pottery class and the one thing I think they should tell you up front when you register is how hard it is. We had nine classes and I didn’t make anything besides a lump of clay because its takes a lot more practice than what is provided in class.
The teacher was very nice. He told us a lot of stories and seemed to be enjoying his job, but I didn’t think he taught that much. He seemed to be a lot more interested in the female students and making his own pots so I didn’t feel like I had enough instruction. That and his personal hygiene was not the greatest. He introduced himself as a hippie though so I guess that’s just par for the course.
The studio was what you would expect with working with clay. Dirty and a little disorganized. I think the price was good for what you get from this school, but if I were to take another class here I think I will try something simple like drawing.

I’m currently taking a nine week Metal Sculpting class, and definitely recommend the school it if you’re looking to take some classes. Before registering, I emailed the instructor asking about some of the «other» costs for materials, supplies, and other costs that may pop up, and Brian was very attentive, responding within a day or so explaining how it usually has worked. The price for the class comes out to about $ 10/hr…not bad for learning a new skill and getting creative too. Class size is limited to 12 ppl and sometimes he has an assistant so you’ve got plenty of opportunity to bounce ideas around and get some one on one attention. Monday evening classes have pretty easy (and free) parking too. While I can’t comment on the other classes, I am now considering some of them based on my positive experience so far.

The teachers and course offerings at the Art League School are first rate! I have learned more at the Art League School than I ever learned in my years as a graduate student.
Any form of fine art that you can think of, they teach. They have very popular children’s classes and a sumer art camp as well.
They have taught me well.

I am taking the Intro Drawing course and it’s wonderful. This is my first art class of any type, and it is not intimidating or over my head.
Pretty inexpensive considering other options in the area, and one of the few places I found with a lot of evening classes.

I have taken many classes here and I have loved every moment!
The classes and the instructors are first-​classes. This is a great place to take classes if you are a beginner because the classes are set up in a very approachable way. It is also a great way of meeting new people who love art.

I took a year’s worth of ceramics classes here the first year I lived in DC… not only was it super fun, but I met some great people and it was a good way to make DC feel more like home when I didn’t have much going here yet. I always sucked at ceramics in high school, but after a couple classes here even I was successfully throwing bowls and having a great time doing it — and here I thought I was a hopeless case! The instruction was very good (obviously) as was the quality of materials and services. Kiln firings were frequent, so I rarely had to wait more than one class between firing and glazing, and in all the pieces that I made, I only had one casualty — a vase with a very narrow neck that chipped during the unloading of the kiln. That’s pretty reasonable considering I probably fired 40 pieces over the course of a year.
After a year of classes, I got tired of making the trip down here every week — I wish it was a little closer to the city! (It’s about a 20 minute drive from DC or 15 minute walk from metro, but the walk isn’t through the best parts of Alexandria so I don’t recommend doing it alone after dark.) The Art League offers a number of other classes, including photography, jewelry-​making, metal sculpture and a bunch more that sound like fun. If the instruction and equipment are on par with their ceramics program, I’m sure they are all well worth the reasonable class fees!

The classes here are truly amazing. The instructors have formal art schooling, and it sounds like each class (I’ve only taken 2 here) have to go through a board for vetting or something. Each class is totally structured, each week there are different topics and goals.
Jewelry — Lost Wax Method: I thought this class was awesome, it started with fundamentals and then got harder and harder, yet allowed anyone to find their level of comfort and stay there. Some people made some incredible pieces.
Graphic Design — I’m only on the first week but I can already tell it’s going to be an amazing class. I mean, there are no computers! This means it’s not going to be another Photoshop class, it’s going to talk about real fundamentals and philosophy of design and typography, layout, logos, exactly exactly exactly what I needed.
A couple hundred bucks per class, split over 9 weeks, 2 ½ hours each week is peanuts I think, given what you will get out of these classes. I would expect the same high quality out of any class I took there. They teach to all levels in every class, so an art background is not needed, and I promise you will survive. Use the Art League to find out if you have hidden talent or new interests!

The Art League is a great organization that makes the arts accessible to people of any skill level. I was a ceramics student for about a year and found it to be very rewarding. The instructors are all very talented and gave me as much or as little guidance as I wanted at any time. The studio is well-​kept and has a very supportive environment that encourages students tap their creativity. It really feels like everyone there is your friend!
The fees are reasonable relative to other places offering similar services — for ceramics, $ 230 gets you 9 weeks of 2.5 hours of studio time per week, as well as 25 lbs of clay, as much glaze as you need, as many firings as you like and a little storage space. My only complaint about the school is that it is far from DC, but that gave me a great excuse to get some exercise biking down to Old Town after work. =)
The school offers a lot more classes than just ceramics — there is sculpture, screen printing, metal working, stained glass, textiles, etc. Classes are held 7 days a week, during the day and into the evening. Check it out — you can get back into something familiar or try something new!