GIVEN Friday’s post about inspiration and living your dream this seemed like the perfect way to kick off the week – the perfect compliment and a little reminder to us all that…
Since the beginning of time artists have borrowed from each other. A few people simultaneously hit on a style, concept or technique and others follow suit. It happens over and over again. It always has been and always will be. That is the nature of art. But when does being inspired by another’s work cross the line and become theft?
Take music as an example. Samples in music are an homage – a small piece of inspiration that’s added to the whole to create something entirely new…it’s a compliment to the creation, not the creation in its entirety.
The musician finds a way to incorporate a piece of something they like from the original piece into an entirely new work that doesn’t remotely resemble the original, save a brief riff that blends with the new composition. They don’t create the exact same song, the same lyrics or just change one or two chords, one or two words and then slap a new title on it – that would be stealing.
THAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INSPIRATION AND THEFT.
Artists borrow. They share stylistic similarities while adding their own quirks and unique touches. They take a tiny portion of the original and personalize it, adapt it and change it drastically to fit their artistic vision. They twist and contort it until it’s virtually unrecognizable from the source of the inspiration. They tell their own story. Every artist who ever was or ever will be borrows sometimes.
What reputable artists don’t do is steal. They don’t copy the original piece, change a few colors, slap a new name on it and call it theirs. They don’t plagiarize.
Earlier this year I was a victim of plagiarism. Someone blatantly plagiarized one of my recent works (and upon investigation the work of at least one other artist) and even though time has passed I must say I’m still pissed.
I know some people will argue imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and to that I say bullshit. Theft is theft. Theft is not a compliment.
IF SOMEONE STEALS YOUR CAR IS IT A COMPLIMENT REGARDING YOUR TASTE IN AUTOMOBILES?
HELL NO.
It’s theft. It’s someone taking something that’s yours and making it theirs without your permission. When the image uses the exact same concept, composition, content, and posing of the model/subject it is not imitation. It’s plagiarism and it’s illegal. Yup, illegal…just like any other theft.
Hell f’ing yes. Never mind the legalities of it and that it demonstrates a lack of integrity, it goes beyond that. When someone plagiarizes one of my images it’s like stealing my diary and publishing it as their own autobiography.
I FEEL VIOLATED.
THE STORY THEY’RE PRETENDING TO TELL ISN’T THEIRS. IT’S MINE.
It’s the story of my life, my experiences, my loves, my victories, my defeats, my suffering, my passions and my heartbreaks. This is a vile form of identity theft…they’re stealing my memories, my feelings, my thoughts and claiming them as their own.
And now I would like to take a moment to address the person who has plagiarized my work…
You speak online of the importance of dreams, manifesting and living them to the fullest, and you absolutely should. Go live your dream and rock it like a badass. Live YOURS. Stop living mine and other artists’ dreams by stealing our work.
BY PLAGIARIZING MY WORK YOU ARE LIVING A WATERED DOWN IMITATION OF MY DREAM.
You stole my life, my pain, my feelings, my story when you stole my work and believe me, if you knew what some of those were you would never want them in a million years. You would beg to give them back. Truly.
I ADMIT I HAVE A KILLER SHOE COLLECTION BUT THERE ARE VERY FEW PAIRS YOU WOULD WANT TO WALK A MILE IN…
Some will say this is merely coincidence but we both know that’s not true. Some will say you simply don’t know any better. If that’s sincerely the case then you need to learn and study and grow far, far more before you profess to be a professional in your field.
I hope you will see the error of your ways and remove all the images you have plagiarized from everywhere they’re posted including any and all social media, photography sharing sites and your portfolio.
Of course not. My goal isn’t to harm you. I want you to recognize the impact of what you did and why it’s wrong. It’s up to you to make it right.
I cannot stress this enough:
Fellow artists won’t work alongside a thief and galleries certainly won’t exhibit your work. You’ve burnt bridges. If you think word won’t get around it always does…and it already did.
If you won’t take down the work and stop stealing because it’s the right thing to do, do it because you’re damaging your chance at achieving your dream. You’re shooting yourself in the foot, and believe it or not I don’t want to see that happen.
Tell your own story. At the end of the day you have a moral, ethical and professional responsibility to yourself and to your fellow artists to work with honesty and integrity. Create your own work – the expression of your life and your soul, but don’t steal the expression of others.
I sincerely hope you will turn this around. I love to support other artists and I would love to be able to sing your praises, but only if you use this opportunity to change and grow as a person and an artist.
*THE END*
Because I want not only the artist in question but everyone who reads this to understand what is at the heart of such matters. My hope is that both artists and non-artists can learn something from this.
All of life is about borrowing bits and pieces to construct our own version of truth and wholeness, to construct our own life that is unique to us and us alone.
Hopefully today we’ve learned to borrow in a way that is respectful and honors both ourselves and those we borrow from.
We are all borrowers. So let’s borrow, shall we, and create something beautiful in our lives today. Until next time…
AS a lover of Halloween and a certifiable, erm I mean certified…yeah…certified zombiephile, I can’t believe I didn’t share some undead zombie love on All Hallow’s Eve, a day for all things spooky, dead and gory. My neglect to do so was akin to treason; a betrayal of all dark and twisted (but loving) hearts in the world. In short, unacceptable.
So it is with a massive amount of undead delight that I now (better late than never) present…
Did I miss your favorite zombie short? Please tell me if I did. Leave links to your favorite zombie short films in the comments section below. After all, you can never have too much undead delight, now can you (not to be confused with ‘Afternoon Delight’ because that would just be disgusting and incredibly dangerous…there is no gettin’ busy with the walking dead. Noooooooo. No. Gigantic big ol’ bag of no’s)? Until next time…
By the way, my darling dear Sarah of The Laughing Medusa just so happens to be blogging about zombies and fashion today, so hop on over and take a gander (and wait until you get to the part about the pattern on her shirt – super creepy).
HALLOWEEN is over and if you’re anything like me you feel slightly depressed that you now have to wait another 364 days until it rolls around again. If that’s the case then we’re both dealing with post-Halloween depression.
So we do the best we can to soldier on as members of the Addams Family in a Housewives of Boise world (is there a Housewives of Boise yet? It’s coming soon, I’m sure. They’re always looking for new women in new cities to exploit and publically humiliate so they’ll get to it sooner or later). Until then we mark the days off the calendar and remember that we’re…
(Am I the only one who can hear Morticia saying this as she prunes her garden by cutting the blossoms off of all her roses? Yeah…you know it’s Addams-tastic.)
So join me in clinging to All Hallow’s Eve for a few more days as we attempt to stave off the already encroaching Christmas displays and Black Friday commercials. Let’s revel in all things gloriously gloomy (not that that’s anything particularly new, but still…) a few more days. You don’t mind, do you?
SO it’s Halloween. You’ve patiently waited for the party invites to roll in but…*crickets chirping* Unbeknownst to you that’s what all your friends were doing to – waiting. So what’s a ghoul to do? Throw your own last minute party, of course!
I know. You’re thinking I’ve clearly lost my mind. You’ve had your suspicions for quite some time, but this is it. You are now convinced that I’m completely bat sh*t crazy. After all, there’s no way you can throw together a last minute Halloween party. Or can you…?
* ALIEN/SPIDER EGG SACKS *
* Set the mood before people even get in the door with this clever and easy outdoor décor idea from Fun Holiday Crafts.
Pick up some small glow sticks in the color of your choice (though I do suggest you stick to just one color), some white balloons and several pair of white hose/stockings. Now the quick & easy fun begins:
~ Cut the hose/stockings/tights straight across each leg close to the crotch or don’t cut and leave them in tact (either way will work – it makes sense in a moment. Promise). Set them aside.
~ Next activate the mini glow sticks and drop several in each white balloon. Now fill the balloons with enough water to make them round, but not too full. Tie off the balloons and carefully slide one balloon into each leg of the stockings.
~ If you cut the legs of hose then take each leg and tie them to tree limbs, arbors, etc. If you didn’t cut the hose then just allow them to drape over the limb by the crotch/waist. You can adjust the lengths of the egg sacks by wrapping the legs around the limb to achieve the desired length.
End result? Creepy glowing egg sacks. If you want to add plastic spiders or other creepy crawlies just stick them to the hose. Simple…and simply creepy.
* COBWEBS *
* Hop on your broom and fly over to your local craft/sewing store and grab a bag of cotton batting and some double sided tape. (Avoid the synthetic stuff. Trust me. It makes horrible cobwebs. A blend is okay but pure cotton is going to give the best results.)
~ To make your cobwebs just tear off different sized pieces of the batting and gently pull the cotton apart in different directions and at different thicknesses and lengths to create a spider web effect, then use the double sided tape to tack it into place. (Use the mummy pictured above (not the huge web in the background) for reference.)
~ If you’re looking for something less subtle and more attention grabbing you can always buy cheesecloth or cotton gauze from your local fabric store and apply the same basic technique. The main differences? Instead of tape use pushpins, carefully shred it with scissors, a knife or a razorblade (then use your fingers to pull the fibers apart and fray the edges) and don’t use it for smaller, daintier applications. Leave that to the batting.
* JACK O’ LANTERN…LANTERN *
* Expertly carving a pumpkin can take a stupid amount of time…and I mean stupid amount of time. Want a quick and easy work around? Of course you do. This is last minute, remember? So check out this awesome idea from DaveHax.com:
~ Cut and clean your pumpkin as you normally would.
~ Then take just about anything pointy and round (a large nail, a drill, a screwdriver…you get the idea) and poke holes all over the pumpkin (and as evenly spaced as you can – no need to measure, just eyeball it. Perfection isn’t necessary).
~ Instead of a candle you can stick an electric flameless candle inside. If you want to up the ante use a light with a strobe feature.
~ Set it on a table as a center piece or string it with some thick twine (all those little holes now come in handy) and hang it from the ceiling for a disco ball effect. Lighting and requisite Jack O’ Lantern = done.
* FANCY PUMPKINS *
If you really don’t have time to clean a pumpkin but feel like Halloween just isn’t Halloween without one then this is the perfect party project for you: Glitter Pumpkins.
~ Run to the craft store and grab a handful of the artificial pumpkins (which will be insanely cheap today since it’s Halloween. Thank god for sales, eh?) in whatever sizes and shapes you like. Also grab glue (I like mod podge), a ton of glitter (you can never have too much glitter. This is a proven fact.) and matching spray paint in the colors of your choosing.
~ In a well ventilated area spray paint your pumpkins with a light and even coat (but make sure you get that baby covered – we don’t want them to be splotchy and sloppy). Wait for the paint to dry (this is a perfect time to ice the bleeding cupcakes listed below. Multi-tasking is a must if you’re throwing together a fabulous last minute fete.)
~ Once the paint is dry, coat it with a thin layer of glue and then, while the glue is still wet, pour the glitter all over your pumpkin. Set aside to dry. Done and done.
* BLEEDING CUPCAKES + PRINTABLE CUPCAKE AND STRAW FLAGS *
Last year for Halloween I told you how to whip up a batch of deliciously disgusting bleeding cupcakes. Not only that but I gave you some creepy Halloween themed printable flags to top of your cupcakes and straws.
I realize that bleeding cupcakes and decorative toppers don’t sound quick and easy, but I promise when you read the recipe you’ll see the longest part of the process is actually baking the cupcakes (and if you make sure to set your timer you can take care of other party preparations while they bake). You can get the recipe and the downloads here.
* HALLOWEEN GARLANDS *
A couple of years ago I also whipped up some cute little printable Halloween garlands. You can print ‘em, cut ‘em, string ‘em and go or, if you want to get fancy you can always cut ‘em out and cover those cute and spooky babies in glue and glitter to give them that extra bit of oomph. Grab all three free printable Halloween garland templates here.
* HAIR RAISING HALLOWEEN SOUNDTRACKS *
Of course, no party is complete without music! There must always be music! No time to create a Halloween mix of your own? No problem. You can give my Halloween and Zombie mixes on 8track a try (and just in case you don’t want to deal with having your computer up and running there’s an 8track app for your phone). You can give them a listen here:
~ By The Pricking Of My Thumbs (Halloween Mix)
~ Music For Battling The Zombie Hordes
~ Music For The Apocalypse
If my mixes don’t strike the right chord with you (Yeah, I said it. I’m sorry. I’m a sucker for a really bad pun) then swing by Pandora and check out the Halloween channel. Yes, you will hear The Monster Mash, but you will also hear a ton of songs that are perfect for a gore-inspired get together.
It’s never too late to throw a spooktacular Halloween bash. Now get a move on! There are cobwebs to be made, cupcakes to be baked, costumes to be donned and bloody makeup to be skillfully applied. I hope you have a bloody good time tonight…and remember…that strange noise you heard wasn’t the house settling…*insert evil laugh here* Until next time, my deadly darlings…
