Dear Blog Readers

It's Labor Day in New England, the day that we typically think of as the end of summer even though technically it isn't. The nights are cool, some of the leaves are gaining a rosy hew, the thousands of college students that live here in this valley are returning, and I find myself evaluating my life and my projects as I always do at this time of year, noticing the projects I didn't begin or complete and figuring out the ones I want to commit to before the end of the year.

Okiie Hashimoto, 1967

In that spirit, I want to let you know that I feel a blog change coming on. I started Woodblock Dreams five years ago as a diary of my learning process, a place to record my experiments as I grappled with trying to master moku hanga / Japanese woodblock techniques. Up until now the blog has been very tightly focused on woodblock and only woodblock. Because of that focus, I know that many of you, my most loyal readers, are printmakers yourselves. I love that about you :)

So I want to reassure you that I will still be making woodblock prints and I will still be recording my process. But at this point in my development, I find myself also becoming interested in other art forms, interested in learning about the broader so-called art world, and interested in the artistic process in and of itself -- what it means to be not just a printmaker, but an artist.

For those of you blog readers who come here from the Baren Forum discussion list, what this means is that you will see only the posts that are about and are tagged "woodblock." If you would like to see and participate in the other posts as well, I'd suggest that you "follow" the blog by clicking the "Follow" button at the bottom of the right-hand column.

No matter how often you visit, and however you arrive here, thank you as always for following along with Woodblock Dreams.

xo Annie