Tuesday

Picture by Jolene Hardy

I am still miffed about people stealing other people's products. I consider Andrew Thornton a friend and it makes me extremely angry when people mess with my friends/family. ARGH!!!!! I put our shops on Etsy on vacation mode until we can get really good pictures taken and update the site with the new pictures & our new jewelery:)

rude people

I don't understand people some days or should I state most days. Andrew Thornton had posted on his blog various viewpoints about copying/copyright laws screen shots from other artists blogs. He just stated in his blog that he has received in his e-mail really rude comments from people screaming about it. What the heck?

As an artist, I realize that we do see someone's work and more than likely subconciously copy it. I know that I have done that in the past and who knows, now also. I love posts that explain that and how to give proper credit when credit is due. I have forgotten where/when/how/names of a art bead that I bought or if we may have copied a picture on line and totally brain farted the artist name. Please tell me! I am bad but I do try to keep the name of the artist by that bead but if I don't use that bead for a while, that name could have disappeared and I don't give credit cause I totally brain farted. Give credit where credit is due, write in your description the link/shop name/artist name where you got that bead. Most artists are thrilled that you did that and won't say anything.

Copying is a totally different nut. DO NOT COPY PEOPLE TECHNIQUES OR THEIR ART WORK! Yes, I have in the past used some images that I shouldn't have...notice the phrasing, in the past. I will change it,mix it up, make is my own. Yes, we do get ideas and I do get jealous when I see something that I had thought of but someone made it quicker than myself. Learn and move on....

Take a lesson from fashion, many of the past styles keep coming up but they are different from the previous years by use of fabric, folds, buttons etc. Keep that in mind while you make your creations and you will be fine. I will take my own advice as well. But if you see your artbead or your idea, please let me know so I can fix it and give proper credit where credit is due.

Style.........

My question to you, is do we i.e. Funky Monkey Girls, have a style that is easily picked out in a group of jewelery?

I just read something in Lorelei's posted dated 5/13/09 about copyright and your sense of style in your jewelery. I was wondering, can others pick out my jewelery out of others or am I just "copying" bits of different designers that I am seeing instead of doing my style or the Funky Monkey Girls style.

I want our jewelery to be different, unique and that you can look at the piece and go oh, I know who designed that piece of jewelery. I have quite honestly really never sat down and talked about this or gave it a great deal of thought. My own style...mine, not a piece that I like from over there to add to this piece of over here...my own style.

This is definately something that I need to think about and come up with. I need to brainstorm this with mom so we aren't "copying" pieces from people but doing our own.

This will include Frida's pictures and her images as well, I need to twist it into my style. Do you know what your style is or are you unconsiously doing what I am doing, picking up ideas from everyone else? Something to think about.......