In late 2000 I purchased a 4-story building in Ome in Tokyo that seems to be perfect for my living/working needs. A small river runs along the rear side of the property, and provides the inspiration for the name of this new 'Seseragi Studio'.

Seseragi has no single-word translation in English, but describes the sound made by shallow water rippling across stones.

Down at the lowest level of the building, there is a small room that looks out over the river, and it is there that I am building my new workroom. It is far from complete, but I am already using it for printmaking work.

I have a video camera set up in this workroom, looking down over the workbench scene. It is switched on most days (see the schedule below) and I zoom it up close, or out wide, as seems appropriate for the particular work at hand. The webcam page has a Message Board for viewers to leave comments and questions, or to 'chat' with me while I am working (see notes below).

I hope you enjoy this small 'window' into the working environment of one woodblock printmaker!

Woodblock Webcam schedule ...

	'Prime' time ...	'Not so prime' time ...
Japan time:	9:00 am ~ Noon	8:00 pm ~ 9:30 pm
GMT:	12:00 pm ~ 3:00 am	11:00 am ~ 12:30 pm
East coast US (EST*):	7:00 pm ~ 10:00 pm	6:00 am ~ 7:30 am
West coast US (PST*):	4:00 pm ~ 7:00 pm	3:00 am ~ 4:30 am
(* Standard Times. During the summer Daylight Saving period, add one hour to the times listed here...)

Please note: I am a woodblock printmaker, not a broadcaster; the schedule listed here simply outlines some hours in the day when I am most likely to have the camera turned on; it may also be on at other times. On the other hand, if the sun is shining, and the mountain trails near my home are dry ... Thank you for your understanding!

The Webcam has both 'live' and 'pre-recorded' modes:

• If you're checking at a 'live' time, then when you access the webcam page you should be seeing me working, with audio too.
• I have a laptop computer by the side of the bench, and will see any new messages that are added to the Message Board, so will be able to actually answer questions 'on air' as I work.
• If you access the page when I'm not 'live', you will get a recorded version (usually the previous session); this is identified by the text 'Recorded Live' in the video window. If I happen to come back 'on line' during the time that you are watching a recorded version, you will see a (red) notification message letting you know that you can reload the page to see the live stream.

View the Webcam

• The video feeds are being provided by the Ustream system. I'm sorry that because I can't afford their (quite steep) fees for their 'ad-free' version, you will see ads on the video, including one at the very beginning of each stream.
• As described on this RoundTable posting, I also have a Skype hookup on the webcam. At any time while I am broadcasting, you are free to call me at my Skype ID of 'seseragi_studio'. (Please read the instructions on that post before trying this). Remember though, that our conversation will be audible to all the Webcam viewers, and will also be automatically recorded as part of the archived video stream, for playback later on the Ustream site.
• I have a 'Channel Page' at Ustream, where you can select from a number of pre-recorded sessions from the webcam.
• I have an alternate layout for the Webcam page - one with the video and the Message Board both visible at the same time. This is being enjoyed by many viewers, but requires a fairly wide browser window ...

View the 'wide' Webcam

Comments or questions about what you see? Suggestions to make this more useful? Drop me a line with your feedback, or use the Message Board on the webcam page itself.

I have prepared a Q&A page, where you can read answers to questions sent previously ...

Like to enter the "Where's Boots?" contest? My friend Boots-chan passed away in December of 2010, so the contest is of course now closed. But the page where it lived is still active, for you to read ...