Today I was reading how one artists was planning to keep herself cool at her next art show. I think this could be a very timely topic as we are in the midst of a large heat wave. What do you to keep keep cool? What tricks work for you? Have you ever had a heat stroke at a show? Did you have to leave the show and go to the hospital? I think this is a great time to share a few of your secrets to help artists who may be starting out and haven't given much thought to this topic. Please post some of your cooling tricks.
Jacki B
Comments
Forgive my ignorance ... could you guys 'drag the dark sheet idea by me again?'
This seems counter-intuitive to me. Black absorbs more heat and White reflects it--am I wrong? How is it that a dark sheet provides a barrier that is cooler?
Again, sorry for sounding dumb. I have been puzzling of these 'sheet' comments for several days.
Thanks in advance,
Lois
Am going to try the dark sheet suggestion. I did try a product at a recent show called Frog Togs. I've seen them several places, including Wal Mart, for about $12.00. I dip the cloth into ice water and wrap it around my neck. Refreshing!
Okay, if you want to step up to another level of cooling ... ADD WATER. Do not buy a "mist" machine because you will ruin product. You can add a portable Evaporative Cooler if your show has electricity.
We have the following:
Evaporative Cooler, Portable, CFM 800, Cooling Capacity 400 Sq.-Ft., Direct Drive, 3 Speed, Voltage 115, Operating Weight 35 Lbs, Power Cord Length 5.75 Ft.
If you know about "Swamp Coolers" it is the same concept. There is a built in water tank and the small motor keep a cooling pad (filter) wet. As the air passes over the fan ... poof ... the air is cooled. Now, this is NOT air conditioning, but it lowers the ambient temperature and can be the difference between torture and relative comfort on a very hot day.
NOTE: I have NO interest in the company that produces the product I recommend above. Also, I have NO interest in the store I am about to suggest. I am just a consumer and have found both the product and this particular store to be OUTSTANDING.
If you have not tried them ... look at ZOROTools.com instead of Amazon. The same product on Amazon is quite a bit more expensive and even if you have a PRIME membership with free shipping you still cannot beat ZOROTools. Oh, by the way ... ZOROTools has free UPS ground shipping in July. If you sign up for their newsletter before you purchase ... you will get a $5.00 certificate. I think that creating an account with ZORO also gets you some sort of a first time buyer discount. ZORO has the best price I have found anywhere, their service is fantastic, and they have lots of other things Art Show people can use (tarps, tie downs, etc, etc, and so forth).
I hope this helps,
Lois
I got mine at Amazon.com. Get the more expensive one - I had two of the cheaper ones and they didn't last long. I can run them on low for a full show on one set of batteries.
Purchase a portable auto battery charger and plug an electric fan into that. Runs about 3 -4 hours on a full charge.
@Jacquelyn - Have you ever tried a white sheet vs the dark one? I wonder if that works just as well?? I have been told that colored canopies, etc, cast a color onto your product/art and want to avoid that, too. Some veteran folks in a tent next to me in Rappahannock, VA had a white tarp bungeed in up there and they say it works great for them - we were both in the shade that day, so I couldn't tell if this really works.
I was in an asphalt parking lot with 101* temps last Friday when the super derecho came thru - I'll blog at length about that soon. The wet towel on the neck trick helped some, but nothing could withstand that wind blast! Devastation all around me - Canopies upside down sliding at me at 70 mph, etc!!
I keep a wet hand towel in a ziploc bag on ice in my cooler. I use it to wipe my arms, drape around my neck, cool my face and have draped it over my legs. I also have a battery powered camping fan and use that after the towel- really helps cools the skin.
I don't know how this thread popped up after a year with no new posts added to it, but I suppose given the temps in the midwest this past weekend it is timely again. The 100+ temps can be dangerous to artist and patrons alike.
If you don't have shade, make some yourself. At the cheapest end of it, get some 8 foot 1x2s and zip tie a couple into the tent frame about 2 or 3 feet on the inside and tie a couple together to get a ten footer at the end and hang your back tent flap over it. Use a bunch of clamps to snug the whole thing thing down and secure it. Voila! Instant shade :-) BTW, place the 1x2 stock on edge or they'll be more prone to break.
I use painter poles, a bit expensive but also versatile, to make an adjustable rear canopy anywhere from 4 or 5 feet deep to as much as 8 feet deep depending on how much room I have. I use corner angles from Tents4All to tie everything together. Ball bungees are good to anchor the ends of the painter poles to the tent frame, as the poles have a holes through the end. Two more poles are used to make legs for the framework in the back to support the whole thing on the ground. Two 5' pieces of mating 3/4 inch EMT tubing make the ten foot back piece that inserts into the corner connector. My older side tarps (they're so old I bought them from Elaine Martin) have an extra foot added on to them at the bottom. The back tarp is pulled over the top of the framework and clamped in place. An axtra pole is bungeed to the back of the frame and pulled up higher to the top of the tent framework to raise the tarp higher in the middle for drainage in case of rain.
I've found that that IR radiation (heat) goes through the EZ-up style tarps pretty easy and sometimes a second tarp layered on top is really helpful to knock down the heat. This and several 12V RV fans help considerably to keep the booth cooled down. If AC power is available, I've occasionally zip tied a floor fan up in the rafters of my booth for a ceiling fan. Otherwise, it's a couple of 12V fans in the back for myself and my wife, and two or three fans in front for the customer. One fan ALWAYS goes above the flip bin ;-) The more comfortable it is in there, the longer they are going to linger.
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