I Have My Approval On The Surprise Christmas Gift
Portrait sculpture is a great gift to give someone that has everything. That is what this lovely wife said as she approved the sculpture of her husband on Saturday. I’m pleased to have my approval. A few corrections to details and now it is on to the mold and metal for this sculpture. We must be done for the Christmas party.
Another Trip To The Foundry
Between the bronze of Dick and the bronze of Jenna I have been going back and forth to the foundry every few days. Here is a view of the Hathaway piece upon last visit. Tuesday is patina day. I can’t wait.
I have heard it takes three men to lift thissculpture. Not sure how he is going to fit in an SUV but we will do our best.
Received Approval
I have been working hard on the surprise sculpture, night and day to get it done in time to get to the foundry and be out by Christmas. I received my approval today. What a weight off of my shoulders. On to the mold making process.
Busy weekend ahead with final approval of metal on Dick and Jenna, and mold making plus getting things ready for the trip to bring Jenna and Dick home. I could use an apprentice here this weekend, but alas Caroline only come in on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.
You Could Lose Your Rights To All The Work You Have Ever Created
Created for Best of Artists and Artisans web site
By Bridgette Mongeon © 2008
Immediate action is needed concerning the
Senate Bill S. 2913 and House Bill H.R. 5889, the Orphan Works Acts of 2008.
America is known for the country that protects an individual’s rights. It is impossible for me to comprehend that my rights as an artist may soon drastically change, and that I could lose the rights to all the work that I have ever created. When I first heard about this, it was so unbelievable that I thought that it must be a prank. But, with further investigation I found it was not. In this article I will include a little about what I found and links with other articles for readers to peruse so that they can make their own informed decision. I am also setting up interviews with several people including Copyright lawyers, those in the writers unions, and even those in the American Federation of Television and Radio artists, to name a few. There is urgency in acting and spreading this information. For whatever reason, this is moving through congress quite quickly and will affect your rights and possibly your income as a creative person.
As I find more information and create these interviews, I will pass them on to the Editors at Best of Artists and Artisans sculpture blog to be posted at their discretion. I will also post all of the information that I find on my home page blog, located at https://creativesculpture.com/blog
COPYRIGHT LAW AS IT STANDS TODAY
First, a few basics about copyright law as it stands today. According to the copyright law of 1976, everything that you create is protected by copyright from the moment you create it, even if it is not registered. This is the way copyright is handled throughout the world. It was defined by the Berne convention, which is an international agreement concerning copyrights.
With the current Copyright law, you do need to register your work if you want to collect for statutory damages for infringement. If, however, your work is registered and you discover someone has stolen it and you file suit, statutory damages are punitive and can be quite severe for those infringing on someone’s rights. This very idea keeps many people honest about “taking” other people’s artwork.
“It is not what it appears to be, it is a Trojan horse… Under this orphan works legislation, nothing you do would be protected unless it is registered with these commercial registries… they are orphaning all unregistered work” Brad Holland
THE CHANGE IN LAWA radically proposed change to the US copyright law allows infringers to exploit the right of copyright holders with little or no penalty according to the Orphan Works Opposition Headquarters (OWOH). “Two bills currently on the “rocket docket” would let infringers “orphan” any copyrighted work whose owner the infringer failed to locate through a vaguely defined “reasonably diligent” search. The creative arts industry, including world-renowned artists, designers, photographers, manufacturers, and licensing businesses have united to oppose this legislation.”
The New Orphans Work Act declares that nothing you do would be protected unless you register it with a registry, placing a burden of diligence on the copyright owner. It must also be stated that even though these bills are moving quite fast through congress, registries do not, at this time, exist. These would be private registries where an artist would be responsible to register their art. In other words, every artist will have to pay to own their own work and each of their pieces will have to be registered, right down to the sketches in their sketchbook. If they are not and someone comes across your work and they search these directories and do not find it, then they can say that they performed a “reasonably diligent search.” They can use your work at no cost. As I comprehend the ramifications of this, the works that are presently copyrighted would also have to be reregistered. The cost of registering each piece of artwork, nevertheless the time that it would take to register each piece of artwork throughout an artists lifetime, makes this task impossible and prohibitively expensive.
It is interesting to note the following—It is a violation of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works for any country to impose registration on a rights holder as a condition of protecting his copyright. See Article 5(2) “The enjoyment and the exercise of these rights shall not be subject to any formality (emphasis added).”, (From How the Orphan Works Bills Affect Visual Artists. Illustrators Partnership of American)
According to some of the interviews that I have listened to a creative person would also have to police their artwork, making sure that no one has taken it or it may be considered orphaned.” It is also said that you would have to reply to all inquiries on your artwork or it might be considered orphaned. All of this hardly leaves room for an artist to create.
OWOH states, “The new bills would severely “limit” financial penalties for infringing. Opponents charge this will encourage deliberate theft because statutory damages are the only tool the law gives copyright holders to prevent abuse– and they say it works. Penalties for infringement almost certainly deter rampant abuse by making it risky. But as medical illustrator Cynthia Turner notes ‘the new bills would protect infringers by denying artists damages, incurred court costs, attorneys’ fees and other expenses.'”
“Because these bills were planned behind closed doors, introduced with little warning and fast-tracked for imminent passage, a broad-based coalition of artists and trade associations say they have had little time to respond and generate public discussion. They say that a radical change in intellectual property law should not be rushed through Congress without public vetting. They are calling on Congress to slow down this legislation until it can be subjected to an open, informed and transparent public debate.”
Those in support of this bill are libraries and educators that claim that this bill is intended to give libraries and museums greater latitude to commercialize archived works. But, according to tp the OWOH, “critics charge the bills have been drafted so broadly they would permit any infringer to commercially exploit any copyrighted work, from professional art to family photos.” Those supporting the bill say that if artwork is worth something it should be registered. But if it is not worth something why would others want to take it?
Brad Holland of the Illustrators Partnership of America comments on the bill, ‘It is not what it appears to be, it is a Trojan horse… Under this orphan works legislation, nothing you do would be protected unless it is registered with these commercial registries… they are orphaning all unregistered work”
I encourage you to become familiar with the bill and take action accordingly. Your rights may be fading away without you even knowing it. If you would like to have your voice heard, The Illustrators Partnership of America has made it quite easy to take action. You can go to the web site and send an email, but faxes and letters are also encouraged. Please keep coming back for further information on this subject and send a link to this blog to other creative people that you know.
OTHER RESOURCES
Don’t take my word for it. You must decide how important this is to you. Here are some places to start.
- A wonderful resource of articles about this bill put out by the Illustrators’ Partnership
For comprehensive bill descriptions that describe the impact on visual artists:
House Bill http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/issues/bills/?billid=11320236
Senate Bill http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/issues/bills/?billid=11322171 - Video interview with brad Holland of the Illustrator’s Partnership
- American for the Arts on the Orphan words Legislation
- American Society of Media Photographs Update on 2008 Orphan Works Legislation
- Lawrence Lessig’s Op-Ed piece, in today’s New York Times
- Art Calendar article on the Orphan Works Act that also talks about Microsoft’s and Googles involvement.
- Public Knowledge concerning the Orphans work act
- Orphan Works Opposition Headquarters
- Plagiarism Today has several articles about the subject
- Attorney Tammy L Browning- Smith discusses the orphans works and Washington DC in her online blog Arts and crafts law
- Photography Director Rob Hagart discusses H.R.5889 ORPHAN WORKS ACT OF 2008 (INTRODUCED IN HOUSE) on his online blog
- An article from The Artist Foundation about the Orphan works Act
- The American Society of Media photographers throws in the towel and gets behind the bill, Johnathan Bailey describes why in this article ASMP Supports Orphan Works Bill. This site also has a video
- Mind Your Business: Don’t Lose the Rights to Your Artistic Creations, Animation World Magazine’s Mark Simon reports on alarming new developments in his continuing campaign against the Orphan Works Act.
- Why the Orphan Works Act is Uncles Sam’s Thieves’ Charter written by the Editorial photographers United Kingdom and Ireland
- A podcast with Alex Saviuk cartoonist of the spider man comics
I Think I Need to Declare an Apprentice Appreciation Day
I love my apprentices.
I can’t believe it has taken me so long to show a picture of Caroline, one of my apprentices at work. So far she has helped on waxes and is now getting to try her hand in the clay. Her hours only consist of two evenings as she works another job. Unfortunately she misses out on some of the fun stuff, like taking trips to the foundry.
Please also keep Russo, my former apprentice in your prayers. As I mentioned in the Dick Hathaway video, she was an exchange student from Georgia. No one has heard from her since the upheaval between Georgia and Russia.
Approving A Bronze
Long after the sculptures are completed and approved, the molds are made, the waxes are cleaned, and the metal is poured, I’m at the foundry approving the metal. Basically I have photographs that I took of the sculpture when it was sculpted. I want to be sure that all of the pieces go back together again, the way they should and textures are matched- a trademark of my sculptures. This is what I am doing this week and next. The two- year long project of Dick Hathaway is coming to a close. He will be delivered at the end of this month, taking the trip to Vermont College ( see video). Baby Jenna will be traveling with him, going a bit further up to Main. Both will be complete next week. When approving the metal I’ll go around the sculpture circling with a marker all of the things that need to be changed by the master foundry man, and believe me Miguel is a master foundry man. The foundry was miserable, no air conditioning and the Houston, Texas temperature was in the 90’s. Here are some photographs of the foundry trip. I’m headed back again next week, and then the patina ( the coloring of the sculpture.)
Is There A Message From Beyond?
Please pass this post on to everyone that you know.
Would you like to be a part of this book project called – Kisses from Heaven?
Bridgette Mongeon is a sculptor that specializes in creating posthumous sculpture for memorials, prayer gardens and personal art collections. She has heard numerous encounters of messages of comfort from beyond. This book project was created to give her clients and others an opportunity to share these blessings and comfort. The book is compiled by sculptor Bridgette Mongeon, and her client Rosanna Mangini, who recently lost her beautiful baby to cancer.
The two authors met in 2008 when Rosanna Mangini commissioned Sculptor Bridgette Mongeon to create a life size sculpture of baby Jenna for Jenna’s gravesite. As they began to share their own feather moments and kisses from heaven, as well as report the experiences of others, they realized these stories needed to be told. Now they are working on two projects—the completion of the Jenna sculpture and the memories contained in the many Kisses From Heaven.
Here is more information on how to contribute. Please do not send contributions via e-mail but instead submit them through the contract form link listed below. Writers guidelines and samples can also be found at this website.
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Writers are wanted to share their stories in an upcoming book- Kisses from Heaven
There are special cherished moments after the death of a loved one. Some call them coincidences, others a message from beyond. In this case we are calling them Kisses from Heaven.
They are simple things that happen that remind us of our deceased loved one. Some seem so bizarre we are not sure how they could happen. They may be snuggling in a dream, or perhaps having a symbol of a loved one continue to appear over and over, smelling the perfume of a deceased mother, or cigar of a father who passed away. These moments, however strange, comfort us. It is our personal opinion that God gives these moments to the bereaved as a way to say, “I know your pain, and I’m still here.”
If you have a story and would like to submit for consideration for Kisses from Heaven you can find a complete set of writers guidelines at https://creativesculpture.com/kisses_from_heaven.html . There is no monetary compensation for your submissions, but you will be able to share your blessings.
Author Bridgette Mongeon
co-author Rosanna Mangini
Found- She Is Glad To Be Home Again!
Tilly was found- If one could roll around on the ground with a turtle I would have. Snuggle or lavish kisses, maybe. But the relationship between Tilly and I is one of respect. She came to me- wild. I don’t touch her or turn her upside down, or things of that nature. Sometimes I will put my hand in the water and feel her as she passes by.
Now for the story.
She was found outside of the yard, apparently trying to get back home. She crawled beetwen two fences and the report is, she was wedged there sideways. I feared she was ill, or stressed. Was it instuition, or just an owners panic? I was on an important phone call when they reported she was found. It was hard to concentrate on our conversation. The old hispanic women next door found her and somehow was aware that we had a turtle. I guess she watched through the fence one day. She nocked on my father-in- laws window and reported her find. I went over there just now crying and saying, “thank you, gracias, gracias.” Though we don’t speak the same language, She understood. I gave her a hug, which was a little unsettling because she was holding a machete and a cigarette.
I lavished Tilly with pellets of food, bent as close to her as possible and told her I loved her. Sounds silly, loving a turtle. We will fix the hole near the fence and the ground, and definitely watch after a rain. That is when she likes to explore.
NExt thing on my list of things to do, was to make up lost turtle posters. Crazy turtle lady. Don’t have to do that now. Can’t wait to be in the studio and watching Tilly while I work. Such a friendly face. My yard once again feels full of life.
In Fond Memory Of…My Dear Studio Companion, Tilly
Many of seen my posts about my studio companion, not a studio cat or dog, but a turtle. Outside my studio door is a wonderful stream and pond. We live in the middle of Houston and the yard is fenced in, however three years ago when we built the studio Tilly appeared. She is approximately 9″ in length and an estimated 10 years old. I never thought I would bond with a turtle, but I have. She knows my voice and often comes running when I call. Each fall she would hibernate at the bottom of the pond and I was elated when she was a regular site in spring. She has had several clutches of babies, only one has survived.
Tilly has been missing for 3 days. I have searched everywhere and can not find her. I fear she is gone. We did find a gab in our fence near the gate where some recent construction was done. The ground had sunk in. Though it is far from the pond, Tilly has free reign of the entire yard and has been seen all the way in the back of the studio. I never would have thought I could bond with this turtle but I have, and my walks back and forth from house to studio seem lonelier now. My only reprieve from my grief is that she has left behind this baby. I will miss our sharing of fruit in the morning and her coming when I call. I have story after story of Tilly and have often thought of writing a children’s book about the Tilly Tales. People on the turtle forum loved to hear the stories of Tilly. 
In loving memory of Techla Turtle ( Tilly)
SHHHH…… Don’t Tell Anyone….
My newest project is hush, hush, until December when it is given as a gift from wife to husband. I love the idea of portrait sculpture as a gift. How can you go wrong? You are giving what will turn into a family heirloom. Envision this, Sculpture of children given to a parent or gandparent, wife with baby, husband with “man’s best friend”. What to give the person that has everything- commissioned portrait sculpture. I’ll often get calls from organziations. We really want to honor so-and-so for their work with our organziation. What can you give someone who has crystal vases and plaques on every wall? A commissioned sculpture of of their loved one. SO cool.
SURPRISE! Many women have difficulty with figuring out how to “hide” the large sums of money that are taken out of personal accounts on a regular basis to make the three payments. I have heard some interesting stories. This was the first time I ever had 100 bills wrapped in the little purple bank sleeve with 2,000 on it! Felt strange. Sorry, No pictures until December on this project. I am also going to create a video of the process so that it can play at the christmas party and she can have a documentation of the process. An added feature of surprise and intrigue!