ARTime BARRO Celebrates the Art of Teaching
Gabriela Moreno began painting when she was just six-years-old. By 17 she had mastered many different art techniques and had cultivated a passion to teach, which she fulfilled by opening the popular ARTime Studio in Mission Viejo in 2002. Having passed her love of art on to her daughter, Nicole, today the two are both well-respected artists in the SoCal art scene.
In early 2020, the pair decided to jump into the art ring together, and took over the lease of a former consignment store on 450 Ocean Ave where they now run and operate ARTime Studio’s sister location, the ceramic and pottery studio, ARTime BARRO, in the heart of downtown Laguna Beach.
“Barro,” which means mud or clay in Spanish, is the culmination of a number of events perfectly combined into one. The opening of BARRO was something Gabriela and Nicole had envisioned for more than a decade as Laguna had always been a place of inspiration and mystic magic for the duo.
“Being a kid, walking around downtown with its many art galleries and artistic shops, I was very much pulled into the storybook vibe,” recalls Nicole of her first visit to Laguna.
The mother-daughter duo have made it their mission to keep the artistic spirit of Laguna Beach alive and well — and that begins with good teaching. “My mother opened her first ARTime Studio when I was 7,” remembers Nicole. “I would serve as her helper and mimic teaching to her students.”
Indeed, teaching and a love of art are ingrained into every fiber of ARTime BARRO, each class taught with the high standards of excellence that Gabriela and Nicole have breathed into their art.
With a third location set to open to all experience levels in Costa Mesa’s The Camp on April 1st, ARTime Barro is the type of place you can walk in and immediately feel at home — everything is comforting, from their familial personalities to the passionate way they speak about their beloved studio.
“Art is about capturing personal experiences, manifesting dreams and desires, and about submerging yourself within your community... but more importantly it is about feeling connected to a greater self,” explains Gabriela who has big ideas for the future of their trio of studios. “We want to bring our method of teaching to other cities around the world. We want to create a type of art exchange program.”
This May, Laguna will be the first city to experience ARTime BARRO’s new venture with the arrival of Tortus Copenhagen. The world-renowned ceramic artist, Tortus, chose the studio as his only North American stop during his tour.
For professionals and amateurs alike, this honor is huge. And for the city of Laguna Beach, it once again demonstrates the power, authority, and pull its art community has for artists from all around the world — a creative love affair Gabriela and Nicole intend to keep alive.
Mireya Prado is a Laguna Beach resident and the founder of marketing firm, Spot Violet.