Finding Mentors and EuroSynergy2 2016

Hello!I am SO excited about this!It's quite clear from the posts I've been writing on my blog the past months, that I need some artistic mentors.I'm convinced that if you want to grow as an artist you need to find people who you admire, so you can understand how yourself can improve.Thinking by yourself is rarely productive as you are going in rounds in your own head, so it's key to meet people who are several steps ahead of you, to better grasp the possibilities and boost your own potential.I watched a Ted Conference not long ago from Tai Lopez, and while I did not agree or liked it very much, one think stuck with me : the law of 33%.Basically he said you should spend time with 1/3 of people that are your equals, 1/3 of people who are mentors and 1/3 of people who are one step behind of you, that you mentor yourself.Mentors are key as they show you how they succeeded, equals are important as those are your friends, people less successful you can help, which is benefitting them but also yourself as being kind makes us happy.So in my search of mentors and challenges to grow, I stumbled upon the EuroSynergy2, hosted by the International Polymer Clay Association. (in short IPCA)Now, this isn't something new to me, as I know many people who host this personally, but while looking at the conferences, I kept telling to myself : yeah, you need that one, oh that one's great too, etc.I slept over it one night (I always sleep at least one night over any decision, but that's another topic) and booked!Yaaaay!The event hosts a total of 10 conferences/challenges.Five are mandatory. (haha, that sounds so awful)And the other five you can choose among four each.You can read all the details on the presentation page.The five general sessions are :Jeffrey Lloyd Dever : Stretch – The Journey Toward Artistic GrowthLaura Tabakman : Getting ready to showEvaMarie Törnström : Creativity is a place in your heartCatherine Petitjean : Polymer Clay in Europe-Evolution of TechniquesLoretta Lam : Intentional Design Here the "seminars" I chose :July 11 Morning Sessions - Cynthia Tinapple: 2020 Vision: How to see clearly where your art is goingJuly 11 Afternoon Sessions - Melanie Muir: Go Pro PolymerJuly 12 Morning Sessions - Heba Barazi: Imitative TechniquesJuly 12 Afternoon Sessions - Jeffrey Lloyd Dever: Immaterial Evolution – Seeking Re-imagined, Repurposed, and Recycled PossibilitiesJuly 13 Morning Sessions - Kathleen Dustin: Borrow Like An Artist: One Artist’s Journey of Paying Attention to Everything and EveryoneI think I'm most excited to meet Jeffrey Lloyd Weber, whose work is stunning, but quite eager to chat with Cynthia Tineapple and meet with fellow artists I met just a few times but whose work I admire much, like Bettina Welker or Christine Dumont.xxStéphanie