Mentor Retreat, Part 1. The Descriptive.

Talent, smart-humor, passion!

These words, albeit descriptive, only begin to emulate the remarkable group of writers and illustrators I had the privilege of spending time with during last weekend's 2013 Mentor's Retreat in South Lake Tahoe. Time was short, information was abundant and memories were made!




Jim Averbek and E.B. Lewis discuss opinions
during a critique session
The mentors talent, styles and opinions varied greatly. But it just added to the depth of our experience. We quickly learned that there is more than one way to approach and solve problems. There was something for everyone!

By day we gathered in organized groups discussing and critiquing everyone’s work.

It started out a little daunting but we soon realized no one or thing was sacred. If you can’t stand exposed in front of this group then what was the point?






David Diaz presenting a PhotoShop tutorial.
We attended impromptu Photoshop sessions, participated in a hands-on reference photo-shoot, watched a painting demo (yes, we watched paint dry!), and even found time to pour through one mentee's favorite picture books as a group, discussing what worked and why. 
E.B. Lewis during a painting demo.
.
Sharing stories during a break.
Writers and illustrators unite!
Toni Galliger, YA Writer  with
me (Kary Lee), illustrator.
In the evenings, we observed heated fireside debates (no pun intended) on the relevance of Twilight, recited personal paranormal-ghost stories, and observed first hand the millennium generations’ rendition of Rocky Horror Picture Show attire (interesting indeed) all while nursing our egos with a nice glass of Red.

New friends, new colleagues, new ideas! My mind is full and my brain is tired. I can't wait to see what the next six months brings.
Illustrator Mentees for 2013 pictured with mentor E.B. Lewis, upper left.

Comments

  1. Love the post, Kary. It was an amazing retreat wasn't it?:)

    Dee

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Indeed! So glad you're home safe and sound! See you in April!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts