Think summer! The 2006 GNSI Annual Conference
July 30 – August 5, University of Wisconsin - Madison, Wisconsin.

The name conjures up images of cheese curds, beer, and the Green Bay Packers. Wisconsin is also a state of amazing geological diversity, natural beauty, friendly people and great learning institutions. I certainly hope that you will join us in Madison to see old friends and make new, learn and share some art experiences, and explore southern Wisconsin.

The landscape of Madison and the surrounding area was formed by retreating glaciers approximately 13,000 years ago. As such it contains a variety of lakes and marshes, prairie remnants, interesting rock formations and a great diversity of wildlife. Madison is located on an isthmus between lakes Mendota and Monona. Madison is a quirky, multi-cultural gem that is tightly intertwined with the University of Wisconsin. There are numerous restaurants, galleries, and museums. The University is lively and welcoming and was recently voted the 2005 “#1 Party School in America”. Now with a combination of nature, culture, education and fun like that how can this conference go wrong?!

Our host at the University of Wisconsin is the Geology Department, located in the Lewis G. Weeks Hall for Geological Science. A theme that has emerged is The Passage of Time. Although we are sponsored by Geology we won’t limit the exploration of time to a strictly geological sense. All of us capture an object in time – whether it is a flower that we draw before it fades, a fossil from many years past, or conceptual art for a future event. We are influenced by time – overnight deadlines, months before the paycheck arrives… you get the idea! We are also short on time to just draw for fun. We’ll keep that idea simmering in the background throughout the week.

Outside of the conference, the city offers many great opportunities for great dining, partying and exploring. Our dorm is only two blocks away from State Street, the road to the capitol. All along State there are multi-cultural restaurants and great nightlife. On campus, there is Babcock Dairy, definitely not to be missed! I will personally lead expeditions to the Dairy daily, perhaps more than once a day depending on how stressed I am. It is some of the finest ice cream around! To run or walk off that ice cream there are numerous bike paths and lanes throughout the city and along the lakes. It is a very bike-friendly town and there are rentals available. We’ll include that information with registration materials and in the “Links of Interest” section of the web site..

If you’d like to explore the University of Wisconsin from home, go to the “Links of Interest” portion of the web site for some web sites that will give you the skinny on Madison and the surrounding areas. I sure hope to see you there, and if you’d like to be a part of the conference by presenting or volunteering your time let me know! The more the merrier!