Goess Studio Art Glass

The Good & Bad of Posting Content on Your Website

2009-07-28T10:09:00.000-07:00

Well I had the age old problem of discovering that once again, another studio had "borrowed" content from one of my sites and was using it to promote a class of theirs. This has happened many times before and I have taken harsh steps with some of those in the past. I didn't want to do that this time for many reasons.

To give some back ground to the latest event, a student of mine was googling vitrigraph on line and came across a document with a class description. The images on the document looked familiar and on the second page there were images of finished pieces that used vitrigraph in them. One was a plate that any student of mine has seen me use as a sample in my class. The student called me to ask why I hadn't said anything about teaching at the other studio and I said I wasn't. Well I was given the web address and saw that not only were my images there but also those of other artist I knew. Some of the wording in the text was way too similar to mine as well. To say I saw red is an understatement.

I called the studio and explained who I was and why I was calling. To make a long story of what happened yesterday, they removed the link to the document in question and are going to put a link on their site back to mine. I also explained copyrights to them and asked them to go through their whole site and remove any thing that was taken from other artist as well. I think they get it now and will not do it again.

Years ago when I still did shows, I had a bunch of small photo albums walk off that were filled with pictures of my past work. That was before I had a digital camera and of course I didn't keep the negatives. Well not only did I loose all those photos but I learned someone was using them as their built in portfolio. Nice ha? I also had a few overseas companies "borrow" images from my site of my pieces and then offer them for sale on their sites. I won't even go on about original patterns I have had people "borrow" and clam as theirs.

Class hand outs are an other item that others love to "borrow." I used to have them on my website but learned that a couple of studios had downloaded them, whited out my studio and copyright info and were copying and handing them out to their students. A few semesters ago at another place I teach at, I had a student ask me for an extra copy of the class hand out. I asked if she had lost hers but she said no, her other fusing instructor wanted a copy. You can guess what my answer was. Unfortunately I am now thinking of no longer giving handouts to my students. I don't want to do that but I am tired of putting in so much work coming up with classes, photographing the process and building the handouts only to have another instructor use the whole thing and claim it as their own. My reputation as an instructor is what is because of the time and care I take to provide my students with the best I can give them. My class notes might be made into a book that students will be able to purchase at a discount instead of freely given as in the past. Again not something I really want to do but it might be necessary.

When an artist or studio takes the time and expense to put a website up on the Internet they are hoping to promote themselves, their work and services. Most of the time this is what happens but unfortunately they also are running the risk of having their images and web content stolen and used by others. It is stealing by the way no matter how someone tries to justify it. There is the myth that any thing you find on the Internet is up for grabs free of charge. It isn't. This is from both a legal and moral point. While it may be harder to get awarded monetary damages, you don't even have to put the word copyright for it to be an infringement. Here is a link to an easy to understand site about the many myths about copyrights involving the Internet, http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html. It is worth checking out for anyone who might be tempted to "borrow" any image or other content from someone else's website. You can find many other sites listing both the rights of the copyright holder and the possible outcomes for those that violate their rights by doing a bit of googling.

So where does that leave website owners? Realize the risk you take in putting your work out there on the Internet. Hopefully no one will infringe on your rights, but they may. Look into software that will block someone being able to right click on your images and download them. I will be spending the next few weeks going that and other thing to my sites. Most of all, register your copyrights. Although it is true that you can take legal action without it, it makes it easier to have the other side pay for all your legal fees when you win your case.

I still haven't decided on everything I am going to do to protect myself from any further issues with this but I am taking it much more serious. We all work hard at what we do and in these hard times we all need to protect ourselves and try not to screw each other over.

Noah's Ark Installation Started

2008-12-31T12:40:00.000-08:00

Yesterday saw the beginning of the installation of the Noah's Ark Mural. Everything went very smoothly and it is looking amazing. Some of the animals glowed with the sun coming through the glass. The adhesive worked well and is still visiable until it is fully cured. Two of our regular long time students came to help out. We had a great time and enjoyed answering all the questions that visitors asked.

There were a few wonderful surprises as we installed the peices. When the ark was up with the sun shining through it, the colors cast onto the wall next to the window. The ark looked complete and there appeared to now be 4 parrots on top. We all stopped everything and just stared in amazement.

The dove in the center panel glowed in a way that sent chills. I had hoped for an effect like that but didn't imagine it to came off as wonderfully as it did.

Hopefully friday the installation will be finished. I have mixed feelings about that. On one hand I can't wait to see it all up there complete, but on the other, I will miss working on it. We have all come to look forward to seeing the next peice come out of the kiln. These animals have become dear friends and although they will have a wonderful home, we will miss them.

To Feather or Not To Feather

2008-12-09T08:49:00.000-08:00

The Noah's Ark project is coming along. Right now the peacock is on the work bench and the morning has been spent debating on just how much detail we want to do on it. The peacock will be the anchor piece for the right hand corner of the mural. I have been know to take it over the top from time to time but I do believe that the detail is called for in the tail. The head, neck and body have a layer of dicro as does the center of the eyes in the tail. It is a peacock after all and being over the top is what they are all about. So fine stringers are being broken and applied to give the impression of feathering. I Win! Show off that tail!

Kids and Butterflies

2008-11-28T15:47:00.001-08:00

Last Tuesday we went to the Synagogue and had the children from the Hebrew school help create the butterflies for the Noah's Ark mural. Over 100 children showed up and working in pairs they glued brightly colored glass triangles onto the wings of the butterflies. Only 18 butterflies will be in the mural so the remainder will be given to the school to be displayed in the class rooms.

I enjoyed working with the children and answering all their questions about the project. I was surprised by the depth of their questions. What kind of glass, how do you fuse the glass together, is it like working and firing clay in a kiln, when will it be done and installed? Bright kids! Of course there were the requested to help with the animals that I had to turn down. I love the fact that they were so excited about the mural and they are now a part of it. Hopefully the project will have more meaning to them as they pass it on their way over time and remember the day they helped.

Meet Our Studio Manager

2008-11-21T15:07:00.000-08:00

My daughter used to work at the local PETCO which was both good and bad for our family. The good was that she got an employee discount and we have more animals than most. The bad is that from time to time people would bring their unwanted pets into the store and leave them. Some times they would ask an employee if they would take them but most times they would just leave them in an isle. If the animal was healthy and friendly they would but them up for adoption. So if you see a little sticker around the place saying Adopt First, that means some one left a pet there.

From time to time an animal would be left that was either sick or abused and more often than not it would come home with my daughter for a little rehab and then back to be adopted. Well about a year ago she brought home a very pretty lovebird that she wanted to keep for herself. She open the cage and was promptly attacked by said bird. To the studio came the love bird to spend time with me being rehabed. The very first thing I did was open the cage to clean it and put fresh food & water in it. The bird flew out, landed on my shoulder and sank her beak into my throat drawing blood. We named her Spike, put on gloves and put her back into the cage.

Months of working with her saw a major improvement and she started eating out of my hand. She will sit on my shoulder and preen me. Fingers still are in danger in the studio but I am holding out hope.

Since it has been a year and we have established a working relationship, Spike is staying and now takes the job of studio manager very seriously. She over sees all work and if she doesn't like a design has been known to chew it up. If she feels we need a break, she will fly to the work bench and attack the tools and anyone who reaches for them.

So the next time you stop by the studio, make sure you say hi to Spike and it also helps if you bring a few sunflower seeds.

Thank You To Our Students

2008-11-18T19:41:00.000-08:00

2008 has been a wonderful year for sharing glass skills with our students. I enjoyed so much working with you all and hope you not only learned a thing or two but had as much fun as I did. Glass is not just a hobby for many of you but has become an addiction (remember... I warned you!) and you continued to push me into coming up with new techniques and workshops. Some of you down right nagged! That's OK ... you knew I would do it and loved the challenge.

With the holidays fast approaching and work piling up here in the studio, the time for class has come to an end for the year. Take heart, new workshops are being planed for next year and some can already be found on the studio's main web site. http://goessartglass.com/pages/glass_education.html

I am happy to announce that I have been invited to hold a few kiln forming workshops at the Art League of Long Island in Dix Hills, New York next year. They want to expand their glass workshops beyond the basics and seem to be very supportive and excited about the possibilities I wish to bring there. For now they will be offering 3 of my workshops and if all goes well, different one will be scheduled in the spring. They are a wonderful organization and have a lot to offer in many different mediums. I received a tour of the facilities and was very impressed. Some very, very talented people. They also have a wonderful gallery that is very inspiring. Well worth a visit. Check out their web site to learn more about their organization. http://www.artleagueli.net/node/3

So thank you for making this a great year for our workshops and classes and I hope to see you again soon.

The Noah's Ark Project

2008-11-18T18:16:00.000-08:00

Glass has been flying all over the studio and the kiln has been going none stop. Our latest commission is for a fused art glass mural with Noah's Ark as the theme. Kiln formed pieces will be adhered do a series of five existing windows to complete a mural of Noah's Ark with the animals as the main focus. Each window measures approximately 40 inches wide by 59 inches tall. The clients have requested that large areas of the windows be left bare and that mostly transparent glass be used. The fused pieces are being contour fused so there is a lot of texture and dimension to the mural.

I am an animal lover so this project has been very dear to my heart and I am loving working on it. I can't wait to get to the studio each morning and open the kiln to see the latest pieces waiting inside. Today a pair of tigers were brought out of the kiln and came to life.

Tonight a pair of tucans and the dove of peace are sleep in the kiln and I can't wait to see them in the morning.