Artists' Books Conference

"You and your colleagues organized the most inspiring, interesting, and enjoyable conference on artist books I have ever attended. The program was excellent, I liked the keynote speakers and all the panel discussions, even though I would have preferred if in addition to academic and public library collections the panelists had also included museum book art collections. Perhaps next time. Your exhibition of artist books was beautiful and the catalogue more lavish than any produced for my annual book art shows. I extolled the virtues of the Conference at our senior staff weekly meeting, dressed up in my ABC apron, and everybody was duly impressed.

"It was truly admirable to see the support the conference received from the Wellesley College President who unlike most university officials said really intelligent things about artist books and spent almost 15 minutes talking to us. I greatly enjoyed the parties, both the opening reception, and the banquet. From the artists and dealers I learned that the Book Fair was also very successful, and a great opportunity for the participants to see "the real thing". Finally your campus is fabulous. It was kind of fun to stay in a dorm and feel like a kid again. Thank you all for making the ABC possible and for all the effort which went into making the Conference such a memorable event."

Krystyna Wasserman
Curator of Book Arts
National Museum of Women in the Arts

"The conference was STUPENDOUS! The trade fair was frustrating because we were all too busy to go and see other people's work -- the advice you could pass on is longer time but it is hard to believe another conference could top your ABC success. It was a great financial success as well to everyone I have spoken with."

"I was very touched by the beautiful award. I can never thank you enough for what you and the Friends and your staff did for bookmaking."

Claire van Vliet
Book artist

"Thank you so much for all your hard work to make ABC a success. It was certainly the most professionally presented of these conferences I’ve ever been to. And the mix of artists and curators/
collectors was really great, very smart (and personally, very profitable!) You guys did a wonderful job! (I’ll even excuse the dorm beds.) All my best—and thanks,"

Ken Botnick
Associate Professor
Washington University in St. Louis

"I think that you created a positive and exuberant atmosphere at the ABC. It was really quite amazing, a veritable who's who in the field, with lots of meaty discussion amongst everyone. FYI Booklyn sold more work at the ABC than at the last four conferences we attended. However, whatever the sales, it was the dialog that was crucial, and though there were some difficult moments towards the end, (the last panel was a tad tense) — I think that all will lead to more fruitful discussions.

"FYI — I'm glad Johnny Carrera (he's great!) was there to be the critical squeaky wheel — a role, which in my current position in the field, I am no longer able to fulfill — both myself and Booklyn are just a little too successful to be complaining about anything. Not that I will relinquish putting forward more constructive critique!

"With this in mind, I think there was much to celebrate and much to acknowledge. And I think that your catalog actually addresses some of the issues I was complaining about, which is the lack of critical writing about 21st Century artists books; I thank you for being one of those rare librarians and academics in the field who supports, exhibits AND publishes/writes about 21st Century artists books.

"I think this bodes well for the future of the field and I hope that the Columbia Center for Book and Paper in Chicago or a comparable institution takes the bait and hosts the ABC next year.

"Meanwhile, I want to thank you and your crew for taking on this gigantic task, putting on a great conference, with a great exhibition with a great catalog."

Marshall Weber
Booklyn

"Congratulations on the wonderful conference. I know how much work is involved in organizing these things, and I am in awe of how smoothly you ran it all. It was a splendid opportunity to interact—POSITIVELY—with all aspects of the book arts community.
I'll bet everyone is as grateful as I am."

Priscilla Juvelis
Bookseller

"A somewhat-belated THANK YOU for the EXCELLENT conference. Invigorating panel discussions, flanked by the wonderful keynote speakers, Betty Bright and Mark Dimunation. The entire scope of the conference was so well thought-out, and the organization was seamless. I just want to join the chorus of all the rest who are applauding the fine work by you and the rest of the steering committee. Congratulations, and thank you for the inspirational event."

Robin Price

"How to say thank you enough for such a splendid and enlightening symposium which you afforded all of us. It was a privilege to make some contribution — but I know that I learned much more than I taught. The entire program went well and there was always information, time to hear differences and to meet people — some of whom I have admired for a quarter of a century. Then there was the Wellesley campus…it is remarkable — but only setting for excellence!

"I know that we will meet again and I hope that in some small way I may reciprocate all that you gave me. Congratulations on a stunning success!"

Dr. Robert Ruben
Collector

"Thank you for your sponsorship of the Artists' Books Conference. As a book artist, I learned so much about the greater book world. The speakers and panels were all informative and interesting. And the college was beautiful. The facilities worked,
people felt comfortable and appreciated the campus. It was all first class—the show, the catalogue, everything. And I loved meeting
Pam Worden."

"What a terrific conference. The planning and details were evident and everything just flowed. Thanks to the variety of speakers and panels, I have a better sense of the book world. I liked that the moderators had put so much thought into the questions; that young artists were considered as well as recognizing Claire; that Duke talked about his 'addiction' with such passion.

"It was so easy to meet people, so many things to see. I feel so lucky to have been there — you set a good tone, "we need each other," and people responded that way."

Jan Owen
Book artist

"Back in Montreal, I would like to thank you very much for the organization of a very successful conference. The content of the lectures was very rich and the structure of the exhibitions allowed for the works to be well displayed."

Jacques Fournier
Éditions Roselin

"I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed the conference last week. The sessions were just what I hoped for when I signed up. The other attendees were so knowledgeable and generous; the food was so great and plentiful and healthy. The exhibit and especially the catalog were beautiful. I think I just convinced a friend to order one. Thanks so much to you and your team for making this all happen."

Karen Hanmer

"On the plane ride home to San Francisco I've been looking over my notes from the conference and I'm struck by what an exhilarating experience it was. I wanted to simply add my voice to the chorus of accolades you are receiving for [making] the whole thing run so beautifully.

"THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!"

Chuck Hobson
San Francisco Art Institute

"What an interesting conference. I had such a sense of being "among my people!" You and your team did an incredible job.

"Thanks again for the ABC!"

Laura Davidson
Book artist

"Thank you for all of your hard work in organizing the conference. It was an amazing event that I will remember forever."

Laura Russell
Book artist

"Thank you very much for all the hard work and planning that went into making ABC such a great conference. I hear you spent three years on it — it was extremely well organized, so I am not surprised to learn it took so much of your time."

Lise Melhorn-Boe
Transformer Press

"I have returned home feeling inspired and refreshed.

"I wanted to congratulate you and thank you for organizing such a wonderful gathering. It was special to be together with so many individuals dedicated to the book arts in such an idyllic setting that is Wellesley. I wished I was 18 again and that I could spend 4 years studying on this beautiful campus!

"I wanted to also thank Mariana for answering all my questions and encouraging me to participate. I learned a lot and met many wonderful people. Being there also gave me some insights about my own work as an artist. The conference has opened many doors for me.

"Once again, thank you for this wonderful conference. My gratitude to Wellesley College and to your staff for supporting the art of the book!"

Ewa Zebrowski
Book artist

"I just wanted to drop you a note to tell you how splendid the conference was. It was memorable in all sorts of ways—but certainly at the heart of its success was the complex intersection of different kinds of people invested in the artist's book—librarians, collectors, artists, educators. Thank you for your provocative thinking and wonderful organization. It's quite an inspiration.

"Even the book fair—which seemed so short—proved very productive for us. I very much appreciate the opportunity we had to expose our books to various collectors and librarians. And our students are thrilled."

Susan Viguers
Director, MFA Book Arts/Printmaking Program
The University of the Arts

"My heartfelt congratulations to you on the great success of ABC. With hard work, meticulous, and thoughtful planning, you and all of those who worked on ABC created an idyllic environment for an engaging program. I thoroughly enjoyed listening and learning from the challenging speakers and I took great pleasure in thoughtful discourse with my colleagues. The many pleasures of this conference will be with me for years to come.

"I hope that there will be another ABC of this caliber (and ideal size) in the not too distant future. While I was delighted with the programming, I have a programming suggestion to pass on to the organizers of the next ABC. In her comments, Betty Bright said that the book is the most interdisciplinary of art forms. As an artist who continues to create installations and objects for exhibitions, public art, and books, I couldn't agree more. In that light, there must be a discussion about book ART and its place in the larger context of the art world.

"My most sincere thank you for planning an illuminating and joyful ABC."

Harriet Bart
Book artist

"A fast note to tell you how pleased I was with ABC. You & your staff did a super job of organization, in what must have taken hundreds of hours of work. I had not been involved in any book group activity for nearly 20 years, so this event was important to me — something of a catch-up activity. A great group of people, and some fine events. I hope there will be some subsequent follow-on event in the next several years, even if not at Wellesley."

Daniel J. Yett

"It was very well structured allowing time for interaction and for information gathering. The highlight for me was the talk by Mark Dimunation, both for its wit, which was abundant, and for its thoughtfulness. His approach in considering the content, structure and execution of the book was very enlightening and was accompanied by some very basic advice on how to approach a curator. The book fair and exhibits were also of great interest for the diversity and range of accomplishment and the opportunity to talk with the artists about the work on display. The catalogue was outstanding and when showing it to a friend who was an academic, curator and administrator, she was greatly impressed by its quality.

"While most of the panel members were well prepared, one or two of them did not seem to have a grasp of their topic, and another was particularly diffident. However, the great majority contributed to the discussion with enthusiasm and substantive information."

Carol Rosen
Book artist

"A note to say thank you for a conference that was a coming together — in every way — of great people, wonderful programs, marvelous atmosphere — everything made the conference days very special. You can be very pleased that it was so successful — all those smiling faces.

"Thanks for taking all that time and effort to make it all happen. I know it was very much appreciated by the book fraternity."

Joshua Heller
Joshua Heller Rare Books, Inc.