The Fold: Keeping Cool

Submerge, acrylic on canvas, 2009 by Sarah Atlee.

Remember like 3 months ago when I said I was taking a short break?

Yeah, ha, ha haaa ha ha ha. Ha.

Summer 2025 has felt like this:

Not at all polite.

I didn't even realize it until I'd been hit by the Hammer of July so I couldn't turn it into a swan dive. Anyway, we're here now.

Let's talk about falling into holes on purpose.

I believe this work is by Alex Dodge but was unable to verify it.

Wet Palette: Swimming Pool Art

Years ago I created a Pinterest board for swimming pool art. I like to revisit and refresh it this time of year.

​Click here to look at Wet Palette.​

What's the name for when you're cranky because you're too hot? Like hangry plus sweaty? Swangry? We'll workshop it.

Little things I'm doing to stay cool this summer:

• Always have a smoothie in the fridge. Earlier in the season, I got a good deal on bananas, blended a bunch of smoothie-stuff, and froze it in the form of ice cubes. Hashtag smoothie life.
• Fill the ice cube tray every day. (My freezer doesn't have an automatic ice maker and I hate running out.)
• Put ice in my water bottle when I have a job to do. Better yet, spike it with lemonade, orange juice, etc.
• Remove any guardrails around stopping at OnCue for a cold beverage.
• Have a fan in every room.

These might seem small and/or obvious, but they are adding up to me being more comfortable.

Cool Stuff From Around:

Did you know you can dye buttons?

Neither did I! Read all about it on Tanner Frost Bowen's Substack, Garbie.​

​How to fold jeans in under one second. Via Liz Haywood and her excellent newsletter about zero waste sewing.

Image of Ramekon O'Arwisters via Craft Contemporary.

​This five minute interview with artist Ramekon O'Arwisters is packed with inspiration. (Content advisory: mentions racism, homophobia, and police violence.) Remembering how his grandmother taught him to make quilts, he says, "Now, she couldn't change the pattern outside. She couldn't do anything about Jim Crow or homophobia, but she can help me calm myself enough to navigate a hostile environment."

Need something bigger than a swimming pool? Live views of Lake Superior.​

Source: Wikimedia Commons.​

​Gyotaku is the traditional Japanese method of printing fish, a practice which dates back to the mid-1800s. This form of nature printing, where ink is applied to a fish which is then pressed onto paper, was used by fishermen to record their catches, but has also become an art form of its own.

A GIF For Those Who Read This Far

May your ice be cubed, your slushies slushed, and your pools abundant.

xoxo Sarah