Summary of ART DAY

​March 16th was a special day for me. As co-Assistant Regional Advisor of SCBWI SoCal chapter, I had the privilege of leading a committee of SCBWI member volunteers (an amazing group of professional and talented authors and illustrators) in putting on our chapter’s first ART DAY EVENT for picture book writers, author Illustrators, illustrators, and graphic novelists. We held the event at LAGUNA COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN campus in Laguna Beach, CA and it turned out to be a very successful event. So much so, they want to do it again next year.

​We had award-winning author-illustrator and designer, SUSIE GHAHREMANI as our keynote speaker. She is an active SCBWI San Diego Chapter member and she spoke on what an illustrator career looks like. She shared her artist process and gave a live demonstration, with an activity that attendees could participate in. She is an excellent speaker, an amazing talent, and a super nice person. You can read all about her at www.girlboyparty.com. In addition to illustrating, she is a designer with her own product line that sells in stores like Nordstrom and Urban Outfitters.  It was a pleasure to work with her.

In addition to listening to Susie, we also had 3 breakout workshop’s that attendees could choose from. They included professional guest speakers: Author-Illustrator SUSI SCHAEFER who gave a class on picture book dummies, graphic novelist KIM DWINELL who talked about creating graphic novels, and award-winning story artist, illustrator. animator, and Professor CHUCK GRIEB, who spoke on how to transition traditional art to digital for submission. All three of them are published children’s book authors and illustrators. They were super easy to work with and are all three amazing teachers, and talented artists.

In the afternoon we offered boxed lunches from a local Jersey’s Mikes. Artist /Author Art activities came next. We drew prompts out of a box and gave attendees 30 minutes to write or draw using the prompt as inspiration. At the end of the 30 minutes, they could swap it with a partner – the artist would then draw a picture based on what the author wrote or vice versa. Or if they wanted to challenge themselves, they could draw if they were a writer and or write if they were an artist. The point was to get them to not be afraid to try something new and get their creative juices going. The majority of the attendees thought it was really fun. Those that didn’t want to participate were free to utilize the tables at the back of the room with donated art supplies and whatever they felt inspired to do.

At the end of day, we announced winners of our SPRING RENEWAL prompt contest, and offered raffles with donated prizes. Overall, it was a great day, and I loved the opportunity to serve utilizing my leadership skills. SBCWI is truly a great organization, not just for learning craft, understanding the biz of children’s books making, and connecting with a likeminded community but for opportunities for personal growth through volunteering and service, which I am thankful for. Then again, like the saying says: You get out what you put in! ​