Education & Classes in Thousand Oaks

Once a costumer for productions including Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Tami Macala switched careers midstream when she discovered the art of creating mosaics, according to a Noozhawk profile. She started mosaicking everything from fireplaces to fountains to other, lesser mosaics, eventually landing high-profile projects at the Florida Ritz-Carlton Hotel and Arby’s restaurants.

After more than a decade of working as a professional mosaic artist, Tami opened the Santa Barbara School of Mosaic Art (SBSMA). At the school, Tami and guest artists from near and far teach how to trick out tables with colorful shingles, coax gently luminous Mexican smalti into intricate patterns, or fuse glass for even more complex designs. Students can pick up tools and tiles at the SBSMA supply store and drop by during lab hours to work on independent projects.

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.

The philosophy at Blank Canvas is that anyone can be an artist with the right materials and a little encouragement. To prove this philosophy, the studio hosts weekly sessions where artists of all experience levels come together to create their own works of art based on an existing painting. Likewise, Blank Canvas encourages kids as young as pre-kindergarten and up to high-school age to follow their artistic impulses by attending classes and camps instead of drawing on the walls or painting the kitchen the wrong shade of mauve.

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.

The Camarillo Academy of Performing Arts’ instructors bring an impressive list of awards and professional credits to their roles at the facility, where more than 10,000 square feet of sprung floor welcome toes of all ages. Within the six studios, all equipped with floor-to-ceiling mirrors and surround-sound music systems, aspiring dancers join group lessons, intensives, and recreational adult classes. Traditional dance curricula range from ballet to hip-hop; aerial classes teach students to spin in the air on suspended silks. There's a program available for every age, style choice, number of extra legs, and desired level of studiousness, whether pupils are looking for an after-school activity or hoping to land a spot in the resident dance company.