I saw my blast and thought I'd comment on it. I've been making easels and tables for my studio.
I have tables but they are big and awkward to walk around when I have several students. So, I thought to make a personal folding table that was easy to put up or down for need. I began with a wooden tv tray as inspiration and then began to think about the things the students comment on. I'm doing little tweaks yet, but that's about resolved.
I have easels but they are small wooden tripods that slide around on the table, are awkward to take down and put up, are hard to store and don't hold a larger size canvas well. To be sure, I have a couple of nice stand alone easels, but my students work from tables. I wanted something to securely hold a 36 to 40 inch canvas at a choice of angles and I wanted it to set up, break down quickly, and store easily. After one sort-of success, I made a small change and liked what I came up with.
One of my private students, who takes painting and drawing, commented that it was too bad we couldn't make the table elevate at the back. I looked long at the design but that was impractical. I also teach some students with arthritis who cannot paint in an upright position long without pain. They end up having to hold the canvas while they paint on it.
Well, last Friday I was making a couple of easels. On one, I made a couple of mistakes that I had to compensate for. While drilling, the wing nuts on the uprights vibrated loose and the whole top of the structure fell forward. I decided to step back and take a deep breath. I was getting really frustrated with myself. Suddenly I saw my easel anew. I had already created an elevated stand for my drawing boards and an arthritic easel as well. I was stoked! I giggled and played with it on and off all night.
If I hadn't made a mistake, I probably still wouldn't know what I created.
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