Education & Classes in Castaic

The Vita Art Center engages children, teens, and adults in creative expression with visual arts classes and monthly exhibits at their gallery. Capping head counts at 10 students or fewer, instructors work to keep classes welcoming for both beginning artists and those who have already painted a replica of the Sistine Chapel on their living-room ceiling. Young fingers pinch and coil clay and daub acrylic paints, and adolescents delve into more complex skills such as collage-making and printmaking. Adults may twist copper wire into handmade jewelry or learn how to enliven tax returns with stippling, cross-hatching, and other drawing techniques.

In a gym, a personal trainer helps people who want to learn workouts that are customized to fit their lifestyles and goals. Beth Hirsch aims to offer her clients a similarly singular experience—but in the kitchen. She's a home chef who's been cooking and entertaining for more than 30 years, in addition to experience working for caterers and restaurants. Over the years, she's met parents who resorted to feeding their kids mostly prepackaged meals and fast food because they weren't confident in the kitchen. She's taken college students and newlyweds under her wing to teach them basic kitchen skills after they headed out on their own for the first time. Inspired by helping people learn the skills they need to eat and live better, she pooled all her knowledge and started The Cooking Coach 101, an in-home cooking school.

For each lesson, Beth paraglides to her clients' kitchens to teach them whichever kitchen skills they'd most like to learn. Her repertoire includes knife skills, how to make basic sauces, basic baking, and how to create all sorts of ethnic dishes, from Italian to Moroccan. She'll also take a look at their pantries and kitchens to help them get properly organized, as well as teaching them how to read recipes, create a meal plan, and shop for groceries effectively. For those who'd rather learn in a group, Beth also leads group classes inside Surfas Restaurant and Gourmet Food.

The Sylvester family had bartending in its blood. Whether it was Uncle Mickey holding court with 40 years' worth of regulars or Tony Sr. mixing one of his signature Skip and Go Nakeds, they exemplified the easy grace and no-nonsense craftsmanship found in a true barman's barman. That dedication to well-poured drinks carried over to Tony Jr., who has spent the last 35 years training mixologists nationwide through the curriculum of his ABC Bartending Schools. Taught behind fully functional bars, his courses educate students in topics ranging from drink recipes and equipment setup to flair moves and alcohol awareness. His schools also emphasize employment; after graduation, students can take advantage of a nationwide job placement service to land gigs in Miami nightclubs, Las Vegas casinos, or the bar cars of Chicago's El trains.

South Bay Sailing immerses its patrons in the art of wind-propelled boating in the rolling tides near Redondo Beach. With an able stable of watercraft, its skilled sailing instructors await to impart lessons, competition rentals, and relaxing charters. The company's fleet of J/Boats, Farr Yachts, and Topper Sailboats compete in local and long-distance races when not being used for the noble work of helping nautical hopefuls of all levels achieve captainship through South Bay Sailing's ASA-certified lessons, which were recently voted Best Sailing Lessons in Easy Reader's Best of the Beach. Instructors can also ferry patrons around the verdant South Bay coastline during charter cruises, including special variants such as sunset cruises and champagne sojourns. South Bay Sailing conducts its watery excursions year round, enabling guests to challenge local dolphins to multiple staring-contest rematches.

Learning to paint, draw, or sculpt can be an intimidating venture without the right guidance. Luckily for students at Manhattan Beach Art Department, an experienced staff with backgrounds in fashion drawing, illustration, sculpture, and landscape painting leads fledgling creators of all ages through informative, interactive sessions. Under the instructors’ tutelage, youngsters build artistic confidence through hands-on classes, teens tackle design concepts with textiles, and families attend workshops where they express their mixed feelings about the level of their dinner conversation.

Stu and Jayne Zehngut have skillfully framed and displayed paintings, posters, and artwork at L.A. Art Exchange since 1987. Inside the 4,000-square-foot gallery and showroom, a team of educated artists and designers fits archival and acid-free materials over photos and memorabilia, using UV plexiglas and foam core. In addition to custom framing, the gallery’s services include shadowboxes, display cases, and computerized mat designs made with a Wizard 9000 mat cutter. On request, the machine cuts precise, swirling designs into mats and writes messages in pen on the surface whenever it starts to develop consciousness.