Unleash Your Creativity with These Art Classes and Workshops at Liberty Station
A decommissioned naval training center is, structurally speaking, a campus built for instruction. Liberty Station, the former Naval Training Center San Diego, once taught recruits how to do things with their hands, and a century later the rooms still do that job, just with military equipment swapped out for paintbrushes and ceramic glaze. You can spend an afternoon here learning to throw a pot, pour a candle, play barre chords, or improvise a scene, all within a few blocks of each other in Point Loma.
This guide covers the working studios at Liberty Station that run classes and workshops. Read on to learn what each place teaches and find one that interests you.
Liberty Station's classes split into two categories: drop-in creative experiences and ongoing skills instruction. The drop-in side covers paint nights, pottery painting, and candle making. With these sorts of courses you get instruction in the room and leave with a finished object. Then the ongoing side is more about music lessons, drawing classes, and craft courses that run in multi-week sessions. Many of the longer ongoing courses are aimed at a younger audience, but a fair amount are available to adults too.
The majority of these studios sit conveniently in the Arts District at Liberty Station, a cluster of converted barracks buildings that house galleries, working artist studios, and the Arts District office itself.
The Hot Spot: Pottery Painting and Candle Making Grab yourself a mug, bowl, or what have you, sit down, and paint it. Simple as that. The same grab-and-go approach applies to the candle bar too. Choose a scent, pour some wax, let it set, then go home and inhale. The experience is self-guided, which means it is up to you and your inner-creative to create something uniquely beautiful.
Pinot's Palette is a paint-and-wine studio, located here in the Arts District at Liberty Station. The format is a little different and a little more structured compared to The Hot Spot. Instead of coming in as you please, Pinot’s Palette has a system of instructor-led classes. The instructor leads the whole room through one painting, step by step, while you imbibe your drink of choice from their bar. No matter whether you’re a total beginner (don’t worry, the instructor is there to guide you along) or a more experienced painter, it’s guaranteed to be a fun evening.
Monart Drawing for Kids runs drawing classes broken into age bands: 4 to 6, 6 to 8, and 9 to 12, plus a separate track for teens and adults. It’s never too late to learn, after all. Monart was born out of a curriculum developed with Pepperdine University funding in the late 1970s, built around teaching children drawing fundamentals.
Monart also runs seasonal art camps with different themes each week. Some camps themes have been ocean life, neon and black light art, and anime and game art. So no matter what your child’s recent obsession is, Monart will have a camp suited for them.
School of Rock provides music lessons to kids and teens at every level, from beginner to advanced. Students learn the standard fundamentals (time signatures, scales, chords, picking technique) but the program builds towards performance, with the goal for students to eventually get on a stage and play in a group or band.
Wagner's School of Music teaches piano to kids and teens, with a variety of lessons covering everything from classical to modern pop. With a focus on traditional teaching and popular music, Wagner’s School of Music is perfect for those looking to learn how to tickle the ivories. Wagner’s School of Music has a long legacy, and has been teaching piano in San Diego for over fifty years.
San Diego Craft Collective is a nonprofit studio that teaches woodworking, sewing, ceramics, macrame, weaving, fused glass, mosaics, and papercraft. If you can make it with your hands, chances are San Diego Craft Collective can help you. Classes start with early-childhood classes at age 3, then move into school-age courses around 6, and finally through teen and all-age adult classes.
Which class at Liberty Station works best for a first-time visitor? It depends on the goal. The Hot Spot suits a quick, walk-in pottery or candle session. Pinot's Palette suits a structured date night or group outing.
Are there drop-in classes at Liberty Station, or do you need a reservation? The Hot Spot operates as a walk-in studio with no reservation required, though booking ahead is smart for groups. Pinot's Palette, Monart, School of Rock, Wagner's School of Music, and San Diego Craft Collective run on scheduled class times that typically require signing up in advance.
Are there classes for kids at Liberty Station? Yes. Monart Drawing for Kids, School of Rock, Wagner's School of Music, and San Diego Craft Collective all run structured programs for children.
Does Liberty Station have art classes for adults? Yes. Pinot's Palette and The Hot Spot welcome adults with no art experience needed. San Diego Craft Collective also runs adult-specific workshops alongside its youth programming.
Where are most of the class and workshop studios located within Liberty Station? Most sit within the Arts District at Liberty Station.
Do any of these studios offer summer camps? Yes. Monart Drawing for Kids and San Diego Craft Collective both run themed summer camps for kids and teens, typically scheduled in weekly blocks through June and July. Check locations events calendar to verify dates and availability.
Liberty Station's class and workshop studios sit close enough together that you can pair a pottery-painting session with lunch at Liberty Public Market or a walk through the Arts District galleries without having to get back in your car. Check the Class Calendar for current session times before you go, browse the full directory for everything else on site, or pull up the map and districts page to get oriented before you park.