ASUC Berkeley Art Studio

I took the photography class. I should be honest and say I only went to three of the six classes because I was not impressed with it at all. The instructor seemed like they did not want to be there. The whole class was taught via Tumblr, and was 50% show and tell, where the instructor would *not so* politely say you picture sucks. The rest of the class was 40% reblogged info-​graphs or pictures of other professional photos and 10% product recommendations.
For $ 250 I was expecting someone to show me the features of a DLSR, and have a studio area to practice in class and ask questions. No, for this class you don’t really need to bring your camera cause you never use it during class time. I would ask a question, and be answered with «I already said early»… uhm ok.
I felt like the class was not serious at all, overpriced, and at times rude and combative.
Buyer beware, after the first class I knew right away this was not going to be what I expected. You can get a refund if you cancel before the second class, but good luck getting a hold of anyone, I tried calling and emailing during business hours and never got a hold of anyone because of the remodeling they are doing. Only when I emailed saying «nevermind I’ll continue the class» did I get a response.

I took an 8-​week course on beginning digital photography. The instructor was very friendly and a skilled photographer, but was a very poor teacher without any apparent teaching plan.
Minuses:
— Class routinely started 15 – 30 minutes late
— Assignments were not well thought out (final project: take pictures of something you are passionate about)
— Instructor seemed unprepared for class each day, with no lesson plan
— Most classes consisted of viewing student work, but with almost zero constructive criticism (too friendly for that)
— Incredibly slow pace. Spent the entire first two-​hour class introducing ourselves
— Had to sit on decaying, once-​over-​stuffed couches. Ick.
Pluses:
— Really friendly teacher
— Convenient location

Life drawing class pluses:
— Three hours a week of drawing, with occasionally insightful remarks by instructor about drawing practice, handling media, and formal elements like line quality, contrast, and composition
— Slides of figure drawing before or during class
— Drawing can really improve over the course
Life drawing class minuses:
— Desultory critiques
— Course is short, just 5 weeks or so
— Instructor uses the time for her own drawing, and gives very little individual feedback or attention
— No course evaluation form at the end of class — which gives the impression that these classes are just a cash cow for UCB.

I took a beginning pottery class here over the summer, and I really loved. it. The instructors here are great, and you learn a lot in a 6-​week course. If you are a Cal student, you can take classes at a discounted rate, which includes unlimited studio time. I only hope that I’ll have more time in the future to come back here.

The ASUC Art Studio is an incredible community resource, and a fabulous place to spend time. It’s open to the public in addition to Cal students, and in my mind it has «best-​kept secret”/“really-shouldn’t-miss» status when I think about the things I love about Berkeley.
I started taking ceramics classes there last fall and love it there. To gain access to the studio, you have two options: 1) you can pay a flat fee for unlimited studio access, including unlimited access to their glazes and unlimited firing, or 2) you can pay $ 10 more and register for a class, which includes six two-​hour classes and unlimited studio access. They’re both great deals if you throw a fair amount.
The ceramics studio has a great range of classes, from beginning/​intermediate classes where you learn and solidify your basics, to special topic classes that focus on one particular issue (like a type of form, firing, or glazing) for more advanced students. They’re mostly focused on pottery, but there are classes for figure sculpture and handbuilding, etc. as well. The teachers have all been excellent. They’re experienced, thoughtful, and great at pitching their observations and critiques to your experience level. I feel like they can look at what I’m throwing and know immediately how I’m (in)experienced, and their feedback’s always completely on point. One of my favorite things about working in this studio is that many of the teachers also work as studio techs (handling firing and other maintenance in the studio), so when you’re at the studio during «free time» and have questions/​problems, there’s always somebody on hand and happy to help.
There’s also just a great sense of community being here. As a beginner, I was a little intimidated coming in; pottery was something I’d always wanted to try, but I was honestly kind of scared to do it. There are potters in the community who have been coming here for years, and they’re modest, approachable, and friendly. People are always bringing in snacks and leaving them on the shelf for everybody else to share. People are constantly giving each other ideas, or asking each other what they did when they see something they like. A woman whose name I didn’t even know lent me a book because she overheard me say I wanted to try something. I’ve been there when the atmosphere’s focused and quiet, and when it’s chaotic and chatty, but it’s always a welcoming place to be. If I could just find a gym with the same vibe, I’d be set.
If you’ve ever wanted to learn to throw pots, or if you’ve been meaning to get back into it, this is the perfect place to do it.

The Book Binding class has been worthwhile. I was able to learn a number of stitches and methods. The teachers were knowledgeable and generous with their time and resources. As a result of the class. I finished a 300pp hand bound, hand stitched «Wedding Guestbook» order. I have also grown to respect handmade books.

I miss taking classes at ASUC Berkeley Art Studio. Over the years I have taken several drawing and painting classes, a B&W photography class, and the last one was the poetry writing class that led me to attempt writing poems such as this:
Apparently people were offended by my poem, so I had to replace it with the following condensed version:
(blah blah blah…
blah
blah blah blah)
I think it’s necessary for the soul to engage in a creative process to grow and thrive, even if you might not be great at it (case in point here). I love that UC Berkeley offers this option for a wide range of interest for artists and writers in all of us, and with the recent fee hikes and funding cuts in the UC system, I fear for the future of this great creative community.

Saw a photography class that is right for me., saw it started in three days, and signed up.
Get to the class last night, guy tells me «oh, yeah, that class was canceled… didn’t you get the email?» My answer was no.
He asks, «When did you sign up?» I said… I signed up on Monday and showed him my confirmation receipt. He then said, «Oh, yeah, we sent out the notice before this». Somebody needs to do a better job on the website.
So, for now, they get two stars (at least my card hasn’t been charged yet). When I actually sign up for a class that isn’t already canceled, I will then provide an equally honest review of it.

Okay, I may be a bit biased because I’m a pretty regular member of the studio, but this place is wonderful. If you really want to get into ceramics, this place will provide not only the facilities to do so, but also a warm friendly, and encouraging environment for you to express your creativity.
However, if you’re not prepared to invest time into the art, then it may be kind of frustrating. Ceramics, especially throwing, takes a lot of time to get some working proficiency.
Although the classes are expensive, you get access to the studio during all opening hours and it’s still wayyyy cheaper than the Berkeley Potters’ Studio. All glazes and firings are free. You only pay for clay, but even that you can recycle from the recycle buckets.
The facilities include:
wheels (electric and kickwheels)
kilns
extruder
slab roller
lots of plaster molds for general use
lots of different kinds of glazes, oxides, etc for general use.

I took two classes, photography and drawing. Teachers were very laid back and I was not impressed at all with the courses.
The photo guy spent his classes showing his own pictures and commenting about the different people… then next day he tried to do the same with the same pics and we had to tell him we already saw them. I mean, he was not prepared for his class in any way. The drawing guy was better, but still I did not have the impression of learning much, it ended up being just an excuse to spend some hours drawing. The prices are fine but I would expect a bit better for $ 140

I would marry this place if I could legally marry a ceramics studio. Oh yeah – look for the awesome genitalia mobile at the front door.

Such a great deal overall in the Bay Area. You can take classes in pottery, darkroom photography, pinhole photography, etc. Or you can just get a semesterly membership have total access to the labs anytime. You just sign up and show up (with your own materials of course) and pay a very small fee per hour. I took black and white photography a couple of times and used the darkroom on numerous occasions — best prices in the East Bay for darkroom use.

Ok — this studio has it all: courses in photography, ceramics, fashion (as art), and much more. I took the beginning dark room photography class here and had a great time. The exciting part about the studio is that the darkroom is open to the public and the fees are minimal.