5/45-Artistic Thievery

I took some photos of this past ice/snow storm, I posted those on Facebook, and wrote that they are copyrighted photos. Are they such amazing or excellent photos that I am afraid they would be stolen? No, not at all, but it was a moment to open dialogue about the subject and to make me consciously choose to acknowledge what has been bothering me for quite some time.

Artistic Thievery is a very real thing. Whether that be someone steals your images for their usage, to a company producing prints of your paintings, maybe it is plagiarism, and it might even be the theft of your intellectual property-your words, ideas and concepts. Now some of you may make the argument of nothing being original, and we all have similar thoughts, true, but when someone uses these aforementioned items, without permission, it is simply theft.

Who would do such a thing? Not your friend, someone without respect, someone trying to just make a dollar, someone that has no regard for boundaries or property. In short, not someone of a high caliber. So, you may find yourself asking what the difference between artistic thievery vs. inspiration is, and to sum it up, inspiration takes an idea and puts a personal twist or approach on it.

So where is the line? How do we define artistic thievery? Some like images are pretty clear cut. If it ain’t yours and you are using it to make money, or without crediting the artist, that is thievery. If you are quoting someone without giving credit, thievery. If you are employing the words of another, that they use in some specific capacity, probably thievery. Do you think about what you say, share or post…maybe even print for your own purposes? Could be thieving.

So, let me tell you What I did for me today:

• I had two conversations, one with my husband, one with a great friend, both about thievery and betrayal
• I broke down and sobbed over both of those things, it served me to release the emotions, the expectations and the hurt feelings that I had
• I delved deep in to some personal issues about these 45 days, in relation to my work life, and where I need to go from here-so this process is working

What I did for another:

• I let go

My husband and I talked about how his idea of these 45 days was meant for me to have more joy in my life, to find a better balance and gain some clarity, but he emphasized the joy aspect. I took the idea, and morphed it in to an opportunity to share my journey, to hopefully inspire others in their own journeys, and clearly to have a bad day (or 5) along the way…for the purpose of release(thank you Maria), to clear room for what is meant for me, to see a pathway in to my future, and honestly to heal some things I don’t often say.

What are you looking to do currently on your journey? Do you have a beef you need to chew, or discuss? Are you holding in emotions that are holding you back? I am interested in you, your life, your growth, hit me up with what’s happening for you!