Art By The Glazz

We went last night to celebrate my daughter’s 30^th birthday. It was a blast! Lisa was amazing and able to bring out the best in each person to create a «masterpiece» that we could enjoy. There were no strangers by the end of the night and my daughter’s piece was the semi-​finalist!
A good time was had by all!

I truly enjoyed myself. I read the reviews before I went and was extremely apprehensive. HOWEVER, I enjoyed myself. I liked the fact that Lisa allowed us to be creative and everyone did not wind up with the same exact picture. She promotes creativity. If you need step by step directions this wouldn’t be the spot for you. Lisa was friendly and very helpful to those who needed her guidance. I definitely would recommend this place to someone who wants to paint, sip wine, be creative and most of all RELAX!

This venue is shady (should be a 0 button for stars). Went here a couple times to give it the benefit of the doubt and was disappointed both times. The first time I went the artist never showed up and we were told to reschedule. We rescheduled and received a confirmation to show up and it be so crowded we couldn’t even get seats. After the back and forth and being over the process, I went back and forth woth the workers and owners to get a refund which I was given hell about until suggesting we settle in court. This place should definitely be shut down. Unprofessional and terrible customer service. Don’t waste your time, money, or energy…

I got a groupon deal and decided to use it for a fun Sunday afternoon. I was a bit nervous after reading the reviews. Perhaps the owner received the criticism and constructive feedback as learning opportunities and made improvements. My class had a good turn out and it was fun. It was my second time taking a paint class. I liked the first class (with another establishment) due to the specific instructions. However, I ended up enjoying this class more because the instructor encouraged us to be creative with different colors, provided plenty of time, gave us several glasses of wine with pastries, and allowed us to paint with brushes as well as towels.
My only two suggestions for improving the experience would be to provide aprons and more specific instructions on painting techniques. However, I enjoyed the class and it was a positive experience, so I would definitely recommend Lisa and Art By The Glazz for anyone who is looking for a creative outlet and fun learning experience. Thanks Lisa for a fun Sunday afternoon!

Very disappointing experience. Registration system was not functioning. Called and emailed requesting assistance, but was unable to find someone to assist until several attempts. A few hours before the class, I was emailed and told that I could not attend the class as they were not accepting living social vouchers for that class — in spite of accepting at the time of registration. Rather frustrating customer service experience.

I wish I could give Art by the Glazz 0 stars. Lisa doesn’t really spark your creativity in this class. Definitely not worth the price. She’s also rather overbearing and far from professional.
On another note, I can’t believe you don’t receive a refund if they cancel the class due to the weather.

I have taken at least 4 other painting classes from other paint & wine companies so when I saw a social deal for a painting class with Art By the Glazz, I thought «Why not?». Unfortunately, this was the most disappointing painting class I’ve ever taken. You sign up for the class based on the painting you would like to come home with. I chose one called «Imagination» and projected these fun, bright trees on a landscape. The problem was, this class didn’t teach you stroke by stroke how to create the same painting. Lisa, the instructor, was very nice but she was all about «imagination» and painting with paper towels to create the trees that you envisioned. Umm, no thanks. I want to paint the picture that I signed up for by being given directions… not create it myself. I cannot say if all the classes are like this but this one was such a let down. As a non-​artistic person, I need to be guided to paint a picture, which is why this one found itself in the trash as soon as I arrived at home. If you are looking for a structured experience, this is not the place for you. If you are looking to be creative, then it probably is.
On a more positive note, I still had some laughs, friend-​time, and the wine was generous. So the experience was worth it, but not the painting I ended up with.

I have attended a few paint and wine classes before — this one was totally different.
First, the registration process was very complicated. The classes seemed to fill up quickly, which led us to believe there was a cap on the class size. This was not the case — the room was tiny and we were all squished in… and then even MORE people kept showing up. Since reservations were required we were baffled that more chairs and canvases had to be set up as people arrived.
I will say that most of the spots were set up, and the materials were ready to go.
We were asked to paint with paper towels, which was kind of a neat idea — but that information should be advertised up front. The people sitting next to me would not stop complaining about it — and understandably so. Most places guide you in the process, this seemed more appropriate for people who have attended a guided paining class before.
On to the teacher — she was nice, but unclear in instructions (This is why l think this class is not for beginners.) She was accommodating to those who asked for the paint colors that matched the original image, and even paint brushes.
This was my boyfriend’s first time painting in a class like this. He was a trooper and painted with the colors he was provided (did not match the photo) and the paper towels. However, he did not get the experience he was hoping for and we plan on trying this out at another establishment.
If you are into abstract art I’d say give it a try, if not look elsewhere.

My husband and I had a Living Social deal to attend a class on a Friday evening. We got there on time, and Lisa was already there. Lisa is a blast, honestly.
We didn’t start on time because we were missing people due to traffic, which was kind of annoying, but fine.
Lisa is slightly heavy handed with the wine, which is great. She does give everyone different colors to use, which my type A had a tough time with. And later you can request more colors but she is really busy so it takes time to get what you need. But, really, that’s not what matters. You are there to enjoy it and get creative and even though my painting was kind of … not great, my husband’s came out great, and we had fun.
We have nothing to compare it to because we had never been to a class before and we are not artsy in general. But if everyone could just loosen up, I think you could have fun, even if you are painting with paper towels and your sky is not perfectly blue. Everyone just chill out.

I have been to several other art and wine classes and I by far enjoyed this one the best. I’m surprised at other reviews which complain about some of the things I liked. We had Lisa, she made us feel comfortable right away and engaged the class to interact together-​unlike other classes I have attended. She showed different techniques and allowed you to use your creativity instead of just «following the numbers.» She also helped anyone who needed help and while did give different colors to different people, that was part of interacting with others, we were all sharing our colors with everyone else. I thought it was great and made for a really good time. It was the best class I’ve attended, but I guess not everyone likes the same thing.

I thought this was a very fun class. The instructor Lisa was very nice and said we all get different colors to create unique art but we can ask for more different colors to be added to our palette. I chose a class with the art I wanted to hang in the house. Mine came out ok, but I wanted my friends art to be hanging next to mine at home with their own unique painting. They could not finish even ¹⁄₃ of the art, nor it looked anything decent to hang. They complained that they needed more colors to be available from the beginning because they don’t know color theory, so they wouldn’t know what colors to request, and they wish they had more guidance on perspectives and shadows and highlights as well as simple color theory.
The instructor told us to paint the time of the day we want. My friends didn’t know what that meant for the finish of the art, so they painted the background completely black. Then realized they will have to paint everything thinking its night time after since the instructor did not say that’s the effect it will have. I understand what the instructor was trying to do. Just think of this as a fun project. But everyone’s art came out like kindergarteners. When I think everyone there was there with the same goal as mine, to hang an art for memory. So the instructor should explain more so ppl can create decent art. My friends wanted to throw theirs away, so I kept them in a closet. But my suggestion would be for people to ask questions, «what is this for? What’s the background color do for the over all art? How do I do the shadows?, etc» because the instructor will not tell you anything. But for me, it was still fun. I never painted before but 3 hours was decent enough time to figure out what colors to mix for different effects.

I had a wonderful evening with my husband and 9 of our friends for a Synergy Wednesday event. It was his birthday and he didn’t know where we were going. The instructors were friendly and warm. They provided postive reinforcement and instruction throughout the session. We sipped wine (several red and white options) and painted for hours! It was incredibly relaxing and fun at the same time. I highly recommend and I will be back!

I see that there are four reviews that aren’t recommended, because the reviewers haven’t done enough other reviews, and they’re all for one star. This gives the impression that Art by the Glazz is an acceptable place to be, when that is not the case.
I hope Unilocal believes in me more than it believed in my poor, long-​suffering friend Leah, with whom I used a Living Social deal to Art by the Glazz. Our experience was too emotionally distressing for me to review it at first, but I have to do this. For Leah’s unrecommended review, and for you, hopeful consumer who wants to make a nice painting that you might want to hang up somewhere, I will share my feelings.
Leah, our friend Kimberly, and I went to Art by the Glazz and were pleasantly surprised to see it was open when class started, since some reviews have indicated that that isn’t always true. We were greeted by Claudette; we went to our seats, and I realized we didn’t have a good view of the front, so I asked her where she’d be setting up her model easel, something I’ve seen in the other painting classes I’ve taken. She told me that she wouldn’t have a model easel, and that we’d be referring to the pictures she’d printed for us. They were maybe 2.5×3.5 inches, poor quality, and they were in front of each station. We shrugged this off, since every station also had cotton candy in front of it, and we enjoyed it as a post-​brunch snack while we waited for class to start.
We noticed a problem, however — Leah had orange, black, and white paint. We were supposed to be painting a river and a sky. When we asked Claudette for new colors, she told us «everyone gets different colors — they’ll all be unique!» We had to switch her palette out when Claudette wasn’t looking.
Class then began with an exercise — we were given one minute to generate as many words as possible that started with the letter «q.» Claudette then told us that anyone who had more than 8 (I came up with 13 — shout out to the Hunger Games for helping me think of «quarter» when I thought of «quell») was too Type A to engage in this process properly, so we needed to let go, and by the way, we’d be painting with paper towels.
We were then berated for eating the cotton candy in front of our stations, because Claudette had a «party trick» of pouring wine over cotton candy and we’d ruined it. Never fear, though — she had pop rocks ready to infuse our wine with crackling sounds and aspartame. She got paint in Leah’s, so she couldn’t drink it and Claudette wouldn’t replace it, but she wasn’t missing much.
I’ll conclude by saying that I’m not an artist, but Claudette certainly didn’t help; she begrudged us new paint when we ran out, called in people from the street to judge our paintings, and left us to flounder without any support or instruction. My bridge would not pass ANY inspection. When we saw others’ finished products, we realized that the people who had the chance to paint with both red and blue had beautiful purply-​blue sunsets; the girl who ended up with Leah’s original palette of orange, black, and white ended up with something that looked like a nauseated tiger, despite her obvious painting ability.
I really liked the previous painting classes I’ve done — one was at Merlot’s Masterpiece, and it’s actually something I hang on my wall. My Art by the Glazz creation is currently sitting in a garbage bag in my living room, because it feels wasteful to throw it away, but I don’t have any use for a painting of a yellowy sky and crooked bridge. Kimberly decided to hang hers in a closet. Leah is going to pass hers off to her mother. There are so many other places to drink and paint in DC, and when it’s done well, it’s so fun — I suggest you frequent ANY of those other establishments.

Pleasantly surprised by my experience! I was concerned when I hadn’t received a confirmation email after entering my Groupon #‘s into their scheduling system. Plenty of paint, wine and merriment but I wished there were a little more knowledge transfer as although a liberal arts major, I had no idea what to do. I guess all art is best when you don’t know what to do or have a plan. Don’t expect your painting to looks like the «sample» original.

Everything about this company was a hot mess.
Like how I RSVP’d for a sunday in DC. But their confirmation e-​mail said that I had rsvp’d for a day a week later. When I asked what was happening, they clarified that I had rsvp’d for the right day but in Chantilly. They then ignored several emails of mine following up to see what in the world was happening. Ultimately it all worked out, but it was extremely unprofessional to make that many mistakes and to ignore three e-​mails of mine.
Like when they aggressively sent half a dozen reminder e-​mails the few days leading up to our reserved day. And when those half dozen emails said our instructor was Lisa, «the most requested,» but Claudette showed up.
How about the fact that I never received an e-​mail from them with proper spelling or grammar?
What about the fact that no one checked our names or anything when we got there. We literally could’ve walked in off the street. Why did we even pay for that?
You’re going to be told to paint with paper towels. Fortunately, they at least hand out paint brushes so you can ignore this ridiculous instruction. But using the paper towels means you waste a LOT of paint as the paper towel absorbs. This wouldn’t be such a big deal but for the fact that Claudette was extremely stingy about giving more paint. It was as if it were a burden on her.
You will not be given all of the paint colors that you might want. My initial palette, to paint a sunset scene over the river, did not include blue. Blue sky, blue water, no blue paint. What? This was apparently supposed to be a good thing because that way everyone’s painting would be individualized and not all look the same. No, I want to have the full range of all the colors that are available. Why, Art by the Glazz, are you keeping paints from your customers?
Claudette, when refilling my paint supply, dropped paint in my wine glass. I had only taken a sip. She refused to give me a clean glass and I did not want to drink poison, so I did not even get any alcohol out of this experience. But not like it really mattered, they put cotton candy and/​or pop rocks in the wine, which, according to my friends, made the already cheap wine taste even worse.
But probably the worst part was how I felt judged. I’m not an artist, that’s why I went to this class. I went because it was supposed to be fun. Instead, Claudette brought people in off the street to judge us. There literally was a competition as to whose painting was best. She turned what should’ve been a supportive, fun, alcohol-​filled environment into a stressful one (with no alcohol for me).
Also, I want more instruction. Less of this «and now paint the bridge.» No, give more directions. Why is the instructor not painting along with you? Why is this so free form? UGH
Thanks Art by the Glazz, I will never be coming back.

A group of friends and I purchased and scheduled a session with Lisa at Art By The Glazz for Saturday, October 11^th; however, Lisa never showed up for the session, and did not provide notice. We were advised to be on time for the session, so we showed up at the venue well before the scheduled start time of 6pm. Since I arrived at 5:30, a few of us were waiting out in the cold for well over an hour, while simultaneously calling and emailing Lisa to no avail. Lisa still has not called or emailed any of us back, and I will be filing a fraudulent claim against this business in order to receive 100% of my money back, since services were obviously not rendered.
I wouldn’t recommend this company to an enemy, let alone a friend. Patrons, use at your own risk!

First off let me start by saying please do not waste your time or money on this place! My good girlfriend scheduled a birthday celebration that was supposed to take place Saturday evening needless to say that did not happen! We had reservations for 6pm. We arrived a little before 6 and there was no one there. We waited for 30 mins to see if any employee (LISA) of the business would show still no one, we called all numbers associated with the business no answer, sent emails received auto reply’s. This is really upsetting because we all paid in advance. If there was a problem we should have been contacted prior to the event. Bad business all around! Stay clear of ART BY THE GLAZZ!!!

I had a wonderful experience here with Lisa. She made the class fun! It was a different than other painting classes I’ve taken in that we were asked to paint with scrunched up paper towels, not paint brushes (though they were available). We were highly encouraged to do our own color scheme.
A few points of improvement is they could use better lighting, my seat was pretty dark next to the window. I’d like to see the original artwork throughout the class, they had it off to the side. We were given garbage bags instead of aprons, not sure if they were out or what the deal was? The most important thing I hope they’ve fixed by now is that the bathroom did not have a curtain. It had a long window and at night, so if anyone were in the alley/​parking lot they could see you.

No artistic experience needed, just bring a positive attitude and an open mind for creativity!
There is no wrong way to paint at these classes, you will begin the class uneasy and perhaps overwhelmed but you will leave with a finished piece that will leave you inspired and excited to paint again! The teachers here are bubbly go-​getters that incite your imagination and open your eyes to the fact that though you may think you are talentless, but by the end you discover there is some hidden aptitude roaring to come out!
Art by the Glazz is different from other studio painting sessions because it’s not as serious; they are leading you through a painting, not completely instructing you. They guide you through a particular painting by providing a small example print out of what you are doing but the insistence will be to make it your own by providing you a variety of colors that aren’t even in the example and showing you techniques on their own canvas instead of painting by number. Everyone’s canvas will be different and unique by the end of the class unlike other studios where everyone only has small differences based on their level of experience. I personally as an artist that has learned in a structured classroom, find the way they conduct the class to be invigorating, it has helped me to loosen my hold on my usually precise brush and experiment with new ways to do things (and actually finish a painting in one evening!).
During the class you can expect music to be playing, toasts to be made with your small wine glasses, and conversations to be happening all around you. Towards the end, you will feel as if you have made new friends and will be amazed by all the other artistic gifts surrounding you. The wine glasses may be tiny but they are generous in refilling, be thankful the wine glasses are small because it prevents anyone from being too tipsy to drive after the 3 hour session but giddy enough to get loose and feel good while painting.
You can find the studio near Sepia and Sidamo on H-​street.
You will have fun, you will discover something new about yourself, you will walk away with a lovely finished painting, and you may just learn how to open your mind up again and stop being that perfectionist.

So my friends and I ended up getting a groupon deal for the wine and paint class. I am not a painter and have no artistic talent so I was a bit worried about going but figured with wine maybe my art would be better. Well the wine def did not help. The studio is up the stairs in one of the stores on H St.
There is a bus that stops very close by to the shop but if you are going on a weeknight during rush hour, a cab might be quicker. One friend drove there and they found parking so there is street parking available.
There were two instructors helping us out and they did explain painting techniques for each section. They did mention that the groupons only gave one glass of wine but they poured us more than one with no charge :). They did have a couple different whites and reds so that was nice. Thank god they warned us that we might end up trying to drink our water used to clean brushes out by accident so that definitely helped as I was about to drink my dirty paint water a couple times!
It would have been to nice to be able to have a sample of the painting that we were trying to paint as not being able to see the piece made it a little harder to try to paint our own version. The instructors did show us their styles in between which was helpful and as they said everyone creates the same thing differently. At the end of the class, that definitely was true.
Another thing that might have helped out was having a bigger piece of paper to put paint we wanted to use on as the small piece of paper did not allow for too much paint and sometimes caused paint to mix together that I didn’t want mixed.
Overall it was a great experience and I would probably check it out again