There’s something about walking into Orange Easel Art Studio that immediately makes you want to create something.
The walls are covered in art, supplies are everywhere and the whole space feels a little like you’ve stepped into your favorite elementary school teacher’s art room. It’s colorful, creative and inspiring without feeling overly polished or precious. This is a place where kids are meant to make art.
Orange Easel is a locally owned children’s art school in the Kansas City Northland with locations in Liberty and Platte Woods, serving young artists from preschool through high school. The studio’s mission is simple: give creative kids a place to learn new techniques, connect with others and grow as artists.
More Than a Cute Craft
What stood out to me most about Orange Easel is that the goal isn’t simply for a child to come in, complete a cute craft and carry it home.
They’re actually learning how to be artists.
Classes are focused on skills, choices and the creative process. Students learn techniques, practice them, solve problems and make decisions about their own work. Instructors guide kids without taking over their projects, so the artwork that comes home really belongs to the child.
Orange Easel puts just as much value on the process of creating as it does on the finished product. That means learning how to fix a mistake, trying a new material or figuring out how to turn an idea into something tangible is all part of the experience.
I love that philosophy, especially for kids who already gravitate toward drawing, building, painting or making things. Rather than treating their creativity as just a fun little activity, Orange Easel gives them a place to develop it.
There’s a Class for Every Kind of Artist
Orange Easel offers several types of weekly classes, so families can choose something that fits both their child’s age and the way they like to create.
Preschool Art introduces younger artists to real art materials along with art history, stories, movement and plenty of hands-on exploration.
Drawing Classes give kids regular time to practice with an instructor while experimenting with materials such as pencil, charcoal, ink, colored pencils and pastels.
Creative Explorations is especially interesting for kids who don’t necessarily want everyone in the room making the exact same thing. It’s a station-based, child-directed class designed for artists who enjoy experimenting, moving around and creating without a predetermined finished product.
And then there’s Multimedia, which might be my personal favorite. Students focus on a different artistic medium each month, giving them enough time to really explore and learn it instead of briefly trying it once and moving on. During the 2026-27 school year, mediums range from chalk pastels, clay and ink to acrylics, printmaking, fiber arts and even metals. For a kid who wants to try a little bit of everything, that sounds pretty great.
A Bonus for Liberty Families
Orange Easel’s Liberty studio also happens to have a location parents of multiple kids may appreciate.
It’s tucked between Hammerhand Coffee and Busy Bean Play Cafe, which creates a pretty convenient setup. Drop one child off for art class, then take a younger sibling to Busy Bean to get some energy out. Or, depending on your day, grab yourself a coffee while your artist is happily creating.
Sometimes those little logistical wins make an extracurricular activity much easier to work into family life.
Giving Kids Space to Create
Not every child is going to grow up to become a professional artist, but that really isn’t the point.
Art gives kids opportunities to make choices, take creative risks, solve problems and express ideas that are uniquely theirs. Orange Easel has created a space where those things are taken seriously, whether a child is picking up a paintbrush for the first time or is already the kid who fills every available piece of paper with drawings.
Their motto says it well: The World Needs More Artists.
And after stepping inside Orange Easel, it’s easy to see how they’re helping Kansas City grow a few more of them.