The other day when I stopped to buy some E-6000, the woman in the checkout line ahead of me was buying an armful of jewelry magazines.
As we were crawling by inches forward, she turned to me, admired my necklace and asked, "Which magazine did you find that one in?"
I was surprised at the height, breathe and depth of my indignation. I have been thinking about this moment and I have an epiphany to share with you:
People who copy from books, magazines, websites or classes are not artists!
They are copy-cats.
I have never used a book, magazine or the web for my work. Every design comes from my imagination. I have taken certification classes in a process but never a class on how to make a pair of earrings. I have a book on how to use the various PMCs which I received in my cert class, my kiln operating book, a book on the properties of natural gemstones, one on pearls and a general How To Bible of tools and techniques.
Aren't there clear instructions at Art Fairs that nothing can be made from a kit?
Well, following the step-by-step instructions (with pictures) is just like using a kit. You just go to the local bead shop and they will read your instruction set and give you everything that would have been in that kit.
Today I was back at the store and thought I would look through the lot. I could not believe the silliness, the trashiness, the lack of balance or color, the ART-LESS-NESS of the patterns in these ad filled mags. This is a business: NOT one set to build the next Artist.
I am sure Michaelangelo wasn't pausing on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, waiting for his monthy magazine for inspiration.
Comments
He actually said"A bad artist copies."
He also said,"
Pablo Picasso
Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/p/pablo_picasso_4.html#ix...
"An amateur copies, great artists steal" Picasso (paraphrased the original is in French)
There is a time honored teaching/training method for artists, whereby they copy great "works of art" before being allowed to work on their own. I surround myself with beautiful things to inspire me, whether it is sea shell or book by an artist I admire. I do not copy, though I did in art school, but I allow the beauty to enter and fill me up and push my creativity forward.
OMG!!! That article rocks!!!!
I just read the whole article- great points and information on how to protect your work and ideas. Thanks!!
Interesting article about copying at http://www.ohmyhandmade.com/2011/what-we-know/copycats-copyright-ke...
To quote the first two paragraphs
This is that whole idea of intent again. Many of our early 20th century artists did things to shake up the art world. It's also important to remember that Warhol did many of his works in print. As in silkscreen printing, he was making statements about production and multiples. Social comment.
I have no problem with people who sell "copies" as long as they are up front and clear that copies are what they are selling. Not copies of current artists, of course, or patented work. But if you go to the Peter Anderson Festival in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, you will find several generations of Andersons doing work "in the style of" Walter Anderson. This practice has helped put Walter Anderson and Ocean Springs on the map. I think Walter Anderson would be thrilled to know that his talent has been able to help support his family even after his death. And I imagine the old masters would have loved the thought of students copying their work hundreds of years after they are gone.
I guess we're back to intent. If you intend to copy and pass it off as your own, you belong in jail. You are stealing from the artist. If you are copying an noncopy righted work to learn or as an admitted homage, then what's the harm? Art students have been doing it since - well, since there were art students.
Back in the really old days, students copied their masters. That's how they learned. The downside to purism, is that it makes the purist wear these huge HUGE blinders! Not to mention, purists tend to come off as snobs. (I'm a purist in other areas, so I include myself)
If one doesn't know how to do something, one looks, studies, analyzes, imitates (copies) and practices. Eventually, one becomes proficient. Eventually one becomes an artist. Some of us will always be happy at square 1. Some of us will not. We will develop and become more creative through the exercise of our mind and skill.
When I study with one of my teachers, I copy him. How else to learn a particular thing? Magic? I dunno. I think there's a place for copying, but there is absolutely no place for selling copied work....
Linda,
No coping aloud. The last comment was for other on the subject. On all art forms, we learn, we study. We create our own. In between designing, painting.....I teach watercolors. I am in wonder of the beauty of artist and their jewelry designs. For me I just buy what I like.
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