Welcome to Our New Blog!

WaterShapesstarted 12 years ago as the result of a lengthy round of discussions betweenEric Herman and me — an exchange of ideas that hascontinued ever since.

With each issue of the magazine, we consider a broad range of factors, including which features to publish and why, what column topics to pursue, how each piece of the puzzle fits into the overall picture and, above all, whether we’re convinced that the material we’re considering has enough lift to carry the issue to the high level to which you and our other readers have become accustomed.

It’s an oddly delicate balancing act, especially when it comes to feature articles.We do our level best to be geographically representative and to make sure the magazine never leans too heavily toward any one category of watershapes.We also consider proportions of residential vs. commercial coverage, and we strive to resist the temptation to lean too far toward the glitzy and unattainable.

That last point is vital:It has always been our mission to inspire every reader across the board. A prerequisite of making that happen is to cover watershapes whose conception and details can be translated from one project or application to another.This is a practical touchstone that often either clinches a choice or sees an otherwise worthy concept set aside until a better moment arrives.

Something Eric has insisted upon almost from the start is the latitude to publish material that was off the beaten path, maybe even a bit weird. (Pieces we’ve run on bubble-ring generators,water-driven musical fountains and historic municipal water systems come to mind.) He’s always striving keep things interesting while also satisfying his own desire to help expand the world of watershaping.

One of our intentions here is to bring these sorts of background deliberations to the forefront and let you in on what we do in greater detail — for example, to let you know why we’ve made particular decisions, or to discuss why we think the work of David Tisherman, Anthony Archer Wills and William Rowley (among many others) can and should influence the way you approach your own projects.

Whether you’re new to watershaping or a seasoned veteran, our aim is to share our insights and makeeach issue of the magazine more interesting and pertinent to you. As we’ve always done, we’ll also shake things up from time to time (if only to keep you guessing) or give you occasional previews of what’s coming in future issues and help you understand what the people behind the magazine are thinking.

So watch this space:Should be fun!

Some entries onWaterShapes Worldwill beby Jim McCloskey, the publisher ofWaterShapesmagazine; someby Eric Herman, its editor;and some by the two of them together.