Welcome to Shards where you will find Glass Mountain online exclusives, feature reviews and the occasional look at favorites from past print editions.

“New year, new me” is a phrase we’re all familiar with; one that exists to show the start of something new and reflect on the person someone may want to be. Do I believe people can change? Art speaks for itself. The inner workings of someone’s mind shines through the words they string together, or the images they bring to life and, somehow, we know them better because of it. I believe people are who they are, but I also believe we don’t always see every aspect of someone until we see their art; their words, their images, the thoughts they hide from the world until they become too much to keep inside. This issue of Shards contains some of the most beautiful work – work that very well may show us a side of the artists never seen before. And while the words and images may not seem like much to the naked eye, under a microscope, we see the people who created them in a new way. A new version of themselves brought to existence, walking alongside the new year that awaits us all.

Corina Escalante
Editor, Shards