Meet Bored Easel

Interested in Bored Easel?

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Bored Easel is the portable, cardboard easel that I created because I wanted to be able to throw a bunch of standing art easels for little kids into my regular sized car with my average strength, so that I could easily bring my art classes to schools, childcare centers, and homes–and it’s now also the name of our art program. (I came up with the easel as we were preparing to leave our brick-and-mortar of 17 years and take our programs mobile.)

I’ve been carrying these easels around with me for four years now, and they’ve become indispensable to what I do with kids. Working outdoors and often not near a sink also forced me to create an efficient, water-lite set up and clean up, which is better for the environment, but also (for me) a lot more enjoyable. At PLAY, we used to spend so much time washing paint dishes & cups. Now I do most of it with the kids’ help, and almost no water, in 5-10 minutes.

I think others could use Bored Easel too! Here’s why:

  • Bored Easel only needs to be assembled once, and it folds flat. Because it weighs about 2.5 lbs., you might be able to carry it with one finger. During use, it’s weighted at the bottom with an external object. (I use a gallon water bottle.)
  • Bored Easel is made out of one material: cardboard. When you’re done with it, it can go in the recycling bin. It’s made to degrade, but it can live longer than you might think. The more you use it, the stronger it gets. Let paint and glue dry on it. (Be nice to it. Don’t leave it in the rain.) I’ve been using many of mine heavily for four years.
  • Bored Easel is more affordable than that industrial strength, early childhood easel you’ve been looking at (which is so great in a devoted art room, but heavy by design, and eventually goes in the landfill).
  • Why an easel? Beyond the developmental benefits of painting or drawing on a vertical surface, like the fostering of fine and gross motor skills, hand-eye coordination, proper wrist extension, shoulder stability, the brain connections strengthened by movements that cross the midline, and proper posture—easel painting just feels like an occasion: Your own space for your artistic work, where you can reach all of your materials and see what you’re making. (Even better: Maybe you’ve learned how to set it up and clean it up by yourself.)
  • Who is Bored Easel for?
    • It’s for young children and anyone who works with them—especially early childhood educators working hard to do multiple types of activities in one space, or who might not otherwise be able to afford or store enough easels for their whole group to use at once.
    • It’s also for parents like me, who’ve hauled a heavy easel around at home, or made room for one in an apartment.
    • It’s for celebrations and school events. It’s also for some big kids and adults, and anyone who wants to unplug. (A tabletop version works better for some artists, and that’s next.) Bored Easel thrives outdoors, so it’s for people who like to make art outside.

If you’ve read all the way to here, thank you! And please do join our mailing list for updates on when you can purchase a Bored Easel for home or school.