How to Print a Woodblock

October 14th, 2009 by Sean

Here we go, part 3 of a series explaining what a woodblock print is and how it is made. Part 1 explained what a Woodblock Print is, and Part 2 discussed preparing the block and the ink.

Printing a woodblock consists of rolling ink on the block, and pressing paper against it. There are many more nuances to it though, which I’d like to explain.

To explain the printing process, I have to take a step back and explain how prints with multiple colors are made. There are a few processes that can be used; the most common is to carve a separate block for each individual color. Each block is printed separately, and the the image is created as the colors are added to the paper.

Here’s an idea of how the different blocks look that go into a multi-colored print:

3 blocks used to print 5 different colors

3 blocks used to print 5 different colors

These 3 blocks were used to make the prints that came off the press yesterday. I had to print each block individually with a different color.

A woodblock print made from the 3 blocks shown above

A woodblock print made from the 3 blocks shown above

I did something a little tricky with two of these blocks, I used different portions of the blocks to print different colors. The two leftmost blocks in the image above had a lot of space left on the block after I finished carving the first image, so I used each of the blocks to also print part of the “vase”.

The image to the right is one of the prints made with these blocks. If you look at it closely, you will be able to see which part of which block printed which color.

You will also notice one other aspect to printmaking, which is that everything prints in reverse. When a block is printed against the page, the mirror image of what is on the block ends up on the paper.

Now that I’ve got 3 blocks with a total of 5 colors to be printed, the challenge is to align each of the blocks on the paper. This process of making sure all the blocks line up is called registration. In some way or another, I have to make sure that the blocks all register with one another.

(The question of how the blocks are carved in the first place so that all the images line up is another question for another day)

Before I do that though, I have to ink up the block! The block is inked by simply rolling the roller in the ink, and then rolling it on the block. It takes a few passes of ink on the block to (1) get enough ink on the block to print, and (2) get an even layer of ink on the block so that the color is consistent. Both of these are done by taking time and rolling the ink on the block a number of times.

The ink rolled onto a portion of the block, ready to print

The ink rolled onto a portion of the block, ready to print

I roll the ink on the block, then roll it back in the well of ink that I previously rolled out. I repeat this until their is enough ink and the thickness is consistent.

Next, I use my simple registration system – a ruler. The ruler I use is one inch wide, and luckily enough, the margins on these prints is 1 inch as well. I place the ruler along the left side of the paper, and I align the block against the edge of the ruler, with the top of the block 1-1/4 inches below the top edge of the paper.

I use a ruler to align all the blocks in the same place on the paper

I use a ruler to align all the blocks in the same place on the paper

This part of the process is delicate, because if I move the block on the paper, the ink will smear a little bit, and that does not look very nice. I’ve got one chance to lower the block directly onto the paper in the right place with the help of the ruler.

When I get around to printing the next block, I will place the ruler against the edge of the paper again, and line up the next block with the ruler. This way, I make sure that each block gets printed in the same place on each sheet, and all of the colors will line up with each other.

So now the inked block is lying down on the paper. I slide the paper and block off of the table, and flip them over together. I am not so fancy as to have a printing press in my little apartment, so I use a wooden spoon. The spoon in the picture was actually part of a sushi making kit that I got as a gift.

Mmmm. I love the sushi. It’s an incredible food.

The block is flipped over with the paper on top, ready to be pressed with the wooden spoon

The block is flipped over with the paper on top, ready to be pressed with the wooden spoon

This spoon, though it is made for sushi, also seems to be made for woodblock prints. It is very wide, and nearly flat, but with e slight curve to the backside. I rub the backside of the spoon over the back of the paper, pressing it against the block. This takes a few minutes of pressing, because I like to make sure that I get the ink transferred onto the paper well.

When I’m all done, I pull off the paper, and see the ink transferred over. Nice and simple!

The ink is transferred onto the paper, it will take a few more blocks to complete this image

The ink is transferred onto the paper, it will take a few more blocks to complete this image

The real joy of this process is seeing what each block adds to the image. I usually have an idea of how the finished prints will look as I am carving the block, but that vision in my mind can never compare to what I see when I pull the paper off of the block for the first time. Each time a new color is added, I get very excited that first time that I remove the paper from the block and reveal how it looks.

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New Art Hot Off The Press

October 12th, 2009 by Sean

I’ve got something to show for my last few days work. If you like this art and want to keep up to date on when it will be available for you to buy (for ridiculously cheap prices), then go to the 101 Woodblock Series page and sign up for the newsletter.

This series is all about the combination of gears, flowers, plants, and graphic design. Yeah, it’s an odd mix, and I promise to explain it some day. In the meantime, you’ll have to settle for enjoying some previews of the art.

A New Woodblock Print - Hot Off The Press!

A New Woodblock Print - Hot Off The Press!

Another 101 Woodblock Series Print

Another 101 Woodblock Series Print

One More Print from the 101 Woodblock Series

One More Print from the 101 Woodblock Series

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Carving Blocks and Rolling Ink

October 12th, 2009 by Sean

This is the second article about how a woodblock print is made. In the last post, I talked about the materials and tools I use to make prints. In this post I show you how I carve the block and prepare the ink.

Carving the block

I’ve lead you on a bit. I really have.

I’m sorry.

Now I have to confess something. It’s a little embarrassing, but I hope you will understand a little.

I actually… don’t use blocks of wood for all my woodblock prints. A lot of the time I actually use linoleum. The linoleum is mounted on a woodblock to keep it rigid, if that counts.

Linoleum is similar to wood, and it is a little easier to carve, because it doesn’t have the grain that wood does. The printing surface is different, so the ink has a different texture when it is printed on the paper.

Here’s the block I am going to show you today to demonstrate how the ink is printed:

A carved linoleum block

A carved linoleum block

This block is mostly carved already. There is one little bit of carving left to do. The arc on the left is designed to be reminiscent of a vase for flowers, so I will just call that the “vase”. I used a block marker to draw the area that I want to carve away.

I’d like a highlight on the curved surface, so I need to carve away this area so that ink will not print there.

Close up on the newly carved portion

Close up on the newly carved portion

I usually draw this outline in pencil, and I do not color it in like shown above. I used the black pen to make it easier for you to see in the photograph.

I use my X-Acto knife and gouges, and carve away the area I drew in black. I am very careful when I carve delicate areas like this, to make sure that I get the detail that I want, and that I don’t slip and make mistakes. A small area like this takes me about 15 minutes to carve.

The finished block is shown at the left. I am only going to print this vase in this run, the rest of the linoleum will be printed with other colors. I left the big blob of linoleum along the top edge uncarved, because I may eventually use that part of the block to carve another pattern into. I think another gear may look nice there.

The Ink Job

Now I get started with the ink.

The ink is mixed and ready to roll

The ink is mixed and ready to roll

I’ve mixed up some red ink with a touch of white. The ink that I am using is basic woodblock printing ink that I got from the art store. I use oil-based ink, because I think it lasts longer and looks better. Oil-based ink takes longer to clean up, and requires nastier chemicals like paint thinner.

I use a palette knife to mix the ink together, and when it is all mixed, smear it in a line about the width of my roller. The roller itself is a soft rubber roller. In general, rollers come with either soft rubber or hard rubber surfaces. I prefer the soft, because it covers the block with ink better.

Just like it is easier to spread soft butter across a piece of toast, it is easier to get the ink spread onto the block with a soft roller. The roller conforms to the surface of the block, and accounts for the uneven surface of the block.

I roll out an even layer onto the glass from the fount

I roll out an even layer onto the glass from the fount

One thing you will notice in the photo above is that the roller is rested on its back. If the roller is left resting on the roller portion, a flat dent can form in the rubber itself. This isn’t such a big deal with these cheap rollers from the art store, but once I get the roller I want, it will matter quite a bit. Good rollers are made of high quality rubber, and cost well over a hundred bucks.

A quick aside – I roll out the ink on a big sheet of glass. Glass is a perfect surface to roll ink on because it is very smooth, and it is not porous, so the ink does not soak in to the surface at all. This makes it easy to scrape the ink away, and to clean it up when I am done.

Next I roll out the ink as shown above. I don’t roll out all of the ink, but just the right amount. Learning what the right amount is takes a little experience. I can’t quite explain it, because I know the right amount because of how the roller feels rolling the ink, and how it sounds.

If the ink is too thick, the print will get smooshed, and the detail will be lost. If the ink is too thin, then it won’t print dark enough, and will look thin. To continue the toast analogy, when the ink is too thin, it is like trying to cover your toast with not enough butter.

The ink across the top is called the fount. When the ink gets too thin, I dip the roller into the fount and roll it out.

Coming Attractions

Ok, I am WAY over my morning writing power hour now, and I have to go get ready for work. Next up, printing the block, lining up different colors, and a progress report.

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What is a woodblock print?

October 8th, 2009 by Sean

Did you make a potato print back in elementary school? You cut the potato in half so there is a flat edge, then carve some sort of shape in to it, a heart or a star, then you dipped it in poster paints, and pressed it against paper. You essentially made a stamp out of a potato.

A woodblock print is no different. It is printed from a flat piece of wood that has portions carved away, so that the ink doesn’t print there.

Woodblock prints are not very common in Art History, but the most famous woodblock prints were made in Japan. You probably recognize the image below, it is a woodblock print by the artist Hokusai from 19th century Japan. This print is titles The Great Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa Oki Nami Ura is the Japanese title). This print was the first in a series called 36 Views of Mount Fuji. You can see Mount Fuji in the background of the image, in the dip between the waves. Hokusai’s prints are an inspiration for and influence on my own woodblock prints.

The Great Wave Off Kanagawa by Hokusai

The Great Wave Off Kanagawa by Hokusai

The Wood Makes the Print

Woodblock for a woodblock print

Woodblock for a woodblock print

To make a woodblock print, I start out with a smooth, flat piece of wood (or sometimes linoleum as a substitute). I have to have some sort of image in mind when I start. I determined that the imagery for the 101 Woodblock Series is going to be gears, flowers, and plants, so I know what I am trying to accomplish image wise.

Section of Wood

Section of Wood

The wood is special made for prints. I have actually had the block you see above for a very long time. I got this block about 10 years ago, but only recently put it to use. I believe that this block was made in Japan. The block itself is made of 5 plys (layers). The middle 3 plys are about 1/8-inch thick. The ply on the top and bottom are extremely fine. They are about 1/100-inch thick! I used my scale to measure the thickness, and it was too small to measure, even with my scale that measures in 1/60-inch increments! The direction of the grain alternates on each layer, creating a very sturdy block.

The next step is to carve the block. A woodblock is printed by rolling ink on a roller on to the woodblock. Every part of the wood that I do not carve away gets ink rolled on to it. The portions of the block that are carved away do not get ink, because the roller rolls on the flat, untouched portion of the block, missing the “valleys” that I have carved in.

Tools of the trade

Woodblock Print Tools

Woodblock Print Tools

Here’s a list of the tools I use and why and how I use them. From right to left in the picture above:

  • Compass: A lot of the imagery I like involves circles. I have a number of compasses that range in size to help me carve perfect circles. The compass shown is one of the larger compasses I use.
  • X-Acto Knife: I have a nice set of X-Acto knifes with a wide selection of blades. This set was a gift many years ago (thank you Uncle David and Aunt Kathy!), and is extremely useful. The knife shown is what I most often use for woodblocks. It is the largest of the set, and I can get the most leverage out of it. Unfortunately, this also means that it cuts me the deepest when I slip. If you don’t bleed a little for your art though…
  • Gouges: I have a set of cheap gouges that I use to remove large portions of the block. The X-Acto knife does the fine work, but these gouges do rough work. These can remove a lot of material from the woodblock quickly. The gouges I have are pretty low quality, I will have to upgrade soon.
  • Pens and Pencils: I use these to draw the image on the block before I start carving. The nice thing about a block is that unlike paper, I can draw without worrying about mistakes. In the end, the block will be carved and ink will be rolled on it, so any pencil and pen marks will not show up.

Coming Attractions

I’m out of time in my morning writing hour, so check back tomorrow for a follow up. I’ll be covering carving the block and rolling out ink. I’ll finish up with a post about printing the block and registering multiple blocks (what does that even mean?), and all the other stuff that goes in to making a woodblock print.

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What is an Edition of Prints?

October 7th, 2009 by Sean

Editioning is the process of preparing a set of prints. The prints must be signed, numbered, and gone through to make sure they are all the same.

Traditionally, when a print is made, the printing elements are prepared (the blocks, metal plates, or whatever else the artist creates to print off of), then numerous copies of the print are made.

The set of identical prints is called an edition. Most fine art prints are made in editions, and when I was in college, this is how I made my prints.

There are a few conventions to prints in an edition, I’d like to explain to you.

I’m going to use this lithograph of mine to explain. This is the first thing I could find in my easily accessible portfolio. Most of my stuff is stored under my bed!

A lithograph of a female figure

I did this drawing on a lithographic stone during a figure drawing session. I liked it enough to work up a couple of color plates and make an edition out of it.

Edition Number

In any edition, each print has a number. The number is given as a fraction, indicating which number print you are looking at, and how many prints were made total.

Edition number goes in the bottom left corner

In this case, the “1/18” indicates that is print number 1 from the edition, and 18 total prints were made in this edition.

If all you see is the fraction, then each one of the prints in the series should be exactly the same. The goal of an edition, after all, is to make an identical set of prints.

You may sometimes see the letters “E.V.” after the number. This means “Edition Varie” (edition very-AY). This means that not every print is exactly the same. The artist has created variety in the set on purpose. The most common variety found is the colors. The artist may print form the same block, but use different colors each time, so that even though the image is the same, the colors are different from print to print.

The other thing you may see on a print is the letters “A.P.” instead of a number. This means “Artist’s Proof”. It is a completed print, but is not part of the edition. Artist’s Proofs do not get numbers.

When a fine art print is released by a print studio, the number in the edition, and the number of artists prints is included in the solicitation. They may release an announcement like, “An edition of 25 prints with 5 Artist’s Proofs”.

Artist’s Signature and Title

The edition number is the most complicated part of the print to explain. The rest is easy. The next thing to notice is the signature. The signature is usually in the bottom right corner of the print, as you see below.

Signature goes in the bottom right corner

A print, after all, should be signed!

Last of all is the title. I don’t have a picture to show you of the title of this lithograph, because, well, I never titled it.

Yes! It’s embarrassing! I never titles this print. If I had, however, the title would have been written smack dab in the middle of the print, right underneath the image. The title of this print probably would have been something boring like Figure Drawing III.

A Light Touch

The last thing that you will notice is that signed and numbered this print in pencil instead of pen. This is common, and you will most likely find prints signed and numbered in pencil. The reason for this is that pencil has a softer color, and a lighter touch than a pen. Or so I imagine.

It could very well be that when editioning of prints had started, pens weren’t invented yet (probably not though).

Either way, the information about the print is written in pencil so that it is lighter in color and does not draw attention away from the print. THe title, number, and signature should be able to be seen if you want to , but should not distract you when you look at the print from a few feet away.

= = = = = = =

There you go, a quick crash course in editioning prints!

Next up, I’ll let you know why I am throwing this convention out the window for my 101 Woodblock Series.

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Speed Bumps on the Road to Productivity

October 5th, 2009 by Sean

Last week I talked about how I schedule my morning to be productive. It’s been going well, and I have gotten a lot done in the few mornings since then. I whipped out two blog posts on Thursday, and Friday got hijacked by fixing a problem with one of my blogs. My buddy, Dr. WordPress advised that I add alt attributes to images on my blogs. It turns out that if you put a bracket character “>” in an alt attribute it may mess everything up and break a wordpress theme. It took me a while to track down the problem.

I have learned two lessons:

  • I have to have everything I need for my morning habits, or it falls apart
  • I have to have a nice evening before, or it falls apart

Simple habits may be easier for me to implement, but this habit is a pretty big change. I have a lot of negative momentum that tries to keep my old habit of sleeping in, hitting snooze, running late, and picking up some unhealthy muffin or egg sandwich on the way to work.

I say this because this morning I blew it and didn’t get any writing done. I woke up at 7:00, and had an entirely unproductive meeting.

Missing Fruit Makes a Mismanaged Morning

I was in LA all weekend, and I blame my problems on that.

LA itself was great, a buddy of mine opened his home to a few of our friends, and we all had a good old time for the weekend. Lots of male bonding and geeking out.

I got home late yesterday evening, and didn’t have groceries. I was missing the usual fruit that I cut up in the morning for breakfast, and I was out of coffee. Two hits to this new habit of mine.

Late, wasted evenings make a late, wasted morning

In addition to my lack of morning supplies, I stayed up late and had a couple beers to relax. I had been on the road for 8 hours, and I didn’t really have it in me to get anything done and be productive.

I fired up my computer, watched a few shows, threw down a couple beers, and in general had the alone time that I need to recharge. I was up pretty late, and 5:45 am came just a little bit too early.

It didn’t help that I was up till 2 or 3 am each night over the weekend, and up around 8 am every day. I was running on low sleep. When morning came around, I decided to not get any writing done, and sleep in till 7. It felt good, and I probably needed it.

Schedule for a productive evening

The big lesson for me is that I am gonna have to schedule my standard evening as well as my standard morning if I am gonna keep to my productive schedule. This might be a little more challenging, because my evening activities vary a whole lot more than my mornings.

I think I will need some evening habits in place to make this work though. As I work this out, I’ll be writing about it here.

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The Schedule of a Productive Morning

October 1st, 2009 by Sean

This morning, I had a glimpse of the habits that it will take to succeed. My morning was very productive and invigorating. This was a step to success.

This may seem odd and trivial at times, but it was very much planned out.

My alarm went off at 5:46am this morning. After a minute or two of clock radio, I hit snooze, which resets the alarm for 9 minutes. I got out of bed at 6am. Stumbled into the bathroom. My joints were stiff, my feet didn’t want to carry weight yet, and my eyes were half shut.

I got into my kitchen at 6:04. I started my laptop, started a pot of coffee, and opened my fridge to pull out some juice, a peach, and a nectarine. I drank a glass of grapefruit juice (the last of the container – I need more), and cut up the peach and nectarine and put the slices on a plate.

I told you there were going to be some trivial bits in here.

It was 6:10 at this point, and I spent 5 minutes stretching. I was determined to be able to touch my toes by the time I was done stretching. Mission accomplished.

While I was stretching, I thought about writing, and tried to figure out what I was going to write about.

At 6:15, I sat down in front of my computer with my sliced fruit and mug of coffee, and fired up my text editor of choice.

In 20 minutes I banged out a blog post about what my 101 Woodblock Series is about, and got it formatted for the web and posted by 6:50.

At this point I put on some shorts and a sweatshirt and left my apartment to move my truck. I was out and about last night, and got home fairly late. I parked in a meter spot the night before and had to find a street parking spot this morning. It took about 15 minutes. This situation only happens about once a week.

I got back in front of my computer around 7:05, and whipped out another post for another of my blogs (written with a pen name) in about 20 minutes. I already had half of the content written for this post, and it took about 20 minutes to get it up and ready to post.

7:25 rolled around, I fired up my email, cleared out my inbox, read a little news, then started to get ready for work. I packed up my lunch and mid-morning breakfast (when I eat breakfast this early I need an early morning breakfast and a mid-morning breakfast), and made it to work about 15 minutes earlier than usual.

So why bore you with these details?

This kind of habit that will lead to being successful.

I have a time management problem. I work 8 hours a day, and when I get home, it is difficult to focus on writing. When I get home, take off my suit and tie, and get some dinner in front of me, I want to relax.

My ability to focus drops significantly after 5pm.

I can’t focus on writing while I am at work, and I usually spend my lunch break exercising.

Mornings are really the best time for me to get my writing done.

I also realize that writing is the limiting factor to the growth of my projects. Every one of my projects revolves around content driven marketing, information products, or something that is written.

Without writing, my projects stagnate.

My goal, then is to create a morning habit of writing. If I can dedicate 1 hour every morning to writing, I will accomplish quite a bit.

Yes, it was deliberate

I actually wrote this schedule out on paper last night. Habits can be difficult to change, so I thought through every bit of my morning, and wrote down what and when I would do.

Seriously. I scheduled waking up and going to the bathroom. I even scheduled hitting the snooze button.

I had the piece of paper with this schedule on it sitting on my nightstand so I could grab it and reference it in the morning.

It worked this morning, and worked pretty well. Two blog posts in a morning’s work makes me pleased.

I’m planning to keep the schedule on my nightstand again tonight, to repeat the process again tomorrow. The real test will be next week, when the momentum of motivation from trying something new decreases.

Anyway, expect updates.

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My Art is About Gears, Plants, and Flowers

October 1st, 2009 by Sean

I have been asked recently what kind of art I make.

When people ask me this, they aren’t asking the medium that I use (which is relief block printing), they are asking what kind of imagery I draw.

Simply put, right now, I draw gears, flowers, and plants.

Yes, that is correct, there is a gear in there.

The usual word that some art critic might use with their wacky vocabulary is “juxtaposition” to describe this, but really, I think of it in a much more simple way – I just combine them together.

I am interested in machines, how they work, how they transmit power from one place to another, and how they can be designed in rather clever ways.

Maybe this is how I ended up as a Mechanical Engineer…

I really like flowers and plants also. I see the lush green of the plants that seem to swirl and unfold out, dotted with bright points of brilliant red, white, yellow, purple, and orange of the flowers.

In a way, things that grow are a bit of the opposite of machines. One is made by nature, organic, smooth, random. The other is made by man, manufactured, rigid, exact.

My art is not a statement about society, or man, or nature, or the environment. It is about myself in one way or another. For some reason, this combination of elements fascinates me.

It is obvious to me to combine these two subjects together.

My hope is that you will find something that you find interestign amongst the images I make. Maybe one of them will jump out to you, and it will make sense to you.

The reason why may not be clear, and it may not be obvious, but in that moment when you see something you like amongst the art I am making, I feel like I have shared a little of myself with you, and you have warmly received it.

= = =

If you haven’t yet heard about the 101 Woodblock Series, it’s time to fix that! I am working on a series of woodblock prints that is a crash course through means and methods of relief printmaking.

At the end of this project, I will have 101 unique pieces of art, each of which has been printed from some combination of wood and linoleum blocks.

I want my crash course to be your benefit, so the results of this project are going to be sold to you for only the amount to cover my shipping costs and the cost of materials.

In other words, dirt cheap original, unique art.

The subject of this series is exactly what I talked abotu above, gears, plants, flowers, plus some good old fashioned design thrown in to hold it all together.

If you have started to think, “yes, that is something I am interested in”, sign up for my newsletter, and you will get updates about the project, first notice when the prints have gone on sale, and behind the scenes looks at the creative process.

Click on “101 Woodblock Series” on the left to sign up for the newsletter.

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How To Find Out When You’re Getting Lucky

September 18th, 2009 by Sean

This isn’t anything new, it’s pretty old hat, and it’s pretty obvious too, but it is what I am doing.

One thing Eben Pagan pointed out in his Altitude program is that you need to know when you are getting lucky in business, and follow that route.

I’ve been figuring out where I’ve been getting lucky by digging in to the search result keywords for my blogs. Google Analytics has a neat feature that let’s you see what keywords people are searching for to find your site. These keywords make great titles and content for new posts and articles! You have proof that people are looking for this information, and they are finding your site, so you might as well produce this content, or more content, or better content on these subjects.

On one of my blogs, I have a certain keyword search (after my name and the name of the site) that has given me the highest number of hits from search engines. All of this is because of one post I wrote on this subject, which is showing up on the first page of google for that search. I have an opportunity to create more content on this subject and provide it to these people.

This is a win-win situation. I know I can create better content on this subject than the other search results are providing. I also get more people exposed to that blog, with the chance of converting them to ongoing readers.

I am borrowing from my buddy Dr. WordPress who wrote a series of posts with practical blogging tips, and I am going to write a series of practical tips discussing the subject matter of that key word search.

I got lucky by writing an article that has gotten highly ranked by search engines for a search on that subject, now, I need to capitalize on that and be thankful that I got lucky.

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Viva Blog Vegas

September 16th, 2009 by Sean

I just found out that I won a pass to Blog World Expo from Mashable.com. Folks entered by leaving a comment about why they wanted to attend Blog World.

I’m hoping to get a lot of good information and inspiration that will help take my websites to the next level of performance. Plus, I might have a little bit of fun in Las Vegas.

Here was my entry:

I’m actually not a very good writer.

I can’t effortlessly whip out a thousand words or two on a subject. I struggle to find the words that will communicate with my readers, and inspire or inform them to make their life better. I write, and re-write, and it sometimes takes hours to craft a post that I think others may think is worth reading.

And I do it anyway.

The things about writing, and specifically blogging, that are a struggle are the things that make me do it. It is a challenge, and because of that challenge, I am drawn to it. I love that writing isn’t easy for me, and because of that, writing is far more rewarding than other things that I have a natural knack for.

Blogs have levelled the playing field and removed the barriers to entry. Anyone can have a blog up and running in just a few minutes these days. People all around the world can read what you and I write seconds after we decide to share it.

I’ve chosen blogs as my primary way of sharing what I have to offer with other people. Now I am faced with the giant task of writing compelling content, and finding ways to show people what I have to offer. Blog World Expo will teach me how I can keep working to do this.

I admit, I am greedy. I don’t want to sit in a cubicle my whole life. I don’t want to work form 9 to 5 every day, and dress up in slacks and a shirt to go in to the office. I want out. Specifically, I want out by communicating and creating value to share with other people. I want to learn how to make my writing, and my blogs, more compelling. I want to improve my life, and I want to do that by making other people’s lives better.

Blog World Expo is right for me.

You can see the comment on the blog post by clicking here.

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