I seriously do not think I would feel the need to contact an artist for “permission” to sell something using their techniques. I like the person who talked of Christi Friesen’s statement about being free to sell pieces using her techniques or projects, but just wanting to change the piece enough to make it your own (or credit the artist for inspiration).

Then again, who is to say that the person who came up with a technique is the very first one to do so? Creative individuals can come up with very, very similar ideas on their own while being worlds apart. I think it is the nature of working with any medium.

I’ve had to question myself after writing about that ceramics gal whose work showed a lot of the artist she learned from. I don’t know where my feelings are stemming from. Maybe the fact that we both were in ceramics class and she ended up showing and selling more work than me on a consistent basis after college…and my feeling that that should have been me. Funny stuff, isn’t it. But, I always enjoy self-analyzing and figuring out why I’m behaving the way I do!

To end this ramble, I love it when people share ideas and techniques. I hate when people become watchdogs and start being snippy about things. I do hope we can all “get along” and keep making art! It’s one of the few joys of life!

You know, the more time that passes between me and my own bad experience, the less I care. It’s taking me a long time to get there, I’ll admit, because despite the fact that I am confident I did nothing wrong, I know that there are still a handful of A-list polymer clay artists out there who question my ethics. It’s hard not to care about their opinions. But I’m starting to let it go. No point in letting the misguided thoughts of a handful of people eat me up inside.

The way I see it, if you really want to make a technique your own, then you’re already worlds ahead of people who blatantly copy for profit. Contacting an artist at that point to say “see how you inspired me?” or “look at what I did with what you taught me” is a nice thing to do, but asking their permission to sell your work is really unnecessary. Most reasonable teachers will say that once they’ve put a technique out there, it’s yours to use however you like. (It isn’t yours to teach other people, necessarily, but selling the finished product should not be an issue, especially if you are driven to put your own spin on it.)

Anyway, it’s a thorny issue. Sounds like you and I are on the same page, though! I wouldn’t be hesitant to watch DVDs or read books – the inspiration they provide can be so valuable to helping you find your own voice, I think. That’s how it’s always worked for me, anyway!

I’m not one who wants to copy (unless it is to understand the technique, initially), and I like making things my own. I think as artists we all strive to make things which speak from our own heart.

If we use someone’s technique, are we to contact them and say, “Here is what I’ve made…I’ve been inspired by you…is it all right if I sell these at a crafts fair?” Is that going too far? I always worry about something coming back and biting me in the you-know-what.

At the same time I can see where you really want to create your own style/vision so that if you really DO make a name for yourself, it’s not in the “style” of someone else. Know what I mean? I remember a gal who took a clay (not polymer) class from a well-known ceramist. Her work after that had so much of this gal’s technique. Even though she made things which were her own and not copying her exactly, I still saw the other ceramist’s style every single time I saw her work. It just bugged me to no end.

Well, enough on that for now. Have to go buy some sale clay!

Have a great day!

Jainnie

tejae

See what tejae has been blogging about: Inspired Countdown – Class Supplies

Anyhow, I would love to take Julie’s class. I might have to make a trip back up to Baltimore to take her class at the Artway!

See what deirdre has been blogging about: weekend jewelry making

Clay Carnival France sounds exciting! Have you had a local event like that before?

I have been a great fan of mokume gane and obviously Julie for many years and have as yet never taken any such workshop. It is inevitable however that my designs will have some connection to Julie’s as they are a version of that technique. Just in the same way as me using my clay gun to produce mosaic like canes will resemble the tuto in Donna Kato’s book….

I was fortunate enough to spend an entire weekend with Julie this February at the IPCA exec board meeting in Ohio. Just being in Julie’s company, listening to her talk and touching her work was inspiration enough. I’m back home now and working on a new range which I have decided to call “Samurai”. It has elements of Julie plus my own twist but I do feel that it is me rather than her….. and I still haven’ taken her workshop..

So – enjoy the time you have with Julie and share in the beauty of creation.
Julie is at last coming to France in October for the Euro Clay Carnival France event – and I have even managed to secure her time again for March 2010! At last I may just get around to taking one of her workshops….and by then who knows….my designs may be so distinct that people may so is that Lunes or Picarello….I can dream…..

See what Kylee has been blogging about: Did I mention naked lovers & polymer clay?

Thanks for commenting, Julie, it’s nice to hear from you! I appreciate you adding your two cents. I really do think that any reasonable teacher is going to expect a student to copy at first, and then take it in a new direction. Conversely, any reasonable student is going to want to play with a technique long enough to inject some of their own style into it.

I’m looking forward to next weekend!