Rachel Bennett 
An A-frame easel (also called a Lyre easel) is a triangular three-legged studio easel with two front legs and one adjustable rear leg that holds stretched canvases or panels for painting, drawing, or display. After testing 10 models in real studio conditions, our team found the MEEDEN Large Painting Easel (Solid Beech Wood) is the … Read more
Choosing the best display easels for art shows makes the difference between a booth that looks thrown together and one that pulls visitors in from across the aisle. A display easel is a stand designed to hold finished artwork upright for viewing at galleries, art fairs, exhibitions, and studios, distinct from a studio easel used … Read more
I packed my first French easel into the back of a station wagon in 2009, drove to a rocky overlook in the Hudson Valley, and spent four hours painting while a thunderstorm rolled in. The easel tipped over twice. The drawer slid open on the second drop and rolled a tube of cadmium red into … Read more
An aluminum field easel is a lightweight, portable easel built primarily from aluminum alloy and designed for outdoor (plein air) painting. It folds compactly to fit in a backpack or carry case, mounts to a camera tripod or stands on its own folding legs, and holds panels from 8×10 up to 16×20 inches. We have … Read more
Pyrography, literally “writing with fire,” is the art of decorating wood, leather, gourds, and other materials with controlled burn marks from a heated pen. A wood burning kit bundles the pen, interchangeable tips, a power source, and accessories you need to start burning patterns, lettering, and shading into your projects. Woodburning and pyrography are the … Read more
Pyrography is the art of decorating wood (and leather, gourd, cork and even eggshell) by burning controlled lines and shading with a heated metal tip. A pyrography pen is the handheld tool that supplies that controlled heat, and the one you start with shapes everything about how quickly you improve. I have been wood burning … Read more
Stained glass soldering is a different beast from electronics soldering, and the wrong iron will leave you fighting cold seams, lifting foil, and cracked glass. After spending weeks testing the most talked-about kits on the market, I narrowed the field to eight contenders that actually deliver on copper foil work, from compact 60W starter pencils … Read more
Buying the best pottery wheels for beginners is harder than it should be. Most starter kits look similar on the box, but the difference between a wheel that hums along at 60 decibels and one that stalls every time you push clay is the difference between practicing pottery and fighting it. After three months of … Read more
The best H-frame easels for large canvases are heavy-duty studio easels with a rectangular H-shaped base, an adjustable mast, and a tilt-forward design that supports canvases 72 inches tall or more. If you paint oversized canvases regularly, you already know a flimsy tripod easel will turn every brushstroke into a fight against wobble. We spent … Read more
The best kilns for home ceramics in fall into two clear buckets: microwave kilns for small glass and craft pieces, and compact electric kilns for true ceramic firing. After comparing 8 popular models across wattage, chamber size, controller type, and real-user feedback, our top pick is the Hensom Large Microwave Kiln for its high review … Read more