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copyrights and ideas

updated thu 31 oct 96

 

Elca Branman on fri 4 oct 96

I really can't think of the number of times Ive completed a fresh new"
great" idea, only to get the new issue of Ceramics Monthly and find it
there, being done by some one else..Maybe its like pollen in the allergy
season..ideas just floating around the atmosphere waiting to land on a
receptive mind...or possibly ideas whose time has come...Elca Branman
elcab1@juno.com

Peggy Heer on sat 5 oct 96

>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>I really can't think of the number of times Ive completed a fresh new"
>great" idea, only to get the new issue of Ceramics Monthly and find it
>there, being done by some one else..Maybe its like pollen in the allergy
>season..ideas just floating around the atmosphere waiting to land on a
>receptive mind...or possibly ideas whose time has come...Elca Branman
>elcab1@juno.com

Isn't that the truth...has happened to me 3 seperate times. The first time
I threw out almost 2 yrs of notes, samples, ideas, tests and pots that were
almost ready for market. The second time the work was ready for market and
out it went anyway. The third time...I did not give a *&^^$%&. This work
was mine as far as I knew when I started the 'new great idea' and when I
finished doing all the testing to make something work the way I want it to
work...if any mag comes out with the similair thing I figure I put in the
time, effort, testing, mistakes, frustration, crying when things did not
work, starting again from scratch, money for materials , excited when it
does work, etc, etc (getting help from all my clayart friends of course not
to be forgotten here) the work is mine. That is IT.

On the other hand I had a student, who, after I presented a workshop,
copy EXACTLY what I had taught, with designs, colors, sizes, etc. and it
all showed up in a big seasonal fair for sale at half the price . Won't
comment on quality here.
After the fair the student went to the galleries and wanted to sell the
work left over. The galleries (knowing my work) told her that she was
trying to sell copies of my work and would not accept it under any
circumstances. ONE FOR THE GALLERIES and the student learned something of
value. I stress at my workshops...take the techs. taught, for they are
ancient, and make them your own.
I guess it goes both ways.
This was discussed almost 2 yrs. ago and for the new members on the list I
have repeated myself. For old members...sorry for the repeat. ;>}}}
As Always in Clay and always reserching/ learning new things that will
eventually show up in my workshops and my work...it's the way we all learn
to find our own way.
It is the chase that is exciting for me and keeps me in clay and One HAPPY
clay person.

Peggy Heer / Heer Pottery E-Mail p4337@connect.ab.ca
Edmonton AB, Canada
http://www.ffa.ucalgary.ca/artists/pheer/

Meg Schell on mon 7 oct 96

On Sat, 5 Oct 1996, Peggy Heer wrote:
> On the other hand I had a student, who, after I presented a workshop,
> copy EXACTLY what I had taught, with designs, colors, sizes, etc. and it
> all showed up in a big seasonal fair for sale at half the price . Won't
> comment on quality here.

One of my teachers tells of having "the best sale at a show ever". . .
then six months later finding someone had made molds of her work and were
selling the mold made copies on the same "fair" ciruit(sp). . . and
they had not even remove her chop marks. . . she was able to stop them
based not on her record of the sale, but on the chop marks being
identical.

I have "stolen" the idea and made little decorative stamps out of bisque
clay that look like a samll shell (;0) not that I think anyone would try
this my stuff but the little stamps make nice touch on the rims and feet.

Meg Schell