I want to talk about where we get our ideas from. Let's discuss looking at something that attracts us and then turning around and creating something ourselves from those sensations. I'm going to use photos from my recent creations merely for examples. (I'm not going to mention with every post that I'm not a lawyer. I'm no expert on Intellectual Property. But if you know someone, send them over here to consult us!)
I needed to make some ATCs for a swap. An ATC is a trading card. Emphasis on trading. You can use whatever you want to make a trading card because you're not making prints from them and re-selling them. This is why it's OK to use whatever you want to make them. Maybe you're practicing your sketching or shading, maybe you're playing with collage or sewing. Perhaps you're paying tribute to a favorite artist or style. You're having fun making a 89x64mm card for cripes sake. Anything goes.
Peeking through old magazines, I saw a photo that I loved. (Speaking of ethics... is it OK to post photos from magazines on a blog? I've mentioned the magazine, date and page so I hope I'm OK). This groovy ghost popping out of a black hole painted onto the side of a pumpkin made me smile. I thought, I'll try this on an ATC! I sketched one out, changed the face a little, introduced my own colors, made my hole ragged instead of smooth and then sewed it to an ATC card. Done and dusted. Sweet little ATC.
But would it be ethical to take my image and design Halloween cards intended for sale? I would say no. I blatantly looked at something that wasn't mine to begin with and then basically copied it. So if I'm exercising good artist ethics, I'm not going to make something so close to the original source. Not to mention the fact that it would be double-crappy to create another Halloween product for sale competing with the one already created by somebody else. If I had made the original ghost-in-a-hole, I'd be pissed off. Think about it.
Now I just so happened to also be taking an on-line class making dolls. Teacher Suzi Blu had us focus on heads only in the begining. My brain goes back to the ghost-in-a-hole. I think how can I make dolls without bodies? I'll make doll heads popping out of holes!! And why stop with a round hole? What about ovals or squares or maybe popping out of picture frames? So, the ghost-in-a-hole inspired me to use the concept of the original composition for something completely different. Could I take these dollies and make cards? I think so. And with a clear conscience.
What do you think? In any case, I just want to encourage mixed media artists to start thinking about the difference between being inspired and stealing. Heavy stuff. But I think it's important.