Welcome to Volume3 Issue1 of the WWWoodcarver E-zine which marks the beginning of the third year for this e-zine.
It is hard for me to believe that what started as an experimental effort to promote woodcarving online, has turned into a lively and useful publication read by thousands of carvers from around the world on a bi-monthly basis. Every issue sees more readers visiting the E-zine pages than before. Moreover, portions of this E-zine are increasingly being reproduced in club newsletters (with permission of course :-) and distributed to friends and fellow carvers to read and enjoy.
In
fact, I have seen entire
issues of the E-zine printed out on paper (in color, no less!)
and in the possession of carvers who have personally visited my
studio in Grande Prairie, Alberta. They are usually driving through
to Alaska when they drop by, and the first thing they do is to
prove to me that they have been reading this E-zine. I am always
impressed by the fact that people value this publication as much
as they do.
This E-zine continues to provide many carvers with their first experience at writing and authoring articles. Of course, some are seasoned writers/contributors who also write/contribute to other print publications as well as author books of their own. But for the most part the articles you read in this publication are written by novice writers who may also be novice carvers, though some have carved for decades.
It
is so important to
give carvers a chance to write and to share their talent within
a generous and close online community. So little is risked by
allowing novice writers to contribute, but so much is gained.
I get quite a bit of feedback from readers of the E-zine who tell me over and over again that this modest publication has a valuable place in the wood carving world. They consistently encourage me with the assurance that this E-zine has done a wonderful job of bringing woodcarvers together on the web. They wish it continued success in bringing carvers together.
Another consistent theme is the gratitude of the readers towards those who took the time and made the effort to contribute articles to the E-zine. It seems that the capacity of carvers to be generous in giving is matched only by their capacity to express gratitude in return for this generosity.
I hope you all enjoy this issue, what with its new format and the delightful slate of articles contained in it. Be sure to contact the authors to let them know that their contributions were well received.
All the best,
Bill Judt
Editor.