Christi Friesen is a Goddess

I say that in jest of course, but she found my "little gem" of frustration and commented on it (below) which was just wonderful. I find that angst is a short-lived emotion!

Frustration...and cold fronts

Wow, could you feel the waves of frustration coming off me in my last post? Sometimes that is how I feel though. Good thing a cold front moved thru S. Florida. I went to a fabulous art & craft show today in Wellington, where I bought copper flowers for my backyard garden, a 1/2 lb chocolate chip cookie, and decided that I need a Red Kapok tree for my yard. When I get a yard of my own, that is. Kapok trees are from India (Surprise, surprise!!!) and have large red flowers that look like teacups. But they grow to 70 feet! Not something I want to train to grow in a pot.

On a funner note, the Guild founder, Ilysa, and I are going to meet in less than a month! A roadtrip she is taking in Feb. will bring her within 5 miles of my home, so we decided to have coffee and snap some group hug pictures. An awesome opportunity for online friends. So many of us will never meet, so this is just fantastic!!!

Who Owns an Idea?

My husband & I went to B&N Saturday night, where I did my fave thing (drank a green tea frappaccino while reading the newest mags) and talking with him about the art world. His conclusion, after we had a lovely discussion regarding "ownership" of new ideas in the clay world, is that the World of Polymer Clay is a Woman's World.
Now here's what we were talking about-
I really love Christie Friesen's work. And it makes me sick to my stomach too. I mean angry, nauseated, lie in the dark and cry kinda' sick. Because I stick gemstones into clay too. I make cute little critters too. And I bet I was doing it before she was doing it, too. (whaaaa)
BUT- because she was published first, and everyone knows who she is, she is perceived as "owning" the idea and the technique. Anyone else who ever makes polyclay critters with gemstones stuck in them is going to be accused of RIPPING OFF CF ORIGINALS. Now, my husband's take on this- if it were Men dominating this Art, there would be hefty competition. Men would be making critters with gems stuck in them and trying to outdo one another, to make them better, more, bigger...aaaahhh! But, because it's a Woman's Art (primarily) we can't be seen as stepping on one another's toes, can't "copy" an idea, can't compete. I actually experienced this kind of persecution at my local bead shop. I went in there, decked out in my own finery. Leaf earrings, bracelet, the whole 9 yards. This bead shop sells Klew focal beads. The lady behind the counter said "Oh, are you wearing Klew beads?" I said, "No, I'm wearing MY beads." She said, with a sneer, "Oh, well, they look like Klew beads." I said, "No, Klew actually covers her focal beads with leaf canes, which most polymer clay artists learn how to do when they are first learning caning, a popular technique. I actually use the leaves AS beads. And I have met Karen, she is very nice." The lady said "That's why your beads look like copies of hers."
UM, rude. And I would say something else, but I'm too nice and not rude enough to say it.
Why is there no room for healthy competition, for taking an idea and running with it, in your own direction... or taking an idea and improving on it, or doing it your own way? Polymer Clay is such a new artform that if you "invent" something it gets named after you. The Skinner Blend... now nothing against Judy, but gradients have been around for a long time. I live in fear- that my design will show up somewhere else first, someone who is better at marketing will write a book or article or be featured on TV, doing something that I do, on my own... Great, then I get to be accused of being a copying rip-off artist with no original ideas.