![\"artacademy\"](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/artacademy.jpg\" "\\"artacademy\\"")
When Stuart Burton opened the Art Academy of San Diego in downtown\u2019s East Village 10 years ago, he was eager to help a burgeoning group of gallerists and artists revive a fallen-away neighborhood.<\/p>\nPor Christy Scannell<\/p>\n
When Stuart Burton opened the Art Academy of San Diego in downtown\u2019s East Village 10 years ago, he was eager to help a burgeoning group of gallerists and artists revive a fallen-away neighborhood.<\/p>\n
And then the Padres moved in.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe thought we were helping to develop the East Village,\u201d he said, \u201cbut once the ballpark was built it became more and more impossible to do because of parking.\u201d The Academy\u2019s class registration dropped 50 percent as car lots began charging up to $20 on game days. Similarly impacted, most of the Village\u2019s art studios and galleries quietly dispersed. Burton said he saw the disappearing community and knew it was time for him to join them. But where?<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we started looking I knew I wanted to be east of the 5, north of the 94 and south of the 8,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd in a more user-friendly area.\u201d A friend mentioned the empty building just south of The Linkery on 30th Street in North Park. No stranger to the area\u2014Burton owned a gallery and commercial framing business at the corner of Ray Street and North Park Way from 1980-1992\u2014he saw a possibility. \u201cNorth Park is arts friendly,\u201d he said. \u201cPlus parking is not an issue. And the students and I like the space.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a tenuous economy, Burton said he didn\u2019t mind downsizing from his 15,000-square-foot downtown location to 2,500 square feet in North Park. \u201cWe cut our overhead by 75 percent,\u201d he said.
\nDowntown, the Academy drew 250 students, whereas the North Park location has enrolled 115-120 students since its January opening.<\/p>\n
The adults-only classes include drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, stained glass, jewelry and mosaic. Courses are offered in seven- and 14-week segments and begin at $230 plus lab fees. There are no prerequisites\u2014enrollees range from beginners to accomplished artists\u2014and classes top out at 14 students but can enroll as few as five, providing a chance for students to bond with their teachers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have students who have worked with me in painting for years,\u201d Burton said. The school\u2019s typical students are in their 40s and 50s, he said, who majored in art in college but went into other fields for careers and now want to re-explore their artistic side. \u201cThe arts really attract from any profession,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have attorneys, architects\u2014the difference between those who [excel] and those who don\u2019t is passion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jennifer Hirsch, a city planner, said she enjoys the Saturday morning printmaking class because it offers her a creative outlet. \u201cI used to do more art and it\u2019s a way to get back into doing it,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I\u2019m mostly doing it for fun. I\u2019ve been interested in printmaking and this is one of the only places in San Diego that teaches it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jaimie Morse, another printmaking student, said the class interested her because it is unlike her day job in public health. \u201cIt\u2019s fun to come here and do something totally different than what I do in \u2018real life.\u2019 It\u2019s therapeutic and relaxing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Burton spurs that enthusiasm by only hiring instructors who approach him with their ideas for classes. \u201cI always tell them if they are looking for a \u2018job\u2019 they are in the wrong place. It\u2019s about an opportunity. They need to leave their ego at the door,\u201d he said. \u201cThat way I know all our instructors love what they\u2019re doing and love the school and what we\u2019re trying to do here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Academy is self-sustaining through tuition. Burton and his part-time assistant are the only employees\u2014the instructors are all independent contractors. As the city\u2019s only urban art school, the Academy fulfills a need that keeps it financially solvent, Burton said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t have too many art venues in a city like San Diego,\u201d he said, explaining that the region\u2019s favorable weather detracts attention from the arts. \u201cWe look forward to expanding and will look at more spaces. We want to add metal sculpture but we\u2019re going to need more space. And I\u2019d like another place for our life drawing classes.\u201d<\/p>\n
For now, though, Burton said he is pleased with his new location. \u201cI\u2019ve always just wanted to provide a place where artists can get together, and this is a fun place\u2014it really is. You\u2019re going to learn here.\u201d<\/p>\n
New classes start every seven weeks. For more information, visit the Art Academy of San Diego at 3784 30th St., on the Web at www.artacademyofsandiego.com or call (619) 231-3900.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Christy Scannell When Stuart Burton opened the Art Academy of San Diego in downtown\u2019s East Village 10 years ago, he was eager to help a burgeoning group of gallerists and artists revive a fallen-away neighborhood. And then the Padres moved in. \u201cWe thought we were helping to develop the East Village,\u201d he said, \u201cbut […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":242668,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"From Ballpark to North Park, Art School Draws a Crowd","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11549,11551,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-242667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","category-news","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242667"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242667\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/242668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}