My Personal Take on Creative Property Rights

[This is a rewrite on previous blog post...]

Recent events have raised a concern regarding intellectual and creative property rights. My previous post felt heavy-handed so I am rewriting it in a straightforward manner so that readers and followers understand my position.  Most importantly, I do not want to offend my followers and know that I greatly appreciate and support all who keep up with my work.  That is why I blog in the first place--to share ideas and create a dialogue.

The internet has opened up huge opportunities to share and market artists' work.  With that comes the challenges of how to protect an artist's work from duplication without the their consent. I post my work using the many tools available including my website and social media and through years of hard work and persistence, it has made a difference.  I also blog on some of my methods to share the path of experimentation with others so we can learn together.

I do not allow direct copy or reinterpretation of my artwork without my consent.  This is especially true if an artist is widely marketing the work on the internet or selling the art work.  If you are in doubt, contact me.  

If you have taken a class from me, then I take the position that I am relinquishing certain rights regarding my methods and that you will use that knowledge to create and develop your own style in your artistic pursuits.  It does not extend a right to directly duplicate my work, but does allow a student to use the tools acquired in class to explore and develop their own artwork. If a student wishes to sell work made in workshops or classes, that is also reasonable as long as it is properly cited and referenced as to its origins. I do not think it is fair to teach a student how to paint with glass while telling them they cannot use it to market and sell their own work.  It is realistic though to expect a student to use those tools to develop their own unique style in the future.  That is the whole point of teaching and taking classes in the first place.  In the converse, if there is a method or style that I wish to protect as my own, I simply won't teach it.
 
I hope this post is clearer and more appropriately states my position.  Consider this a segue to a larger dialogue on creative property rights--it is a very difficult and elusive subject for many artists and if we start opening up the conversation about it, maybe we can all come to a better understanding on what it is and how it pertains to our own creative businesses.

​We shouldn't have to always be looking over our shoulders worrying about whether or not a piece may be judged as too similar to someone else's, but we should consciously make the effort not to copy someone's work.