"I don't write many reviews but sometimes I feel compelled based on a truly fantastic experience. Anita's studio, "Studio 1.6", is a place for anyone to immerse themselves in an authentic and genuine art experience. In my case, Studio 1.6 is a place for my teenager to have an hour or so a week of closing off the rest of the world and focusing on something physical, beautiful, and peaceful...making art. He produces all kinds of wonderful things in this studio. Anita facilitates his artistic growth in a nurturing way that my teenager really responds to. He looks so forward to his time in this studio each week. While sheltering-in-place, Anita has even worked up remote art opportunities that again have my teenager almost zen like for the length of time of the class. If you are looking for activities for yourself or for a dependent, I'd consider this kind of experience to be priceless. My son has been taking advantage of the Studio 1.6 space and Anita's beautiful professional instruction/guidance for many years. It's been a positive influence on his growth and I would recommend to anyone with even a remote interest or curiosity to give it a try. Can't lose!
- Corbin B., Oakland, CA (Yelp review)
"We've enthusiastically signed up for our 4th year with Anita and Studio 1.6 - Alameda, Anita works with the children and their families to find subjects that are stimulating, age/stage appropriate, and just challenging enough. We feel we are getting a well-rounded exposure to Art and Art history for our elementary student.
We've been impressed with Anita's small class size and individual attention. The classes draw both boys and girls, and Anita encourages individual expression, while teaching good basic techniques. I've loved how each class seems to incorporate a different artistic medium (clay, wire, ink, pencil, collage, pastels, etc!) and yet she does not sacrifice depth to breadth."
- Kimberley Foster Rogers, Alameda
Very patient and talented teacher whose helped me cultivate my talent. I extremely recommend to anyone interested in taking their art skills to the next level, to try this studio out. Doesn’t matter on your skill level!
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- Malcolm Fooks, Alameda, CA (Google review)
"Our teenage son enjoys his Studio 1.6 classes and his talent continues to grow and improve. Anita is an encouraging and nurturing teacher, and we are so grateful to be able to attend. We are so pleased to see our son inspired to draw daily, and remains connected to his art. Thank you, Anita!"
- Joan Buhler
"Studio 1.6 is amazing. My son has grown tremendously. Anita and team are great building budding artist into the area of art they will thrive. Can’t say enough."
- Andy Johnson
"My daughters really enjoy the art class taught by Anita. She has a patient, calm teaching style, while very instructive. My daughters notice more details about art and create more art since taking her class. They always look forward to going and I have recommended this class & art camps to other moms, who have also had the same experience! The studio also has a lot of natural light and is a very conducive environment for being creative. The art projects each week are unique and give a lot of room for creativity across all the students with different interests, ages, skills and abilities. Highly recommend!"
- Alameda Parent
"Studio 1.6 is fantastic. Our daughter enjoys the class immensely, and we can see her improving week by week. Anita is an excellent teacher with a very approachable manner who gets the best out of her students. The end of term show was a highlight, showing how she nurtures the talent in her class from complete novices to experts."
- Christopher M., San Francisco, CA
"Anita has been amazing and patient with our daughters over the last year of Studio Art classes. She lets them work at their own pace and is able to draw out artistic abilities they didn't know they had. Very impressed and highly recommended."
"My daughter has such a fun experience at studio 1.6. From Anita (the teaching instructor) teaching her how to draw hands to drawing celebrity portraits. Studio 1.6 has truly become my daughter's favorite place to learn and create art."
- Mahta M., Oakland, CA
"Studio 1.6 is phenomenal. Last month, Anita organized a private life drawing class for a group of adult novices, which provided a challenging yet enjoyable experience for everyone involved. Anita was proactive in asking what duration, medium, model, and pose we wanted and then she was very responsive by e-mail as we worked out the details. We settled on a 90 minute class, using charcoal on paper, with a professional model from the Bay Area Models' Guild. Anita and the model worked out a pose that not only prevented fatigue by the model, but also maximized our success by avoiding technical challenges such as foreshortening. During the class, Anita provided a very short demonstration (about three minutes) before having us begin, then spent the class offering specific and constructive feedback one-on-one. The 90 minute duration was absolutely worth the slightly higher tuition; 60 minutes would have been too short. At the end of the class, Anita spray-sealed our drawings and provided poster tubes for transport home. You will not be seeing these works in a museum, but that was not the point. The point was to bring our group together through a shared challenge, "and it was a phenomenal success, delivered by a professional, talented, and personable instructor. A+ for Studio 1.6!
- David M. (Yelp review)
"Anita is an encouraging, talented and thoughtful teacher. The space is open and large with good light. She supplies the materials and guides you to complete projects at your own pace with individual tips, pointers and ideas that allows you to find your inner artistic voice.. I highly recommend this class to artists of any age and level."
- Karen Mitchell, Alameda
"Since taking classes at Studio 1.6, my teenage son has shown significant growth in his drawing abilities. He's always loved to draw, but has been self-taught. Anita has taught him new skills, and moved him beyond his previous comfort zone, tackling portraits, landscapes, still lifes. Studio 1.6 also offers adult classes, which I recently signed up for and am greatly enjoying. I highly recommend Studio 1.6 for any age."
- Margaret Lee (Facebook review)
"Two of my children (11 and 7.5) love the art classes at Studio 1.6!
The space is always clean and well organized, with plenty of materials and supplies for a wide variety of art projects.
As a teacher, Anita is a well balanced combination of being a knowledgable artist, teaching with gentle discipline and having a warm personality. I especially respect her drawing and sculpting skills. She can offer a variety of techniques to improve child's ability to express her or his ideas through art. My older's child drawing (and handwriting!) improved so much over the several months of attending the drawing class that he gained new confidence and deepened his love of expressing his ideas visually."
- Branka T. (Yelp review)
"Anita offers the perfect mix of inspiration, low-key environment, and genuine pleasure in the process as well as respect for the product. My 8-year-old loves visual art but typically hates taking classes of any kind. But she likes going to Anita's. Anita offers both serious training as an artist and a warm, gentle environment. I love that she keeps her classes small."
- A parent from Alameda
"This has been my daughter's favorite camp during non-school times - even at a fairly young age she loves having the space to create with different mediums and the guidance to continue to develop as an artist. When she comes home she proudly shows us the new additions to her portfolio each day. And most importantly, she has fun."
- Melissa Brandt (Facebook review)
"Anita was very gentle in her approach with our son as he warmed up to the idea of drawing. She put him quickly at ease with her encouragement, easy conversation and calm uncluttered environment. She has a real special touch with cultivating "the artist within" without over directing. After one Saturday class my son was quite excited to sign up for summer camp!"
- Geri Thomas, Alameda
"This working studio provides a unique and rich environment for children to explore art and develop their interests. The atmosphere is calm and Anita understands children very well. Our daughter can't wait to return for her next chance to make new art."
- Lori and George, Alameda
"I love seeing the creative artwork my daughter brings home from her class with Miss Anita and hearing how much she enjoyed making it. The projects are completely different from anything we would ever think of doing at home and are giving her the opportunity to explore her creativity in new ways. I feel like she is getting a broader perspective of what art is, with the use of artwork by famous artists throughout history as examples. Compared to the art classes we have taken elsewhere, Anita's Studio is much more personal, creative and instructive.Thank you!"
- Kristine Griffin
"My daughter took Anita's class for young students (4-5 years) Spring 2013. She loved the class and looked forward to each week. Anita's curriculum is very creative and she incorporates many mediums into her lessons. As a parent, I really like the newsletter she sends to keep you informed of class progress."
- Laura Donoghue
"Both my kids, Patra and Gawin had join art class and agreed that they had a great learning experience from your classes. They had hands-on experience on a variety of techniques. You made classes fun, creative and in-line with occasions. Whether spring painting, self portrait, paper-tree for Fall, mask for Halloween or a rain deer for XMas time. My kids still keep their art works and still recall how they were made. For me, these proved that they learnt things from you. We wish you were still here in Pittsburgh. But no matter where you are, you will be a very fine art teacher whom students will benefit a great art learning experiences from you. Thank you for sharing your talent with my kids."
- Hsu's Family
"Several of my children took classes with Miss Anita and learned so much from their time with her. The projects were unique and creative. They learned new techniques and gained experience with different methods and mediums, many of which were new to them. Anita was very encouraging to them. They never wanted to leave! As a parent, I appreciated the small class size and newsletters that kept me informed. This was one of the best activities my kids have ever participated it!"
- Michele
"Great opportunity for kids to explore art. Teacher is excellent! My 12 YO has had
a new art project each week - wire/tissue paper, draw, paint and sculpture so far....
She seems to do a really care - and tailors it to each child's level, focus and interests... I highly recommend this studio."
-Melissa A. (Yelp Review)
"I am moved to write this review for Studio 1.6 out of a profound appreciation for the positive impact that my art classes have done to enhance the quality of my life in general, but particularly during this era of shelter in place.
About a year ago, I started as a beginning art student at Studio 1.6 and was intimidated about doing art, having been pretty much estranged from it since Kindergarten! But I’d observed Anita working with my son at camp and I trusted her to help me through! And true to her nature, Anita has offered me thoughtful instruction, gentle direction and enthusiastic encouragement. Anita is particularly skilled as a teacher as she teaches art skills while actively encouraging creativity and self expression.
The Studio 1.6 classes have offered a range of art projects and hands on learning experience on working with different mediums and art subjects. Over time, I have gained some confidence in my nascent art abilities, but most importantly, I have enjoyed becoming more aware of what I see. This enhanced awareness creeps up at times when I am not “doing my art,’ but simply shows up wherever I might be. I’ve become more attuned and “present” to my environment and have noticed visual things, I’d otherwise have missed.
When the shelter in place began, Anita worked very hard to quickly learn how to convert our in studio experience to a meaningful online one, which included creating bags of art supplies for us to use at our homes. It was really a marvel to see how well she has succeeded in not only presenting lessons and making videos, but how she is able to give us feedback and suggestions in real time. Perhaps this burst of flexibility and creativity stems from the great artist she is! Anita has also generously encouraged her students to reach out to her between lessons to get feedback on class art work if we have been able to do more outside of class. Finally, I am so grateful to have my art lessons and projects as my “personal respite” providing hours of calm from my worries and responsibilities. It makes me happy."
- Geri Thomas