Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be on a retreat? I’ve only ever gone as a tutor, but for me these are always very special experiences, truly life-changing. Last week I spent 6 days with children’s books students at Moniack Mhor in the Scottish highlands. It’s the first time I’ve been to this superb writer’s centre, and I was deeply fortunate to have the extraordinary Sarah McIntyre as my tutoring colleague. What an intelligent, committed and generous tutor she is, and with such an infectious laugh.
She has written, beautifully, at length about her experiences, and you can read her post here:
Picture Books Week at Moniack Mhor
I can only second her thoughts by thanking the truly wonderful staff at Moniack Mhor for an exceptional welcome, and each and every student for bringing something unique and important to the week.
The centre itself is perched high on a hill top, just three miles from Loch Ness. Surrounded by mountains and forests, and banks of wild heather, we were blessed with lovely weather, and we all revelled in the beauty around us.
Deep inside the centre, we were busy creating: From the off, Sarah had students creating mini books – her belief is that not finishing books is what prevents most people from getting further in their practise. So mini books are a great way to see an idea through. These could always be expanded if really good! (several of the following photos were taken by Sarah or other guests; my thanks to them for passing them on). We had story scrolls, painting to music workshops, a collage masterclass, Sarah’s brilliant “comic Jam”, many more mini books, story-boarding, “portrait challenge” based on old masters… and that was just the mornings!
Here is Sarah’s cherished box of exquisite mini books!
Afternoons were filled with in-depth tutorials, where Sarah and I were able to get to know the students at a deeper level and help them move forward. Evenings were for sharing: storytellings, favourite books, and new work, freshly created. Our mid-week speaker was the indefatigable Pam Smy, who took a 9 hour journey from Cambridge to speak about her 4 year process to create “Thornhill”, and to scare us silly, with a spooky reading in the “Hobbit House”.
Here’s me giving a storytelling
And here’s Toto, taking it easy!
The week ended emotionally, with haggis and bag pipes, a reading of Burns, storytelling around the fire, whisky and dancing!).
We were all very sad to leave and hope to return one day! Until then, huge thanks to all the Moniack Mhor team, including Sarah, Rachel, Richmond, Angie, Eilidh, Laura, Heather, Meg and anyone else I’ve missed out! And to the students: Sarah, Sissy, Anna W, Anna B, Ross, Rikki, Abbie, Gabi, Mandy, Helen (whose first book is published this week – take a look HERE!), Fiona, Marilyn, Kim and Toto – it was a privilege to meet you and work with you!
If you want to see their work, Sarah has thoughtfully provided examples in her fabulous post – link above!
Lastly – THANK YOU SARAH! – it was a joy to work with you! (I was even immortalised in an *original* Sarah McIntyre drawing!). What a week!
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