This is my fourth New Year's woodcut, which has now become a yearly tradition. Like the others, it's not actually a woodcut but rather a linocut since it was carved from a block of linoleum instead of wood. Besides a few proofs, thirty five copies were printed and sent as 2004/2005 New Year's cards (which read inside "Welcome in the New Year"). This piece is a bit different from my earlier pieces, which are less figurative. Another new element was that I mixed a dark burgundy ink using red and green ink. Since each print had a slightly different mix, each has a slightly different hue, from nearly black to a very warm red.
My friend Ludwig Arnold describes the piece as follows: "A mysterious female face, with a light smile, exotic hair-do, strong cheek bones and big eyes, partly covered by a curtain, greets us. She presents the unpredictability of our future. We are welcome, but do not know or cannot determine what will happen."