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March 27, 2006
Thank you from Charles Vess
I just wanted to thank you all for a splendid time last week. Karen and I were left feeling as if we were floating on golden clouds of good will by Saturday evening. The enormous amount of work that you all put into the apparently smooth organization of the conference was evident to all as well as appreciated by those of us who could sneak quick glances behind the current to see mad dashes and last minute rescues by all of you and your cohorts. Bravo!
There was a great deal of work involved with preparing for my two presentations but seeing those images cast large was a delight. I am always happy to share my accumulated knowledge on and about those artists that I love and it seemed as if they did indeed strike the proper response with many of the attendees.
I look forward to attending in the years to come as it has always been a pleasure sharing the tropical temps and accumulated knowledge of your presenters and attendees.
Best regards,
Charles
Posted by ChrissieMains at 10:18 PM | Comments (0)
Thank you from M. Thomas Inge
I had an altogether splendid time and was treated like the proverbial prince. I was amply rewarded by all the kind and thoughtful attention. Perhaps you heard about the remarkable thing that happened too. Charles Vess made a birthday present to me at the banquet of the original art for his version of "Snow White" drawn for the BIG BOOK OF GRIMM TALES. This is something he holds dear and had promised never to let go, but my expressed admiration for it overcame his reluctance. When I reminded him that he had promised never to sell it, he replied, "Well I didn't sell it, did I?" It will remain a part of my collection to be donated Virginia Commonwealth University, so it will be preserved for others to enjoy after I have gone. Charles has visitation rights, of course, any time.
Don Palumbo and his sons (both remarkable artists themselves) were most attentive, and we all had a grand time. I don't know who suggested me for the honor of being your guest scholar, but I am awfully glad they did. It was one of the signal moments of my career.
Posted by ChrissieMains at 10:14 PM | Comments (0)
Even the trip home couldn't spoil ICFA for me
Like a lot of ICFA-goers, I stay an extra day or so after the conference to unwind and avoid the Spring Break / cruise ship passengers grabbing all the Sunday flights out. It's a lovely way to end the conference, spending an afternoon shopping at Oakwood Plaza (a 20 minute walk from the hotel) or by the pool without the guilt of skipping a session, then having dinner with others who don't have to rush back.
This year, sadly, staying an extra day meant I got caught in the 'snow event' that delayed flights into and out of Denver, so instead of getting home on Monday night, I ended up sleeping (if you can call it that) on the floor of Denver International Airport. But even this horrific experience could not spoil what was a wonderful conference.
It began as it always does for me, on Tuesday evening with a quick dinner with friends before diving into the behind-the-scenes madness that hopefully most attendees don't see. Wednesday morning means stuffing flyers into registration folders; Wednesday afternoon I always hang out at the registration desk with Membership & Registration Co-ordinator Katy Hatfield, meeting and greeting probably half of the attendees in a matter of hours. Katy has things running so smoothly at the desk that the meeting and greeting part gets squeezed into seconds. Then it's the board meeting and then the opening night reception. This year saw the first (and definitely not the last, given the response) Newcomer Meet-Up sponsored by the Student Caucus, which allowed newbies to the conference to get to know each other and long time attendees in a smaller, cozier space before heading off to the crush in the Regatta.
On Thursday, after watching the first of Charles Vess' presentation of beautiful images in the ballroom, I hosted an author reading with the lovely Patricia McKillip, the gracious Stephen R. Donaldson, and the engaging Timothy J. Anderson (who hails from just up the highway from me). Then I caught a fascinating panel on Outsider Art with Guest of Honor Charles Vess, Liz Hand (whose book Mortal Love features characters who create such art), Peter Straub, and Andy and Sydney Duncan whose tales of local examples of outsider art were amusing and weirdly compelling. After the Business Meeting I was free to run away for dinner with Jeri Zulli (not making it back in time for the evening programming).
On Friday I had to miss the SF Theory Roundtable because I was participating in a panel on visuals in fandom organized by Eden Lackner. A couple of participants were missing, sadly, but Barb Lucas and Amy Hale had a lot of insights (and images) to share, and we had to field some great questions and observations from the audience. We could have gone on a lot longer, I'm sure. After that I went to the session on fan fiction featuring Eden, Barb, and Robin Reid (IAFA's new 2VP) chaired by Sharon Emmerichs. Cool papers, and I'm sorry I had to duck out before the question period.
Anyone looking over the program will have noticed by now that I don't seem to have made it to early morning sessions this year, and I didn't break that pattern on Saturday (more well rested, less well informed than in previous years). I did get to a late morning session on Ancient Myth and More Modern Fantasy, particularly enjoying Bev Friend's exploration of the Icarus myth in poetry and images. Charles Vess' second presentation on Saturday afternoon was just as lovely and intriguing as his first, this time going beyond the work of other artists that have had an influence on his own art to a fascinating look at how some of his works have been created from initial sketches to complete works. I had to leave a little before the end to get to my own session (one of those lovely Saturday afternoon events where the panelists almost outnumbered the audience; that's what happens when you're scheduled opposite a session on the Guest of Honor's work; I would have been there myself if I could have been). For the last session of the conference, I went to Jeri Zulli's session to hear her paper on the role of community in the formation of the double in Jekyll and Hyde and Dorian Gray (Puddn'head Wilson was supposed to be in there too, but something's gotta give in 20 minutes). The session worked particularly well, with another paper on Jekyll and Hyde, and one on Salem's Lot. Really great question period on this session.
And then, the banquet. I really love the closing banquet, from the crowded pre-banquet reception marked by flashbulbs and hugs and uniformed waitpersons circulating with trays of teeny hot dogs and crab puffs, through the lovely meal and the speeches (really, I love the speeches), to the post-banquet reception in Regatta and the goodbye tour / hugfest around the pool and in the parking lot and in the lobby.
Seriously, I love the speeches. A lot of awards were presented this year, and one common feature of all of the acceptance speeches was the affection and appreciation of all of the winners for the association and its members. Carl Boehm, who received a Stephen R. Donaldson award at Friday's Guest Scholar luncheon in thanks for his yeoman work over the past decade, set the tone in thanking everyone he's ever worked with at ICFA, giving credit to everyone else for the hard work he was being honored for. Rick Wilber also received a Donaldson Award for all of his work organizing the Asimov's (now Dell Magazines) award over the years. Chuck Nelson, IAFA's longest-serving Division Head, was honored for everything he's done behind the scenes to make the conference a success. Add in the lovely speeches from Guest Scholar M. Thomas Inge, Grad Student Paper Award winner Darja Malcolm-Clarke, Dell Magazine winner Megan Sinoff, and Joe Hill, this year's Crawford Award winner, and I was just suffused with fellowship and good feelings.
Next year we'll be gathering together again at the Wyndham (will it still be called Wyndham? Who knows?) with Guest of Honor Geoff Ryman, Guest Scholar Marina Warner, and Special Guest Writer Melissa Scott. I am already looking forward to seeing all of you there and doing the opening hello hugfest.
Posted by ChrissieMains at 09:36 PM | Comments (0)