How did the idea of a creative retreat come to you, and why did you choose one?
The decision to attend Squam Art Workshops was mainly work-related. We’d published a short article about Squam just before I joined S&H. So, we had the beginnings of a relationship with the gracious and talented founder, Elizabeth Duvivier. Because I feature so many artists in the magazine, I was able to convince my publisher that I should attend to make connections and to represent S&H. The art retreat is held twice a year—I went to Spring Squam, which traditionally has had more of a fiber-arts bent, but there were very good instructors for 2D media, which is what I opted for.
Give us an idea of the flow of the retreat.
It’s a five-day retreat that runs from Wednesday afternoon through breakfast on Sunday, with one full day and two half-days of courses. There’s plenty of free time for scheduled yoga, swimming/kayaking in the lake, or hiking/resting on the dock, and a huge vendor art fair on Saturday night. It’s held at Rockywold Deephaven Camps on Squam Lake in Holderness, New Hampshire. Between 175 and 200 …