With Blending's focus this Fall on material media, I wanted to write something different. In conversations with students, staff and curious readers, I often liken Blending to a giant puzzle. In a semester dedicated to The Renaissance of Material Media in Film, Photography and Beyond, puzzles fittingly fall into the Beyond category.

Growing up, my mother would bring out a 500 to 1,000 piece puzzle around the holidays. It was never finished in a day; taking days to weeks. Piece by piece we sorted: corners in one pile, colors in another. Slowly, piles shrank and sections emerged until the full picture was visible.

Over an 11-week semester, the first weeks are spent putting all the pieces on the table: defining the magazine's concept, theme and vision. The weeks that follow are dedicated to brainstorming, writing, interviewing and proofreading, preparing articles for layout. The structure becomes clear but still needs filling. Later, photography and graphic design teams analyze chosen articles and the magazine begins to take shape. What was once a skeleton or piles of ideas now matches the vision we set in week one.

There is an extra layer to this puzzle. Connected to The American University of Florence's 14th Annual Academic Conference, students kept focus on this resurgence of material media in their writing. That focus can be a challenge and the theme must not make the magazine stale. It is meant to do the opposite, by pushing students to explore and challenge themselves. Each section must breathe life into the next.

This Fall, Blending moves from academic darkrooms to Florence's film communities. Students left their comfort zones, creating human connection by asking strangers to add thoughts, advice and stories in a shared notebook. Dressing For Viewing even spotlights and questions the fashion culture surrounding concerts, opera and cinema. The magazine moves from investigative reporting and interviews to personal reflections and poetry, all circling back to the central theme.

Eleven weeks ago we dumped this theoretical puzzle onto the table and for a while could not see or even predict the finished product. By working together, those scattered pieces are in place. The picture is clear and the story is ready. Now all that is left is to read.