Summer is a season of play.
We get an abundance of daylight, of heat, of earth, of flowers, and of fun. Children are out of school and have ample time to let their imaginations roam free.
The sun lingers in the sky, tree branches are filled with green leaves that bloomed through spring. The fruit and vegetables (more fun on this down below) that were planted in spring are now ready, plumped with sweet juice that will drip down our chins with every bite.
In Let There Be Art, Rachel Marie Kang talks about the importance of play—the truth that play is for exploring curiosities, indulging in fun, and engaging in the world that surrounds.
The thing about play is that we’ve come to believe that we cannot grow up and possess our childlike wonder. We’ve come to believe that we only live for obligations and therefore shouldn’t waste time in entertaining our imaginations.
—Rachel Marie Kang
And, while we are invited to play outside of summer, this season, especially, welcomes us to confront the world with an abundance of wonder and imagination.
How and where will you play this summer? What will you read, create, forage, cook? Where will you go? Who will you enjoy?
Jazmine Lampley
Editor
Let’s hang out. . .online ⬩
Hello, hi ⬩
Rachel Marie Kang (@rachelmariekang), here : )
Just popping in here to let you know about some incredible online happenings that I will be leading up soon. Care to join?
Monthly Creative Office Hours with The Fallow House (Free; starts June 30th)
July Book Club: Let There Be Art by Rachel Marie Kang (Free)
Creative Coaching Summit with Rachel Marie Kang (Various; July)
We’ll be sharing more about each of these opportunities in an email to follow. Follow the link below to let us know if you’re interested. . . or even just curious.
She Dances With Flowers · Lynda Mills
We’re thrilled to share about the stunning, magnetic art of Lynda Mills (@lyndamills). We were captivated when we stumbled across Lynda’s photograph, “She Dances With Flowers,” in our summer submissions. And, well, we couldn’t resist sharing her beautiful art and work.
With a love of flower photography and dance, Lynda Mills brings a unique perspective to the world of photography. Believing the two arts are closely related, she incorporates dance into her flower photography using movement to convey the grace and delicacy of the blooms. The moody quality of her edits are a reflection of her own introspective nature. She invites the viewer to slow down, take a deep breath and contemplate the joy and beauty of flowers.
Reads to ruminate on.
Writers on our blog share their thoughts on abundance. Share your thoughts in a comment on the posts that resonate and speak to you.
Out-of-Body Experience by Jessica Solomon
A poem on the body and purity culture.Our Most Precious Resource by Ellie Hunja
A special feature on the book: Blessings, New Mom by Ellie Hunja.
Path of Beauty by Kara Angus
A poem on paying attention to the lovely and sparkling world.
What the Fire Couldn’t Take by Sarah Steele
A poem on how love outburns loss.
Keila Strong creates art with nostalgia.
Summer is jump rope and Double Dutch; summer is playing hide-and-seek until the fireflies come out. Summer is running in the house to find whatever loose change we can to get ice cream from the Bomb Pop man.
And, with all that movement, you can hear the click-clack of hair ballies, barrettes, and beads. This is the power and beauty of Keila Strong’s (@customsbykeila)hair accessory mosaics.
In Briana Boateng’s article titled, “Keila Strong is giving new life to a Black hair-care staple with her artwork,” Keila explains the reasoning behind the art she creates with hair accessories:
I don't know if you've ever heard of this artist, but his name is Harold Caudio. He makes these amazing portraits out of Skittles. I introduced my class to him and to substitute the Skittles, we used beads and the projects came out really good. I realized before the assignment, I had never done beadwork or experimented with beads or anything like that. So after that class, I went home and tried it myself. It started with beads, then grew into barrettes and other hair accessories. That was the start of it for me.
—Keila Strong
Of Keila’s work, Briana writes that, “Through her work, the visionary tells stories inspired by Black culture to empower, celebrate, and shine light on the community.”
Indeed, we see light and legacy in Keila’s work.
What do you see?
Beat the heat with Fruit & Veggie Freeze Pops.
The best part about summer is taking a break from the sun’s beams and warm breeze with cool treats—and we’ve got the best recipe.
Colleen Forton (@collenshealthylife), keeps cool and has fun in the summer by making flavorful and healthy freeze pops with fresh fruits and vegetables. Simply wanting her children to enjoy the taste of summer with natural foods, she came up with the idea of creating her own frozen treats.
I never want my kids to feel deprived, so I was determined to create my own [freeze pops]. With only real food ingredients, I feel confident knowing my kids are getting the nourishment they need to thrive, while having fun doing so! We've since created a version in every color of the rainbow and have a had a blast making them together!
—Colleen Forton
In this reel, Colleen walks us through how to make the freeze pops. In the caption, she gives a few recipes for different flavor combinations. You can also freeze these as popsicles (with popsicle sticks) instead of as freeze pops — the choice is yours⬩