Scam Artists on the Internet Target Real Artists

Con artists spend their creativity and intelligence tricking people so that they can steal their money. Even if you get away from a scam artist with your bank balance intact, you've still had your time stolen. Either way, it's a loss of potentially positive energy on both sides of the relationship.

Yesterday, a woman called me to get my bank information. She claimed to be a kindergarten administrator from Australia who wanted an illustration of mine for a cookbook she was putting together for a worthy cause. She had sent me an email introducing herself and her project and we'd entered a amicable email conversation of about 3 or 4 letters. The money she offered me was fair for her type of project. She called and had a lovely Australian accent and acted very friendly when she asked me for my bank account number and routing information. I told her I'd send her the information the next morning.

I did my due diligence and checked out the school she mentioned. There was no school by that name at that address. If there had been, I would have contacted them directly to confirm her position and project. That, along with a few other complications to the transaction were big red flags. She didn't get the financial information she requested from me. I'd wasted time I could have spent more positively.

Having an internet site for over a decade, I've been the target of quite a few of these scammers. It's always a sad waste of time. I've been written to and called by so many of these people over the years that I am very careful about doing business with anyone who insists on discussing money with me without being transparent as to who they are.

Scammers often target visual artists, probably because we have the reputation of being a bit naive to business practices and we usually have items to sell that cost hundreds or thousands of dollars. Considering how many astute people were taken advantage of by Bernard Madoff, I can't guarantee that my advice is fail-safe, but it's a start. Here are some red flags I want to share with you so that you can recognize these thieves:

• HASTE: They are in a hurry. Some sort of time urgency is making it necessary for them to hurry the process and they need your help.
• MOBILITY: They are often moving around between foreign countries or cities which causes some sort of extenuating circumstance.
  
• PAYMENT: They have excuses about how they need to pay you. Maybe their Visa doesn't work, or they claim to live in a town without a proper bank or Western Union office. (This often segues with the mobility theme.)
  
• KICKBACKS: They want you to send them back the "extra" money that they insert into the transaction to "cover fees".
• OPACITY: They aren't upfront with who they are, their phone number, where they live, what their project is, etc. Double checking their phone numbers often leads to dead-ends. If they claim to be somebody, check out their claim thoroughly and be sure to call the person.
• COST OF YOUR ART OR ART SERVICE: They insist on "talking" to you through email and want your pricing information without giving any information of their own. They often offer to pay more than your price.
  

So what do you do if you have a legitimate international art customer or art collector interested in your art work? You can't always tell if an art customer is honest. The best you can do is put in place some financial safeguards.

• BANKING: Work with your bank to set up an account that you use ONLY for these type of transactions. Explain your business to the bank officer and they will help you put safeguards into place that minimize the risk you undertake when handing out your bank account and routing information. One of the dangers my banker explained is that with the account number the thieves will create bogus checks to withdraw money from the account.
  
• VISA AND OTHER CREDIT CARDS: Call the company to additionally verify the legitimacy of the card number and info you receive.
• WESTERN UNION: Don't give ANYBODY a kickback for fees. If they want to use Western Union to transfer money to you, they will absorb the fee. Western Union will wire the money to the Western Union office you designate. You DO NOT NEED TO GIVE ANYBODY YOUR BANK INFO TO GET A WESTERN UNION PAYMENT!! Be sure to check out the Western Union website and to call for more information.
• SHIPPING YOUR ART: Regardless of the delivery system you use - whether you are shipping original art or sending electronic files, do not send anything until the money has cleared the bank. Again, talk to your banker and rely on their advice.
  

www.CristinaAcosta.com

Fairey Fudged! The Garcia and Fairey Copyright Incident

How much of an image does an artist have to change so that they are not infringing on another artist's copyrights? Can you take an image off the internet, change a few things then call the image yours?

Usually, egregious copyright problems involve businesses deciding to "save money" by stealing an image without payment to the creator of that image, then using that image in their marketing, manufacturing or sales process. I wrote an entry about Orphan Works legislation and copyright regarding an incident where the multinational corporation Virgin used a family photograph in an international ad campaign.

Now, two artists are in a legal tussle over just such an issue, and it's about an image you may easily recognize: An Obama poster titled HOPE. The graphic poster was created by Shepard Fairey from the work of freelance photographer Mannie Garcia, who took the photograph the poster mimicked. L. Gordon Crovitz wrote a piece in the Wall Street Journal, The Fine Art of Copyright that details the incident. The New York Times also weighed in with the article by Noam Cohen, Viewing Journalism as a Work of Art.

Terry Gross, host of the NPR's, Fresh Air interviewed Fairey for the show, Shepard Fairey: Inspiration or Infringement? She aired the followup show, Mannie Garcia: The Photo that Sparked "Hope", giving the photographer an opportunity to discuss the situation.

These professional journalists have done a wonderful job covering the issue. The only thing I can add is my opinion, one I've developed through personal experience. After publication of my book, Paint Happy, I had my images stolen and had to spend a lot of money defending my copyrights.

I was curious to see the two images of the photo and poster because, words aside, the visuals speak for themselves. What struck me immediately was the sameness. Fairey's image was what I would term a stylized copy of the original Mannie Garcia photograph. Fairey cropped Garcia's image, and changed the background elements by simplifying the background to a flat color. He tilted the head so slightly that I wouldn't have noticed it as an alteration of the photograph until I listened to Fairey confidently list the tilt as one of his original contributions to the final image. I presume Fairey used a software program like Adobe Illustrator to stylize the natural colors and value transitions of the photograph into flat shapes of color.

Fairey fudged. As a professional graphic artist, Fairey knows about copyright laws. (He is quick to reveal that knowledge when Terry Gross asked about potential parodies of the HOPE poster.)

Here's what happened. He searched for images on the internet until he found an AP image he liked. He didn't bother to research anything about the creator of that image. He took the image for his own purposes without any credit or compensation to the original artist.

Fairey did not show any respect for the work of a peer. He acted like a pirate then calmly explained his actions to Terry Gross as being innocent of anything more than accidental oversight. Only Fairey knows if he would have ever told the truth if this hadn't come to light.

The latest news is that Mannie Garcia is now selling signed prints of the photograph. Many artists work diligently aiming for a break that launches their career to a higher level of visibility and sales. Maybe the light of truth cast on Fairey's actions will lead to increased fairness towards creators of all types. We can hope.

(Thanks Mannie for permission to use these 2 images for this blog entry.)

www.CristinaAcosta.com

Don't Sell Your Inspiration Short

During the early years of my life as an artist, people would look at my work and often ask me, "How can you possibly part with (or sell) that painting?"

My desire to make a living from my art meant that I had to make peace with the reality that to make a living I have to sell my work. Seems like such a simple concept, but ironically many people think that creating art for money somehow sullies the purity of the art.

It is strange that art is afforded this expectation even though God/religion and money/power have been hand-in-hand for centuries. It's as though some people think that art work has no relation to real work. I know of many talented professionals in other fields who would never think of working for free or heavily discounted unless the work was pro-bono for a worthy cause. Yet, I know many artists, (including myself, before I got a clue) who will give discounts to wealthy people or corporations (who can certainly pay) for a variety of reasons that mostly boil down to low self esteem combined with a feeling of scarcity.

The fact is that in the world we live in, money is necessary to support anything. Here are a couple suggestions:

• For Collectors - Before you ask an artist for a deep discount, be aware that a synonym for discount is disregard. When you ask a creator to discount deeply (they are not some big box retailer or corporate chain) consider the possibility that you are asking them to disregard the value of their work (sometimes to the degree that the artist will have to stop working or will have to stop innovating so as to create "saleable" pieces). Be sensitive.

• For Artists - Remember that your work has value. Be aware of how your prices fit with comparable work and don't undersell or oversell yourself. It's easy to think that price alone matters. If you want to give away work, gift a non-profit agency, they are always looking for help.

Choosing Paint Colors Home Decor Licensing
Who is Cristina Press Philanthropy
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Art and Inspiration Articles and Books Contact Cristina
Original Oil and Acrylic Paintings Hispanic Heritage

Artist Career Training will Attract Art Sales & Generate Cash Flow

Learning to draw and paint are only part of what an artist needs to do to create a art career. Learning the business of art is a study of it's own. Years ago I signed up for a year of career coaching with Art Matters. It is the best! I highly recommend working with Aletta de Wal if you want to learn everything you can about how to develop your art business. I'm honored that this month I am the featured artist interview with Aletta. Here's the info from the Art Matters newsletter:

In This Issue of Art Matters, Aletta de Wal interviews artist Cristina Acosta

Words to ACT on: Featured Artist Cristina Acosta
In August 2001, I went to a local juried art fair that had a reputation for high quality art for collectors and good sales with low commissions for the artists. As I browsed the booths, I discovered a book that was very familiar to me. One of the artists who had done storytelling workshops in my gallery space in the late 90's had used that very book. Now here was the artist who had illustrated it!

Everything about Cristina, her art and her booth was first class. Since then, Cristina has many new experiences to relate about how to make a living as an artist and still have a life.

Cristina Acosta's background is as diverse as her work throughout the years. Finding the voice of her art was directly tied to the challenge of finding the voice of her culture. Acosta has a large visual vocabulary that speaks for itself in the seamless union between the fine and applied arts apparent in all her creations. Acosta's work is "exuberant art, rich colors and vivid patterns"; filled with "joyful spirit and colorful compositions."

Cristina has had a web site since 1994 - even before she had her own computer! She admits to not knowing it came with e-mail! Take a look at what, today, she calls the "the lobby" of her "business." Her advice: "Make your web site represent you as a person first and your work second. If you make your site imitate your work, your work confines you."

Professionally mentored in Southern California since the age of 11, Acosta received her Bachelor of Fine Arts, in Painting, from the University of Eugene in Oregon. She followed up her education with a position at Central Oregon Community College teaching art, and then worked with a variety of media, including illustrating a children's book and mixed media paintings. She also developed a signature line of ceramic art tile. Cristina has a new book, "Paint Happy," published by Northlight Books, introduces Cristina's work to artists everywhere.

She will be sharing her stories with the A.C.T. 101 community in September.

A.C.T.: What prompted you to start your professional art career?

Being an artist is a calling that I committed to at age 20 (28 years ago). At the time I had no idea what a professional artist did besides paint well. I slid into the business side of my art career when I began painting store windows with commercial designs as a way to pay for my college art degree. As my opportunities (and skills) increased, it dawned on me that I had a business.

A.C.T.: What is your artistic direction?

Writing is my new artistic direction. Developing my skills as a writer has enabled me to better market my painting and my other creative interests. At the beginning of my career I thought that I would paint every day for the rest of my life. Maturity combined with a curious mind has led me to a more varied career. My creative career is no longer confined to my easel, it shapes and colors my life.

A.C.T.: What is your business model?

My business model is an organically lively model that changes over the years with the market and my interests. The latest version of my business plan involves eBooks and Blogging, two things that weren't even invented when I began my professional life. Keeping my business model current brings to my attention the professional issues I need to pay attention to.

A.C.T.: What is your "life's work" as an artist?

The answer to that is one that I continually discover. When I first started applying myself to my work I thought of myself only as a painter. Now, I realize that my life's work is to become consciously creative in all aspects of my life, and to share my work with others.

A professional approach yields a profession. Without that, I would be back where I started from without any of the experience I have now. Dedicating myself to self-development both as an artist AND as a business person has made all of the difference. That is why I am so excited about Aletta's work and the difference it can make in your life.

Follow the advice in the A.C.T. programs she puts together and you'll save yourself years of trial and error.

A.C.T.: What advice would you pass on to other artists at all levels?

Keep working, seeing, feeling and connecting! Enjoy yourself!

You may become a famous artist, a kinda famous artist, or not. Fame and exterior success are not a product of only hard work and perseverance, there is a lot of luck involved. Live your art in such a way that if nobody buys a thing, you'll feel like you enriched your own life and those of your companions in life.

A.C.T.: How has your involvement in the A.C.T. program and community of professional artists furthered your career?

Making art is only half of the creative work. Sharing it is the other half. It was important enough to make, so don't leave your work to be ignored, get it out into the world.

Artist Career Training is for any artist who is ready to share their work. Your goal could be as simple as a local exhibit or as complex as a viable professional career. Even if you don't know what your goal is yet, A.C.T. is for you. The study materials, classes and community will support you as your creative and professional world unfolds. I consider myself lucky to have discovered the A.C.T. program. I highly recommend Artist Career Training for any artist.

You can read the rest of Cristina's interview and review the past featured artists at www.artistcareertraining.com/featured-artists/.
Artist Career Training TeleClasses to Help You Build a Better Living From Your Art
_________________________________________________________________
Note From ART MATTERS:
If you are an emerging artist, A.C.T. One is the place to start. If you already have an art business and want to pace yourself, we also have a 12 to 24-month pathway in the combination of A.C.T. 101: Starting Your Art Business and A.C.T. 201: Developing Your Art Business. And if you are already established, we have a group of peers just for you in A.C.T. 301: Mastering Your Art Business. We have classes, books and knowledgeable experts and generous artists waiting for you. What are you waiting for? A.C.T. now!

Aletta de Wal, M. Ed, Director & Artist Advisor, Direct line: (650) 917-1225 Pacific time
www.ArtistCareerTraining.com aletta@artistcareertraining.com

View ArtMatters! online: www.artistcareertraining.com/artmatters-newsletter/

© 2008 Artist Career Training. Aletta@ArtistCareerTraining.com All Rights Reserved. Supplemented by ArtMatters! Alerts and E-cards. Library of Congress ISSN# 1552-9428.
We appreciate it when you tell your friends about Artist Career Training. We encourage forwarding this newsletter in whole. Copying this publication without expressed written permission of the publisher is against the law (and highly unprofessional!) We encourage you forward this entire © A.C.T. newsletter along with your recommendation and this link: www.artistcareertraining.com/artmatters-newsletter/.

Orphan Works Legislation Update June 17, 2008

You don't have to be an artist. If you've ever picked up a camera and taken a photo, the Orphan Works Bill, if passed will strip you of your copyrights, a right EVERY CITIZEN in the U.S.A. has when they have finished taking a photo, creating a film or painting a picture.
I've written about his before. Here's an update from:
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FROM THE ILLUSTRATORS’ PARTNERSHIP
A Million People Against the Orphan Works Bill
http://www.petitiononline.com/Stop2913/petition.html

We support this petition. We urge you to sign it. Please forward the link and urge others to sign. You can help increase the power of the petition by signing your real name and listing your artistic specialties. If you are not a US citizen, we suggest that you note your country, and state if it is a member of the Berne Convention.

This petition is sponsored by A Million People Against the Orphan Works Bill, a new grassroots group founded by multimedia journalist Steve Lehman on Facebook and Flickr. All people are welcome to participate; it is not exclusive to these websites.

In 1987, Lehman broke the story of Tibetan unrest, later profiled in his award winning book "The Tibetans Struggle to Survive." As a visual artist intimately acquainted with the power of free speech, the protection afforded by the right to privacy, and the critical need for independent voices, Lehman, like the rest of us, is deeply troubled by any national policy that affects artists' control over their works.

Please forward this message to every person you know.

For additional information about Orphan Works developments, go to the IPA Orphan Works Resource Page for Artists at: http://www.illustratorspartnership.org/01_topics/article.php?searchterm=00185
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FROM THE ILLUSTRATORS’ PARTNERSHIP -- An Orphan Works Solution

We have a proposal to solve the Orphan Works issue. It would let libraries and archives digitize their collections and let individuals duplicate family photos without fear of massive infringement penalties. These are the two needs most commonly cited by the bills’ sponsors and they can be resolved quite simply. Our proposal would limit the bill’s effects to works that are really orphans, with no unnecessary spillover effect to damage the commercial activities of working copyright holders.

Digitizing the Collections of Libraries and Museums
Digitizing someone’s work is an act of reproduction and is therefore subject to the authorization of the copyright holder. But to let accredited libraries and archives bypass these authorizations, the law could grant them certain exceptions to reproduce works without the prior consent of the rights holders, mainly for preservation purposes.

To avail themselves of this privilege, institutions could file a notice of intent to infringe with the Copyright Office, documenting that they’ve made a reasonably diligent, but unsuccessful effort to find the copyright holder. These exceptions should not be extended to cover reproductions on a mass scale, because that would clearly conflict with the artists’ own exploitation of their works and that would prejudice the legitimate interests of the copyright holders, a clear violation of the 1976 Copyright Act, the Berne Convention and Article 13 of the TRIPS agreement, to which the US is a signatory.

This proposal is consistent with the submission of the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organizations (IFRRO) to the European Union’s i2010 Digital Libraries project. See our 2006 report on this: http://www.illustratorspartnership.org/01_topics/article.php?searchterm=00195
This means our proposal would meet the needs of libraries, museums and archives, harmonize US policy with our trading partners overseas and win wide praise from the creative community in the US, who would not see the rights of their own work put at risk.

Solving the Grandma issue
We believe similar orphan works situations - family photo restoration and duplication, personal genealogy usage of orphan works, and orphan works rights clearance for documentary filmmakers – can all be resolved in a similar manner, by carefully and precisely expanding Fair Use to permit limited individual infringements under contractual agreements.

For example, family photo issues could be resolved by means of a simple contract: the person who wishes to duplicate or restore a photo of Grandma could sign an easy-to-understand agreement (with either companies such as Wal-Mart or with the photographer next door), stipulating that they've made a reasonably diligent, but unsuccessful search to identify or locate the photographer of record. By doing so, they’d qualify for a precise limited copyright exemption to restore or duplicate the work for home and/or family use only. Under this scenario, it the photographer of record subsequently shows up, the contract would define the specific remedies.

The case of an individual who wishes to duplicate his or her own family photos would be even simpler to deal with: the individual would simply sign a form stipulating that he/she is the author and copyright holder of the photo - period. Any bad-faith assertions or violations of such agreements could then be dealt with as a contractual matter between individual parties, with no unnecessary damage to the rights of others.

A Limited, Workable Solution
We believe this kind of contractual solution to individual orphan works problems would have two virtues:

1. It would create certainty by specifying the terms of each transaction and would, in fact, mirror the kind of indemnification that professional artists and photographers routinely supply to clients, stipulating that our work is original and doesn't infringe the rights of others.
2. It would have the additional virtue of requiring that only those who avail themselves of the right to infringe would be required to understand the complexities of copyright law, unlike the present bill, which would require all citizens to familiarize themselves with the risks and obligations inherent in the proposed Orphan Works Acts.
3. It would not legalize the infringement of billions of managed copyrights on the grounds that some of them might be orphans.

We believe solutions like this could be arrived at amicably by working with members of the creative community, who are familiar with how copyright law intersects with standard business practice. This kind of imaginative solution should win widespread praise from all parties, while preserving the sanctity of existing copyright-related contracts. It would protect the small businesses that are the heart and soul of the creative community and would continue to act as an on-going incentive to further the creation of new work.

—Brad Holland and Cynthia Turner, for the Board of the Illustrators’ Partnership

Orphan Works Legislation: You Will Lose ALL Rights to Every Photo or Picture

Please forward this message to every artist, photographer and designer you know. To protest immediately: http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/home/

Have you ever picked up a camera and taken a picture? Of course you have. And you probably put the photos online and send them to your friends and family. Now and then a doting relative passes on a uber-cute photo to their friends. But no matter how large your circle is you'd never expect to see that same photo in some corporation's national ad campaign without your permission or payment.

That's the future folks if the Orphan Works legislation passes. In fact, it's already happened. It's just going to get brazenly, egregiously worse and it will be virtually impossible for the little guy (most of us) to do anything to rectify this theft of our intellectual property. Follow the money on this bill and you'll realize that big business stands to gain. Everybody else -- photographers, painters, sculptors, designers and the ordinary guy or gal with a camera will lose, BIG.

Virgin Mobil is in a lawsuit right now with a family that found a picture of their daughter in a Virgin Mobil advertisement. Taking advantage of the very small print on the Flickr site, Virgin's ad agency took this picture without permission -- and saved themselves a bunch of money on models and photo shoots. Alison Chang, the subject of the photo and her uncle, filmmaker Damon Chang got NOTHING. In fact, Alison Chang complained that the imagery insulted her Asian heritage. Read more about this on The Register.co.uk

If you're an artist, don't fool yourself thinking that theft is some form of flattery. This is about your bottom line. No cash and you aren't able to work. The copyright laws as we know them will be gutted. Getty, Corbis and other media supply agencies will have free rein to use your images without ANY payment to you. And, it only gets worse. Individuals and businesses will get on the bandwagon. An image of your painting or design work could be put onto paper plates, tissue boxes, beach towels, calenders, stationary, ad campaigns and you'll get nothing except a sinking feeling when you walk into some retailers shop or open a magazine or book and see them SELLING your work and you get NOTHING! Not only is your financial income compromised, you will have to pay to get an attorney to deal with this theft (and you may lose!).

Brad Holland and Cynthia Turner, the powerhouse behind the IPA's efforts to preserve the civil economic rights of creators has this to say:
"Remember: the US Orphan Works amendment is not an exception to copyright law to permit the archiving and preservation of old, abandoned works. It is a license to infringe contemporary works by living artists worldwide. Its goal is to force these works into private commercial US registries as a condition of protecting copyrights. Coerced registration violates international copyright law and copyright-related treaties. To concede defeat on it is to knock a hole in copyright law and admit a Trojan horse."
— Brad Holland and Cynthia Turner, for the Board of the Illustrators’ Partnership

Illustrators Partnership.org a Graphics Art industry non-profit group has many helpful links and more information on their site at this link for the IPA Orphan Works resource page.
Animation World Magazine printed this article by Mark Simon http://mag.awn.com/index.php?ltype=pageone&article_no=3605&page=1#

Please take a few moments to contact your legislators. Remember, it's the people who show up who run things. Have a voice and show up for this issue.
CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATOR: Go to http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml to quickly find the phone number, address and e-mail of every U.S. senator, U.S. representative, governor and state legislator.
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UPDATE May 7, 2008: FROM THE ILLUSTRATORS' PARTNERSHIP

Take Action: Don't Let Congress Orphan Our Work

• We’ve set up an online site for visual artists to e-mail their Senators and Representatives with one click.
  http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/home/

• This site is open to professional artists, photographers and any member of the image-making public.
• We’ve provided sample letters from individuals representing different sectors of the visual arts.
• If you’re opposed to the Orphan Works act, this site is yours to use.
  

For international artists and our colleagues overseas, we’ve provided a special link, with a sample letter and instructions as to whom to write.

2 minutes is all it takes to write Congress and protect your copyright:

http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/home/
__________________________________________________________
UPDATE : MAY 2, 2008 FROM THE ILLUSTRATORS' PARTNERSHIP
You are cordially invited to attend an important industry-wide event

Don’t Let Congress Orphan Your Work: An open forum to oppose the Orphan Works Act of 2008
Tuesday, May 6 6:00 PM
The Society of Illustrators
128 East 63rd Street, New York, NY 10065
Admission is free

The Orphan Works Act of 2008 will endanger the rights of anyone who creates intellectual property.

It will expose your art to commercial infringement. It will include work from professional paintings to family snapshots. It will include published and unpublished work. It will include any image that resides or has ever resided on the internet. It will force you to register every picture you do with privately-held commercial registries. It will make all unregistered works potential orphans.

This radical change to U.S. copyright law will shift the burden of diligence from infringers to rights holders. It is wrong to give infringers the right to make money from your property without your knowledge or consent. You should not have to pay businessmen to keep the work you’ve created.

The Orphan Works Act is an assault on national and international copyright laws. It’s an assault on the property and privacy rights embodied in them.

Illustrators, photographers, fine artists: let’s come together and act to keep Congress from orphaning our work.

This event will be webcast live. Panelists at this forum will include:

- Brad Holland Hall of Fame artist who has testified against the Orphan Works Act of 2006 in both the House and Senate
- Cynthia Turner Award-winning medical artist who has collaborated in written testimony to both the House and Senate
- Constance Evans Photographer, painter and Executive Director of Advertising Photographers of America
- Terry Brown Director Emeritus of the Society of Illustrators, currently Director of the American Society of Illustrators Partnership
- Others to be announced

To learn more about the Orphan Works Bill, listen to the interview with Brad Holland:
mp3 version: http://www.sellyourtvconceptnow.com/orphan.html
YouTube version: http://youtube.com/watch?v=CqBZd0cP5Yc

For additional background on Orphan Works, go to the IPA Orphan Works Resource Page for Artists
http://www.illustratorspartnership.org/01_topics/article.php?searchterm=00185

Be Creative, Just Don't Make Any Mistakes

Ya gotta be wrong to be right. This maxim doesn't apply to every situation, but it does apply to creative work. If you've ever had a boss who wants you to "try something new, just don't mess up," or if you grew up with authority figures that loved creativity as long as you didn't go "outside the lines," it's time to learn how to fail.

There, I said it, the "f" word. Fail. I love that word. I used to be terrified of it. Like the bogeyman-under-the-bed phase, it took me awhile to outgrow my fear of failure. I used to invent scenarios about what I would do if/when things went wrong, then invent solutions to save myself. What a waste of creative energy. Most things we worry about never happen, and if they do, the details are always different that I ever could have imagined, so none of my safety-scenarios would have helped.

So how did I cure myself? I really didn't. One day, I noticed that I didn't worry much about failure anymore. Looking back I see that there were some things I was doing that got me to my new place. Here are some tips I gleaned from that life experience. Use what works and ignore the rest:

• Stay in the moment. If that isn't working mentally, hold your breath. There is nothing like waiting to breathe to get you into the moment. I learned this doing water sports.
  
• Fail at something you're doing that's teetering in the direction of failure. Let it fall consciously and with intent (also called "letting go") and surprise yourself with what you do next.
• Think about your failure as one of the launch pads to success. Even Tiger Woods doesn't make every ball he hits. Look for the lesson in the failure and use it to build your next attempt. With every failure, you'll be that much closer to your goal, or know when you've tried enough.
• Be willing to quit. A thoughtful and considered ending is wiser than sticking with something just so you won't "lose".

Take my art class this summer with Art in the Mountains.

Balancing Flow & Creative Control

The psychologist Mikaly Csikszentmihalyi coined the term flow to describe the mental state when a person is fully focused, energized and involved in what they are doing. Also referred to being "in the zone", this state is a characteristic of the creative process.

When I first read about Csikszentmihalyi's description of flow, I recognized it immediately as the name for the state I often experience when painting or doing sports like skiing or windsurfing.

When I'm fully immersed in painting I'm in the flow state. In the arts, I describe flow as the sense of my body being a conduit through which the art flows unimpeded. I feel as though I have left my conscious mind behind and gone to a state I call super-consciousness, where I've given up critical thought, allowing the work to manifest.

At first, I thought that I would be more creative if I stretched these periods of super - consciousness. While working, I'd notice that I was in flow and use meditation techniques to resist the urge to "surface" from the flow to a controlling thought. I discovered that it didn't really result in better work. For me, balancing flow with creative control results in an experience I can only describe as a sense of flow that takes the shape of a long zig zag. Whether the shape "zigs" up or "zags" down, the axis of the shape always continues forwards.

The time when I stand back and assess my efforts and consciously decide (or control) what to do next is the "zag". The time of unimpeded flow is the "zig". Flow happens, flow doesn't happen. And the cycle repeats.

Ask Cristina: Children's Book Illustrating

Hi Cristina!

I met you in Richland WA a few autumn's ago. You were teaching the Paint Happy workshop. I thoroughly enjoyed the workshop. I sat in the front with my good friend Te'. We enjoyed the "energy" language you used in regards to your art and painting.
I am a full time artist. I sell my work and show it in local venues and hope to get into some galleries. Last week I was approached by a young man looking for an artist to illustrate a children's book he has written. He has been in contact with a publishing house and the writing has been approved and registered with the library of congress, he just needs an illustrator to make it come to life.
My situation isn't in the books I used for guidance. This is different as I had been approached by an author who has already been in contact with a publishing house who approved it and registered it with the library of congress. The publishing house sent him out to find an illustrator. Which seems odd because most websites say that the publishing house assigns an illustrator to the story and the author has no control over what the illustration will look like. This author has no money to pay me as an illustrator, and needs it in a very short turn around (18 spreads). The payment would come in the form of royalties. He has 6 other children's stories that he has written although none published yet. I think the book has great potential.
I feel it is a big gamble for me (I have never done anything of this sort before). I am more of a fine artist and used to getting 50% payment up front for commissioned work. So this is a very different animal. I have no idea what to expect in the form of royalties.
I noticed on your website that you have illustrated a children's book, and was wondering if you could shed some light on the process... foibles... pitfalls.... Also would something like this help ones career or send it careening into oncoming traffic. Thanks for your time!! Laura G.

Dear Laura,

Glad to hear from you, thanks for the compliments about the class.

The details of your situation are unusual. Usually a publishing house hires the illustrator and takes care of any contract negotiations which include the issues of the advance (pre-payment) and the royalty structure (often a 50/50 split between the artist and illustrator). Is it possible this man is "self-publishing" his book and hasn't told you that?

Before you put any energy towards this project you need to know more about the financial end of this proposition and more about the project. Illustrating a book won't help your career if it's the wrong project for you. Don't let yourself be rushed by his deadline. The only time a deadline matters in a situation like this is when you have already signed a legal contract that specifies how you are being paid (an advance is wise and to be expected) and exactly which copyrights are being assigned (sold). The contract will also include time lines for performance and more.

If you do get a contract from the publisher (or him, if he's self-publishing), hire a lawyer who specializes in the field of publishing/illustration to advise you with industry standards and customary procedures.

The first thing I would do in your situation is to call SCBWI -- The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Pony up your money to join and take advantage of their stellar resources.

Heres what they say about themselves: . . . We are the the only international organization to offer a variety of services to people who write, illustrate, or share a vital interest in children’s literature. The SCBWI acts as a network for the exchange of knowledge between writers, illustrators, editors, publishers, agents, librarians, educators, booksellers and others involved with literature for young people. There are currently more than 19,000 members worldwide, in over 70 regions, making it the largest children's writing organization in the world.
www.scbwi.org membership@scbwi.org
Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators
8271 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048 , USA
voice: 323-782-1010 fax:323-782-1892 General Questions: scbwi@scbwi.org

I am confident that SCBWI will be able to give you the counsel you need.
Best wishes with this situation. Let me know what happens.

Warm Regards,
Cristina

See more about my books and articles.

My Life as a Ceramic Tile Artist, The Beginning

The year 1994 was the year that I saw my first work of art (my hand painted ceramic tile mural) on a magazine cover . Albeit, it was only about two or three square inches, nonetheless, it was enough to send me all over town buying every copy of the magazine I could find, sending them to my friends & relatives. I was sure I was going to be famous (and rich)!

I began creating ceramic tiles in 1991. I had just finished a two-year stint as a lettering and mural artist for an outdoor advertising (billboard) company, and was teaching college art classes in the evenings. I was so sickened by the substances I used in the billboard work, that I couldn't comfortably oil paint. Implementing a friend's suggestion, I switched to painting on ceramics. Completing a series of images, I sent them to the Ann Sacks Tile & Stone store in Portland, Oregon. Kohler Plumbing Industries had just purchased the store as the flagship for a national chain and I found myself serendipitously in the tile business!
I quickly joined a business class, bought a kiln and learned about the ceramics business. READ MORE. . . .

www.CristinaAcosta.com