After almost endless looking artist block I'm finally starting to feel like doing something.

And as nothing happens by it's own, I decided to do something I like. Even grave for at the moment - photography. Since my camera broke, I've felt like half of my hand is missing. It's so odd after long time, but it feels again as if taking in the beauty isn't enough anymore and I wish to share it with you again.

Also, inspiration doesn't happen by itself - it has to be provoked. My own words. Time to start living by it. Friend lend me her camera (cute, big, heavy and oh so wonderful) and I got the first photos of many I'm gonna make this few days.

Yet again I'm working in a new place, too, which has given me sort of an ego boost and suddenly I sense a pile of work waiting to be done this year. So, after long time, this year actually started for me now.

I'll post the new photos as soon as I can. I've missed you, friends - it was long pause, but even artists need a break now and then, right?

Hugs!

Can you believe it? Wonderful wonderful wonderful winter day on the last day of February! It's like year of wonders already! I mean it - I've seen hare in winter coat and a fox on the same day! I last saw a hare when I was 12 - you might think they are easy to spot - you can't be more wrong. Hares and wild boars are one of the rarest to be seen in wild life if they have anything to do with it. And to see it on one of the most wondrous days of all the winter! I'll be posting the new photos as soon as I finish this and then go try sleep a little, though after seeing those two it's rather hard as I'm so exited .

Still, it seems that my little camera has a little flaw - gotta have it checked out, perhaps it's repairable, but... yeah...

Anyway, right now - it's the last day of February and the surprise I had this morning... friends - it is amazing to have four seasons!

Hugs!

For some unexplainable reasons I adore the first chill of the morning - you know, the first morning you wake up for all frozen fields and trees. It makes you feel warm inside, shows you the wonder of the world you live in in your own back yard.

The best about it is, you suddenly have this overwhelming warmness inside you, thinking on all the hot drinks and amazing sunsets and how birds gather to feed again and how the new part of the year has started. You stand there and no memory passes your head - all is new, no reason to look back and calculate how much you need to bring with you in the new winter. All the memories are covered, hidden away as the yard is.

Wonderful season indeed.

Summer is oficially over and the autumn has started. with all what comes with it. So what have I been up to? Eating, drinking, sleeping... and the rest of the stuff inbetween. Done some writing, some bead work, some tarot learning, some... well, alot that brings me no results I could use in the future of getting myself a good job, education or god knows what else.

So yeah, I have a life and at the moment I'm soooo enjoying it.

First: As I see a huge number of favs in my messages and I'm unfortunately lacking time to answer them all and say thank you personally to each and one of you... Thank you! I really apriciate them and it makes my heart sing to see that you like my works this much. Thank you



Now. An icon problem issue. Only few thoughts.

After I had this little touchy incident with one about my user icon here, I have become quite interested, which side is right and at to what point fighting for what is right brings results. Well, I'm not going deeper in that, still, I've started going through old pictures I foolishly have downloaded at the beginning of my years around the net and see if I can trace them to the originals. Some of them I did and some of them I didn't.

The question that actually rised from it was, at what point in publishing their art, does the art become the so-called public property?

The easy answer is NEVER! But we're not after easy answers here.

Let's take Angel Sanctuary as an example here. We all know Yuki Kaori, right? If you don't, just google for her. And that's where the problems start - just google for her and you get to know her, you get the exaltation of her beautiful art, you "collect" it and then wanna show your new ecstasy tablet to everyone and you make it into an icon, thinking nothing more of it. I know, 'cause livejournal and blogger itself are full of this. Plus countless fansites that are nothing more than copypaste joys. Then you referre to the artist (the nice give me credit clause) and think it's ok.

Is it ok? To some point, sure it's ok - from artist's point of view you get a free add. Then their work get more viewers and you get to publish something and then even that precious little icon someone made out from job is suddenly a moneymaker and then it's not ok by so many facts and laws. Yet that's the point where you get famous and the net is suddenly flooded with tiny iconmakers, who also consider the cutout/added text icons as their art.

Ignorance is the keyword here. I can't say carelessness, because I think, when the young artist (preteen, teenager, newby) made it, they hardly thought bad of it, but they read the clause about not using other's art and pass it as sniff during a storm. The other end would be the IT-intelligence, who knowingly use other people's art, because it referres to them so neatly, aka porn, sick insulting slogans, twisted ideologies, twisted signs, art... And that's because to them, internet is the ultimate free source and many (I wish I had made that one up myself!) think that if it's in the net, it's meant for everyone everywhere.

So, where do you draw the line, when searching for new icon? At what point do you say, or sense as we hardly ever stop there, that this artist and his/hers work have become a public property? Where do we stop asking permission to use someone's work, because they probably don't have time among all the fans surrounding them to answer or because it's not for money making purpose, it's allowed?

I'd like to say I'm free from this sin, but I can't. But I do say if we want to fight against it, a huge ethical issue has been left out from our education on IT. It's called plagiarism. We talk about it in our literature classes, but how many of you actually relate it with internet and arts? With user icons? IT is meant to teach techincal problems to our kids and youth, so they don't even think this issue should be adressed at all. And unless you yourself become one of the fighting artists, you don't really care and keep allowing yourself that innocent flirt with plagiarism.

So, take the quiz at account now and let's see, where do you draw the line? Mine is getting thicker every minute. Alowing your works to be used on non-profitable purposes is a good thing, but why do those same people are against icons, I don't know. It's probably yet again personal if we allow it or not, if we ask for credit and are happy with it or not and if we sense the point, from which on we just let it go as there is no stop to the flow of icons that all clame to be art.

Comments if you have ideas to add and show me the new light on matters.