Things to Do in Lomita

Surrounded by walls tacked with sunny works of art, rows of easels prop up paintings in progress, their evolving canvases commanding the attention of aspiring artists. This scene plays out every day at Paint Lab, a creative haven where talented instructors ignite pupils' imaginations with positive encouragement. The studio's classes teach the technical elements of acrylic, watercolor, or oil painting while students craft their own rendition of a classic work, capture the human form in figure-drawing sessions, or turn their pen toward anime and cartoons. Adults pique their artistic sensibilities with liquid inspiration during classes that provide refreshments and cheese, and younger Picassos can pay homage to their favorite lunchbox by painting it in battle dress during after-school or weekend children's workshops.

"The thing I like most about pottery is that it's a learned skill," says Clay Wood, the owner of the pottery studio that bears his name. "It's something you can just sit down, and practice, and just learn it. You don't have to be innately artsy or creative, it's just something that's learnable and fun for everyone."

It's true that Clay has had a bit of a head start in the art form: he began developing his classically harmonious ceramic forms starting at age 12. But he also knows what it's like to be just another weekend hobbyist. Before starting the shop, he had established a career managing high-rise condos while dreamily spinning his desk chair like a pottery wheel. Now that he's dug his hands back into the clay, he and his fellow instructors design adult and children's classes to meet the needs of aspiring ceramicists and more casual crafters alike.

All the throwing, glazing, and hand-building goes down in a colorful creativity zone bursting with incandescent designs. The studio is equipped with eight electric pottery wheels, two large hand-building tables, an entrancing in-wall kiln, and a wellspring of stunning glazes for both handmade projects and prepared forms awaiting only a painter's brush.

With top-of-the-line air purifying equipment and special floors, Hot 8 Yoga debunks the myth that hot-yoga studios are stuffy and smelly. Its filtration system scours air with UV rays before pumping oxygen into the classroom, keeping the studio fresh and germ-free, and students breathing easily. Beneath yogis' feet, ploy-extruded matting keeps the air smelling sweet by wicking away moisture and odors atop shock-absorbent PVC floors.

These measures enhance pupils’ practice during more than 100 weekly hot-yoga classes. With the heat cranked at varying degrees to boost flexibility, metabolism, and detoxification, sessions range from classic hot yoga to yoga sculpt, which incorporates free weights. Yoga barre, on the other hand, combines ballet, yoga, body sculpting, and cardio for a comprehensive workout that makes you sweatier than wearing a vinyl spacesuit in a sauna.