Recently, some of my artworks were stolen and used in t-shirt design competitions. Thanks to everyone helping out, the problem was quickly resolved. In case it happens to you, I've written a tutorial based on my own experience: What To Do If Your Art Is Stolen. I used a Creative Commons license for the blog entry so that anyone can use it for educational purposes. Here are some excerpts.

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Regarding copyright law:

- Copyright literally means "the right to make copies (of a creative work)", but actually includes many other rights such as the right to be credited as the creator, the right to make money from the work, and the right to create derivative works.
- You automatically own all the copyrights to your work from the moment of creation. Even if you don't place a copyright notice on it. You own these copyrights until you sell, lease, or give them away to the public, person, or institution of your choosing.
- Copyright law does not protect any idea, only the execution of an idea. So you can't copyright the style or subject of a drawing, only the drawing itself.
- Some unauthorized uses may be considered "fair use", meaning it was used for personal use, education, satire, or critique, and it wasn't used for profit or in a way that would harm the commercial value of the original work.

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On assessing the damage done:

- Which copyrights were violated?
Use your knowledge of applicable copyright laws.

- How many times?
Quantify the evidence you've gathered.

- Who is responsible?
Someone famous or unknown? A big or small company? If this is someone very famous, or if it's a very big company, they have greater responsibility. Here's another article on design theft with a practical discussion of this.

- Did it seem intentional and malicious?
If someone did it more than once, it probably wasn't accidental.

- Was it done for profit, and did you receive credit?
You should probably be most concerned about people making money off of your work, or claiming your work as their own.

- Can any instances be considered "fair use"?
Remain objective enough to ensure that "stolen" is right word to describe your situation.

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My statement on sharing my art online:

I am not afraid to post my artwork on the Internet, and I am not afraid of technologies which allow people to easily remix, copy, and share creative works. These technologies helped me build my art reputation online, and it was my reputation that helped me prove I am the original creator of the stolen artworks.

I am happy to share my images online without much of a watermark, in spite of (rare and easily remedied) incidents such as this, because I am happy to let people enjoy a good view of my artwork. I am happy to share my music online, with free downloads, because I am happy that people enjoy my singing and songwriting. This will not change. I refuse to let one person's actions steal the joy I find in making and sharing my creative work.

I'm often asked by people if they can use an artwork of mine as a tattoo.

YES.

* NO COMMERCIAL USE
As long as it's a personal tattoo, and you're not selling it as a tattoo design or something, sure, go ahead.

* SHOW ME
I would love to see a photo when it's done!
Email to feanne{AT}feanne{DOT}com

* COMMISSIONED TATTOO DESIGNS
Furthermore, if you want me to make a design especially for you, please email me with your request (what you want, how big, which body part, etc). I will let you know if I can do it (usually depends on how busy I am in school) and we'll figure out a price range.

The past months, I've been too busy to accept commissioned works, and I got a little traumatized by a few clients who didn't pay me for my work :C but I want to try again and I think I can start again now, I'll probably just be asking for a downpayment up front before starting any work.

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Thank you everyone for supporting my art here!
Have a fluffy day ♥


Love,
F

...have been tumultuous & terrible & terrific for me.

- went through my first breakup/heartbreak
- *DRAMA*
- made new friends & reconnected with old friends
- new hobby: firing! (so far, it's a 45cal pistol)
- learning how to navigate around Metro Manila on my own
- lost my first grandparent (love you, Lolo Tabs)
- realized how beautiful & irresponsible I can be
- did my first poetry reading on air
- Meow Milk, my cute blog about food and poetry

How are you?


Love & fluff,
Feanne

On my Fins, Feathers In The Foliage shirt design!

Wow, thank you so much to pronouncedyou for suggesting my work, and to NunoDias for the feature! What a surprise for today. ^___^

And to all of you who are visiting me now for the first time, thank you so much for dropping by, I hope you enjoy my work.

If you wish to read my thoughts on art and creativity, please see my interview with Luminous Magazine published in 2007.

Art is sexy... and art will save the world!

Love, love, love,
Feanne

Thank you to Jessle for telling me about it!

Simple case... here is my original work:
[link]

Here another deviant submits it pretending it's her work:
[link]

I feel embarrassed for her actually. It's a pretty silly thing to do. =

I've reported it. Maybe DA staff will deal with it faster if more people click on the "Report Deviation" button on it?

1. Jewellery
I made some colorful irridescent butterfly jewellery, for sale here. I'll be making more soon

2. Prints
I sometimes get print requests, and I'm considering getting prints done, but outside of DA. If you're interested in buying prints of any of my artworks, reply here and let me know which! And what size you'd prefer

3. Journals
I plan to make journals using my artwork as cover. If you're interested, let me know which of my artworks you'd like to see as a journal cover.

Thank you and happy 2009 ^___^ Have a fluffy day!



Love,
Feanne

I complain I'm so tired from all the holiday activity, but I know I am lucky to be surrounded by my loved ones. So I don't *really* mind staying up til 5am, going out day after day after day, come home sapped of energy. I'm still happy. Moody, but happy. Mostly it's my artist self, whining about artist's block, because the truth is, I'm kind of in a creative drought right now.

"The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."

So you see, mostly, it's just that I lack discipline!

I wish you all a cornucopia of hot chocolate, snuggling with loved ones, great conversations, and get-togethers that last til 5am in the morning. :3

P.S. I got a Chictopia account! Click

P.P.S. Love art nouveau / 02 is out!

I was really surprised this morning...

Niko, thank you for the deviantart subscription, it is very kind of you to support my art! ^___^

Niko's work:











See the rest here!

Diwata (Nymph/Enchantress/Druid)
Sirena (Mermaid)
[link]

Language of the underworld (still unnamed)
[link]

make art session
- creative/intellectual/spiritual gathering of human beings
- CREATE/PERFORM (draw paint write shoot poetry-reading sing play talk etc.)
- CONTEMPLATE (think read watch listen film-showing etc.)
- CONNECT (discuss collaborate interact etc.)
- several hours of living deeply
- inspiration, creative exploration, human communion
- make art, play nice, be brave, have fun!

make art session is nothing new. People have been doing it since prehistoric times. You can call it by any other name, the label doesn't matter much. You can have it anywhere you're comfortable. You can do it with just one other person or several or many.

Make your own make art session. Take this idea and modify it. Do it, document it, and spread it like a virus! Talk to us and tell us about it. Let's get together. Let's help this movement grow.

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Here's something I've been thinking about for a long time. I've talked to some people about it and so far everyone likes the idea (which, as mentioned, is really nothing new). We just want to gather people and explore ideas and creativity and philosophy... have film showings of TED videos... do poetry reading... doodle lots... hang out and bum and chat and food trip too. :3 Aside from that, I want to DOCUMENT it. If you're planning to to this, or have already done this, let me know and let's talk about, maybe, making an online compilation of links to blogs and photo albums.

So... Pin finally came over and we had our first official make art session in my house.

Ideas? Comments? Interested? What do you think?

We hope someday that you'll join us

Ten days into 2008, and aside from the school stuff (UGH SCHOOL IS A DRAG!!!) things are looking LUMINOUS I love that word.

AND,

There's this beautiful new magazine (it's printed so nicely it actually looks more like a coffeetable book), and I'm honored to be among the featured artists in their second issue.

I have an interview in there and several images, and you can find the full interview text on my blog: [link]

Excerpt. My favourite question & answer:

You have stated that you believe art will save the world.  How do you see this occurring in day-to-day life?

This is a complex multi-faceted question and there are so many different ways to answer it. For one thing-- you'd have to define "art", and you'd have to define what is it that art will save the world from. However, let's not get bogged down in semantics. Personally, I've encountered and participated in various art-for-a-cause groups and events. These basically revolve around selling art and then giving the proceeds to charity. This is a fairly direct form of help and probably the most obvious answer to this question.
But the other, less obvious answers are worth mentioning. Art is such a powerful form of communication. It moves people. It can move people to act to change things that are wrong in the world. It can influence people's beliefs and ignite paradigm shifts. It is an essential part of what makes us human. Through art, we contemplate, share, and learn. Those who truly experience art in their lives find it very difficult not to live more holistically, passionately, and meaningfully.

My mom and I have started making jewellery! So yes it's all handmade and each piece is one-of-a-kind because no two stones are alike. Please check out my latest deviations to see pictures of the pieces. Email me at feanne at feanne dot com for price inquiries / custom orders.

See the jewellery pieces.