Dear List-Serv Compatriots!

        I cannot believe the conference will begin in a week and a half! We are
all so excited to welcome you all to Lawrence. I think it will exceed all
of your expectations. Plus, it has been a really pleasant summer here. You
should prepare for warm weather, but it was in the low sixties this
morning--beautiful! We may just luck out.

        It looks as if you will receive your newsletters just shortly before you
leave for Kansas, so I wanted to make you aware of a couple points and
changes. First, we will post new directions to Kansas and last-minute
changes on the website next Monday, so please check in next week at:

        http://www.gnsi.science-art.com/index.html

        Next, we have an important change to our Monday lineup. Craig Lueck and
Moira Cullen of Hallmark Cards, Inc. will be giving a talk in the morning,
and Elaine will report on the handbook during the business meeting on
Tuesday. Craig tells me that he will bring contact information for those
interested in making professional connections with Hallmark. He is a Master
Illustrator at Hallmark, and Moira is Creative Director. They are delighted
to get a chance to meet all of you and are very excited that this group
exists. They hope to attend some of our receptions, so I think there will
be some nice opportunities for some good illustration discussions. And do
not forget that on Monday you will get to hear the wonderful Ed Bell from
Scientific American! And you will have an opportunity to listen to the
now-famous Rex Buchanan who was a guest on "Whad'Ya Know?"--aired live from
Lawrence, Kansas, on July 13th!

        At our portfolio sharing, we will have some space for sketchbooks. Please
bring sketchbooks that you would like to share as well as your professional
portfolios. We will have some Spencer Art Museum Staff and perhaps a
Hallmark and Allen Press guest or two (as friends and planners and fellow
artistic types, not for critique!), so please do not forget to bring your
portfolios!

        I will continue to post updates, and as I mentioned, we will keep the
website humming! There is still time to join us if you have not registered!
We have a great lineup, and I think there are wonderful professional and
personal inspirations in store for you here. And Lawrence is a great place
for gathering after hours--wonderful restauraunts, a minute's walk from our
very own microbrewery from the hotel, a homemade ice cream parlor, an
outdoor sculpture exhibition on the streets of downtown, Monarch Watch
headquarters....The works of John Cody and Gilles Bosquet are on display in
"Of Moths and Other Insects" at the Lawrence Public Library Gallery....but
please come experience it for yourself! We want you to make this
extraordinary experience your very own!

                                                        Most sincerely,
                                                        Sara L. Taliaferro
                                                        2002 Conference Chairperson