Young and old alike can learn or brush up on their fine arts, pottery, and mixed media skills at The Artist Outpost, which just moved to a new and improved location in Ocean Beach.
Co-owner Eryn McCarty praised their new digs behind Voltaire Beach House, as a major move up.
“We’re loving our new location and we see it as a massive asset: It is so much bigger, three times our previous space,” said McCarty. “It gives us the opportunity to have some more space for everyone to get creative in.”
The outpost offers weekly afternoon classes, parties, and camps for beginner, intermediate, and advanced students providing instruction on painting, drawing, ceramics, and mixed media. Adult classes, workshops, and events provide instruction on pottery, painting, drawing, mosaics, macrame, resin pouring, and more.
McCarty talked about the origin of the crafts business, noting it grew originally from an OB youth arts program named “Young at Art.” It has since morphed into a program accommodating people of all ages beginning with toddlers.
“My sister-in-law and I loved it so much that we took it over and grew it from there,” McCarty said. “We currently have about 50/50 adult and youth services now. It was a natural evolution to add on adult classes.”
McCarty said she and her team of art instructors started out with one lone pottery wheel. “We didn’t anticipate that pottery classes were going to become about one-third of our adult program,” she said, adding the facility now has eight pottery wheels, two ceramic kilns, and four weekly pottery teachers.
The entrepreneur said she picked the right place to start the business. “OB is such an artsy community already,” she said. “When we were looking for a new location to move to, we decided we wanted to stay here.”
There are lots of novel arts classes being taught at the outpost, like one class offering instruction on the painting techniques of masters like Vincent Van Gogh.
Adult workshops at the facility are typically one-to-three-night events, said McCarty, who added parents can buy their kids packages of art classes for four or eight weeks, or a whole semester, coinciding with seasonal school schedules.
Hours at The Artist Outpost can vary going from as early as 9 a.m. until as late as 10 p.m.
McCarty said teaching art is a great business to be in. “It definitely has its rewards,” she said. “The cherry to all of the business dealings is getting to be with people while they learn to do different creative outlets. Also, no one is sad when they leave an art class after learning a new technique. It’s a great joy. Even if you’ve had a really hard business day, then you teach a class, and there are smiles all over the place.”
Concluded McCarty, “We can accommodate more, and we’re hoping to get more people in our doors.”
The Artist Outpost
Where: 4934 Voltaire St., Suite A
Contact: theartistoutpost.com, 619-228-9852.
