1. For some children, art is their THING. Not dance. Not soccer. Not girl scouts. They are makers and creators at heart. Orange Easel gives these makers a PLACE and a community. Here they will find like-minded peers!

2. For some children, art is an outlet. It's is freedom from failure and rules. They don't care what the finish product is and they need a place that doesn't judge them based on the outcome. Art is PLAY at its purest and safest form.

3. In elementary school art classes, PLAY and EXPERIMENTING is often frowned upon because time is limited and the ultimate goal of the course is to have each child demonstrate mastery of an art skill. Orange Easel as no such underlying structure. We are looking for our artists to demonstrate curiosity and a desire to create. Our ultimate goal is to create artists, not art.

4. For some children, ART is something they want to get better at. Maybe they were gifted amazing drawing or painting talents. Just like in sports, a great coach or instructor can help facilitate growth and shorten the learning curve.

5. Some children are timid and unsure of their own ideas. Art outside of the school environment provides a safe place to gain confidence...because there are no wrong answers. Only the next right one.

6. Art is BIG. Outside of school, we can explore just how BIG it is. Did you know that you can be an artist even if you aren't a strong painter or illustrator? Many adults falsely believe that if you can't draw, you "don't have an artistic bone in your body." Controlling a pencil--while useful--is not necessary for fiber arts, or pottery, or mixed media applications. At Orange Easel, our entire year is designed to give artists a sense of just how BIG the art world is. This way, they can begin to see that there IS a place for them.