I usually have a pretty good memory, but I only vaguely remember my high school graduation ceremony in Leadville. I was salutatorian, and this meant I didn’t have to give a speech like the valedictorian. I think if I had been given the task to prepare a speech, I would have remembered the ceremony more clearly. As it is with my current memories, I have a few pictures of the ceremony, and I remember the robes and hats. Aside from that, I remember few other details about graduation itself.

I remember much more clearly the barbecue that we had at my house after graduation. My ski coach came over and gave me a card. My art teacher had made a handmade watercolor card. Amongst so many unforgettable gifts and gestures that I still remember to this day, there was another unforgettable gift, the ultimate utility gift. The present my dad got for me for high school graduation was a Jullian Easel. He had driven all the way to Boulder, bought the easel at Meinengar’s on the hill I believe, and brought it back up the mountain.

The Jullian easel gifted to me wasn’t a studio easel, it was meant for plein air. Which is something of a quantum leap of a gift, because as a 17-year old, I hadn’t really done anything like plein air before. I’d done art class indoors in our high school - hours of drawing still life pieces under bright lamps, blind contour drawings, oil paintings. I hadn’t really ever ventured forth into the world and made paintings in it.

20 years later I was painting in Gregory Canyon near Boulder and I was unfolding my easel like usual. I turned 38 this past summer and I realized I’d been hauling the same easel across the country for 20 years.

So, I can recommend this Jullian Easel. It’s reached heirloom status for me and my family. It’s covered in layers of paint and has been on countless adventures. Nothing has ever gone wrong with it, it doesn’t even seem to be chipped or splintering, despite it being rained on, being in dry climates, and often shifting between the two.

So, I can definitely recommend this easel! I look forward to many more adventures with it.