Education & Classes in Knoxville

During her history of irrepressible creativity, Rhonda Wilkins has dabbled in fabric painting, woodcrafts, scrapbooking, stenciling, and more. She hoped to turn her passion into a career a decade ago by starting Fabulous Finishes, a decorative painting business, which eventually added a social concept: the painting party. Rhonda’s Create and Celebrate Studio now hosts easygoing classes that extend this variety of creative therapy to students of all ages and skill levels with step-by-step instruction. The focus of each session runs the gamut of art history, from serene Tuscan landscapes to iconic mustache graffiti. Groups of neophyte artists can also organize group and kid’s parties, which include materials, instruction, and time for cake and presents.

Jennifer McRoberts took a cake-decorating class that ignited an already present passion for baking. In 2008, she decided to open her own business, House of Cake, from which she sells a variety of handmade, hand-designed treats, such as birthday and wedding cakes, cookies, cupcakes, cake pops, and cake in a jar, shippable mason jars stuffed to the brim with sweet frosting, fillings, and cake bites. McRoberts also brings her skills to her kitchen at home, where she’s licensed to teach lessons in cake decorating.

At Youthful Expressions Studio, three generations of women inspire others to summon and embrace their inner artists using nothing but a little bit of paint, some wine, and a load of friendly encouragement. To run the studio, photographer and writer Mary Jane Booth enlists the help of her talented daughter, Cindy McDannel, a painter and graphic artist, and her arts-minded 11-year-old granddaughter, Kassidi. Together, the three of them make up Youthful Expressions’ "3 Pack," the name of which pays homage to the all-rodent super-group the Rat Pack. The trio continuously hosts fun and accessible art parties for all ages. The two adults also teach BYOB Paint the Town art classes for grown-ups.

Though Youthful Expressions Studio sometimes features a discounted price online, this Groupon still offers the best deal available.

Founded by six local aerialists, Dragonfly Aerial Arts Studio's nonprofit school and performance group introduce students aged 10 and older to the thrill and fitness benefits of aerial arts with silks and trapeze classes. A thick, cushy safety mat lines the floor as knowledgeable instructors teach basic poses and breathtaking drops in three levels of trapeze courses.

In four separate silks classes, students gain experience in foot locks and inversions to swing gracefully from hanging silks or living-room curtains. Try Me classes open an exploratory window into trapeze or silks, imparting basic maneuvers and safety techniques before tackling the apparatus. Advanced students have the option to join the studio's performance group, Dragonfly Dancers, to dazzle audiences at festivals, art shows, and traffic stops.

The trained chefs at Sushi Academy in Tennessee work to demystify the art of rolling, filling, and presenting sushi during two-hour classes. Using hands-on teaching techniques, they demonstrate how to cook Japanese rice to the proper consistency before bundling it inside a seaweed wrap with fresh fish, crisp veggies, and other natural ingredients. Students also learn to craft the more common inside-out rolls, in which rice covers the outside of seaweed wraps.

When lessons conclude, cylindrical slices don crowns of gari, wasabi, and soy sauce to create a presentable plate of sushi for classmates to chow down on. The academy also peddles a medley of sushi-making gear, such as rolling mats and rice paddles, so that students can continue to hone their craft at home or deal with laundry-day shirt shortages by swaddling their torsos in nori.

At more than 900 learning centers across the world, Sylvan offers kids a leg up through personalized, one-on-one programs prescribed by an in-depth skills assessment. Students build on past lessons to learn progressively, and sessions may hone in on different disciplines, granting kids the confidence to interpret literature and the rhetorical skills needed to negotiate a later bedtime. The positive mindset of personable, invested instructors helps to inspire kids to greater academic feats, as does a prize program that rewards hard work with CDs and gift cards.