Posts from — April 2008

Current copyright law is strongly in favor of the creator of intellectual property, whether it’s a piece of creative writing (even if it’s unpublished), or a piece of artwork. Today a person’s artistic creation is protected from the time of its creation in tangible form, even without the added benefit of official copyright registration. But creative rights of ownership are in danger if a new bill passes. The Senate and the House have different versions. The Senate bill, introduced by Senator Patrick Leahy on behalf of himself and Orrin Hatch, is the Shawn Bentley Orphan Acts of 2008 (S. 2913) and the House bill, introduced by Congressman Howard Berman, is The Orphan Works Act of 2008 (H.R. 5889)

These bills are reinventions of the original Orphan Works Act of 2006, which was defeated because of intense opposition from illustrators, fine artists, textile designers, photographers and other artists. All bills were initially created to allow non-profit and education institutions (museums, libraries, universities, etc.) to publish or use images without the danger of being sued-including paying damages and legal fees-if the artwork had been “orphaned,” meaning the creator or the owner of the copyright couldn’t be located. I don’t think anyone would disagree too much with this original intent, especially in the case of someone who wants to have a family heirloom photo professionally retouched or restored by a service bureau but has no idea who the photographer was and can’t obtain written permission to have this done.

The problem is that even the two latest bills have language that will provide serious loopholes for copyright infringers and “for profit” companies, including those that deal in stock images. Right now, one publishing company in China has stolen works of art from 93 artists to publish in a book called Colorful Illustration 93 . These artists were not paid for their work, and because of the covert identity of the publishing company, the artists whose works have been stolen have little recourse. Many artists fear similar situations could occur here in the United States. As the law stands now, a copyright infringer, if caught and successfully prosecuted, can be forced to pay statutory damages of up to $150,000. But under these bills, if a copyright infringer can prove a good faith, reasonably diligent search, apparently the most he would owe the artist is fair compensation-all very vague wording left to the interpretation of judges and lawyers. These bills seem to have no “teeth” when it comes to the punishment of infringers (who are thieves) and little support for the artist who must prove ownership of the created work in a court of law.

I’m faxing my representatives today with a letter voicing my opposition to these bills as they are currently worded. If you want to do the same, you can find your elected representatives at the following link: http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml

For more information from those opposing this legislation please visit: http://www.sellyourtvconceptnow.com/orphan.html   or www.IllustratorsPartnership.org

Is perfectionism the bane of your creative existence? I’m a perfectionist, and though I think it’s great to take pride in my work, and I love detail like nobody’s business, I also know that my perfectionistic tendencies can stifle my creativity and slow down my productivity, whether I’m writing, drawing, painting, or making jewelry. I’ve also discovered that my perfectionism even keeps me from blogging on a more regular basis for fear that what I have to say will be boring or irrelevant. Well, so what. It’s my blog, right? LOL I’m getting better, starting with this post.

Anyway, if perfectionism is your bane, you might find it helpful to read an article by Jenny Williamson titled “Is Perfectionism Killing Your Career?” She’s right. Perfection is like the Tooth Fairy–neither one exists. 

 (photo from IMDB.com)

I don’t get to watch many movies when they’re first released (it’s a two-hour drive to the nearest theater), so I watch a lot of movies on pay-per-view, or I get them through Netflix. I just watched Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, and despite some bad reviews, I thought it was fun, and it had a great message: “Your life is an occasion. Rise to it.”

Something often happens to many of us on the way to adulthood–we lose faith in the powers of imagination we had as children. But somehow the 243-year-old Mr. Magorium (played by Dustin Hoffman in an offbeat role that reminded me of his talent in Tootsie) has escaped that trap, because his store is filled with magical toys, and he spends most of the movie trying to convince his 23-year-old store manager, Molly Mahoney (Natalie Portman), that she has all the magic she needs to take over his business.

But Molly’s going through what a lot of us go through. She’s “stuck.” She’s lost her “sparkle.” When she was a child she was a music prodigy full of potential and no fear of fulfilling it, but now that she’s an adult she can’t seem to finish the piano concerto she’s been working on. Chopsticks is about all she can manage, so she thinks “It’s time to get serious. It’s time to get practical.” Sound familiar?

“Practicality” has its place in the adult world, but so does “play,” and the joy of this movie is the reminder that the happiest adults are the ones who haven’t forgotten the power they had as children when they believed in their God-given gifts to dream and to create, and when they believed that their life truly was an occasion to celebrate.

If you’re feeling “stuck” or all together too grown up for your own good, I recommend a visit to Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium.

I recently received my spring 2008 copy of Step by Step Wire Jewelry, and I was ecstatic to discover that a picture of one of my pieces was in the “Wire Works” gallery of unique designs. I love this magazine and I’ve learned so much reading it, so this is a real honor.

I was especially happy since March marks the first anniversary of the first lesson I took in wire-wrapping at UNM Continuing Education from Camille Argeanas of Creative Wire. Camille has a no-nonsense approach, but what I appreciate about her is that once she teaches the basics (which are essential) she allows her students to explore their own ideas rather than just copying things she’s done. 

Here’s a picture of my piece in Step by Step Wire Jewelry.

The pottery shards are authentic, a thousand years old, and found on our private land. The black obsidian arrowhead was flaked by my dad, and the wrapping is done in sterling silver embellished with brecciated jasper bear fetish beads, turquoise beads, sterling silver beads, black onyx beads and red jasper chip beads. This piece is currently for sale at Oso Arts Gallery in Capitan, NM. [Read more →]