Regional Corner: Meet International Central RA, Rekha Salin
Did you know that SCBWI has members in more than 80 countries around the world? In many of those countries, there are local regional chapters led by dedicated volunteers who plan activities and opportunities for local members to connect with each other. But what about members living in a country with no local regional chapter? That’s where the International Central Region comes in.
By Elisabeth Norton
The ICR is a virtual “home” region that helps members living in countries around the world to connect with each other. I’d like to introduce the new Regional Advisor for the International Central Region, Rekha Salin.
Rekha Salin is an artist/illustrator from India living in Bahrain with her husband and two kids.
She is passionate about telling stories through pictures and feels there is so much joy in giving characters a place and a world to live in and bringing stories to life which can make a reader laugh, cry, think, feel empowered, or just be silly.
She has been an SCBWI member since 2020 and loves connecting with people. She comes with a degree in Finance and Accounting, but telling stories and connecting with people is what she truly loves. When she is not drawing you can find her going on long walks, clicking pictures with her mobile of every random thing she sees and dreaming of food. Spending time with family is her favorite thing to do. She is the illustrator for the book Little Sheku and the Animal Orchestra which was published in May of this year.
You can find out more about her here:
Portfolio- www.rekhasalin.com
Instagram- www.instagram.com/illustrate_daily
Newsletter- https://rekhasalin.substack.com/
Rekha, could you tell us more about the ideas you have for the International Central Region?
RS: Since the International Central Region has its members from around the world the plans we have are all virtual. Here are some of our initial ideas that might change later.
- Co-working for members: 1-hour sessions every other week where members log on to a Zoom call and work on current projects, new ideas or anything else they want to work on for an hour. These are not silent sessions, but members can choose to mute and work quietly.
- Critique groups for Illustrators and Writers (for Premium Members): once a month
- Book Club: Every other month we’ll choose one book and look at the craft involved. For the first session (planned for late June), we’ll be looking at a picture book and studying the composition, storytelling and writing.
- Drawing Sessions for illustrators: Every Other Month (on alternate months from the Book Club), we’ll give prompts and work on them or share reference images and we’ll draw along. These are timed sessions.
Thank you Rekha.That’s an amazing palette of activities!
If you live in a country without a local region, be sure to follow the International Central Region from your member profile so that you will get the newsletter with details about these and other events. (Remember you can follow as many regions as you like!).