There are just a few things that need to be said.
One is that I am a very sensitive person, and I have feelings that are fragile and breakable (as most of us have) and I am a very real, very down-to-earth, person. I read each and every comment, and every email, and they affect me. The upshot of this is, that I find myself driven to distraction and sometimes worse when a "firestorm of controversy" happens here, on my personal art/craft blog. I find it difficult to be productive in the instances in which myself or my blog are used as a means for others to "vent". I've resisted comment moderation before, but I am going to begin deleting those comments that I consider inflammatory, unproductive, or personally harmful.
Another thing I want to do is to address the money issue that others have so tactfully broached. I'd like to be clear that the number Martha Stewart announced on her show (explicitly against my wishes) is not a realistic reflection of my business. I don't think that the amount of money that I earn is anyone's concern, and I feel like it's a private matter, but I thought I should clarify the inaccuracy of the claim and also ask that people not use that figure as a stick with which to poke at me.
Lastly, people are entitled to their beliefs and opinions about the nature of inspiration and the nature of plagiarism...however, I think it would be helpful for everyone interested to go pay a visit to official copyright website, which is very extensive and useful. I hold a copyright on the pattern discussed yesterday, as well as the
dolls, as both are included in the US copyright
office's definition of visual art. There seems to be some confusion about this, but I didn't transfer
any of the rights by offering a free pattern for download or by
appearing on the Martha show to do a tutorial. A good analogy is to think about this: does a musician or author relinquish their rights to their song or written work by performing it live on television? Nope. If you were to purchase sheet music for a song, would that grant you the right to record the song and sell it for commercial gain? Nope again.
Inspiration and learning and sharing are vital parts of the creative process, and variations on common ideas are limitless, which makes the very nature of creative copyright multi-faceted and sticky. However, this much is simple: if an individual sets out to make exact copies of another artist's work for commercial profit, and they haven't explicitly been granted the right to do so, it is irrefutably wrong. Some might ignore or disregard that, but there it is.
Thank you for all of the thoughtful back-and-forth that we share on this blog, and for the feelings of support and kindness that I am given every day. I can never say that enough, and it never goes unappreciated. I want, above all, to preserve that without sacrificing my own well-being.
Love,
Emily
