Our theme for July is MENTOR. It was chosen by our Glasgow chapter in Scotland and illustrated by Molly Hankinson, and is presented by Adobe.

No one is born with all the knowledge and skills they’ll need to thrive in life. That’s why kids go to school. But we shouldn’t stop learning once we graduate. We need to find new teachers.

A mentor doesn’t have to be an expert or the top of their field. Just someone who’s been there and done that before. Someone to show you the way and offer a bit of advice and encouragement. Ideally, they’re willing to make introductions and mention your name when you’re not in the room.

Being a mentor is considered a way of giving back. But mentors get just as much out of the relationship, if not more. Beyond the satisfaction of helping, mentors also learn from their mentees. From a fresh way of looking at established practices to tackling new problems with a beginner’s mind.

So, ask for help. We all could use a guide as we climb. Find your mentors and be a mentor in return. Your plans for growth are more likely to succeed if they include lifting others up as you rise.

CREATIONS FROM OUR COMMUNITY:

Each month, we ask the readers of our Weekly Highlights newsletter to submit creative work inspired by our global theme.

Here are this month’s featured works.

Indira Gandhí by Alena Aichlmanova in Prague, the Czech Republic.

This work is a portrait of one of the most famous female leaders and politicians, who has definitely made a lot to inspire women worldwide.

The Retiree by Kristy Lin Billuni in San Francisco, California.

Regina’s getting a new mentor but worries that her past will sabotage her plans in my flash fiction, “The Retiree.”

No way the woman scrutinizing Regina’s resume would hire a girl with zero experience. Regina studied the famed art dealer’s immaculate, orange-painted lips and neat, auburn pixie cut. She admired the super-sleek Donna Karan skirt suit and the gallery’s soaring, wood-beamed ceilings. She needed a steady job in art, this job, at the best gallery in the city. So when those orange lips parted to release the words, “You’re hired,” Regina screamed inside. Back on track. Not that she’d strayed.

This flash was published in The Whore’s Manifesto. You can read the rest in this PDF.

Tributes to Wanda Ewing, my mentor, a feminist artist who passed in 2013 by Sally Jane Brown in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Body prints with text, and self portrait drawings with mini reproductions of Wanda’s work in the background. Wanda Ewing was my mentor and friend for many years before passing in 2013. These works honor her tremendous work and inspiration.

You can see more work on Sally’s site.

Want to see your creative work featured on our blog? Subscribe to our Weekly Highlight newsletter to find out when submissions for next month’s theme are open.