. . . would you want someone to tell you? What I'm about to write is as pleasant as telling someone they have bad breath. I really don't know if I want to, but what if you'd really like to know? I feel some kind of obligation to whisper some possibly uncomfortable information in you ear. But first, some disclaimers:
1) I am NOT a copyright expert nor legal adviser of any kind and may very well not know anything about what I'm about to write here. If you have questions or concerns you should seek out your own legal information from an expert.
2) I am NOT passing judgement nor trying to tell anyone what to do or not do. I promise, cross my heart, stick a needle in my eye. I am not the Pinterest police and have no intentions of checking on anyone's pins except for my own viewing enjoyment (yes, I'm still sneaking peeks to feed my inspiration addiction). I truly have many questions about it all myself and I'm still trying to figure out exactly what I personally want to do with this information.
Brace yourself for a real bubble burster . . .
Pinterest, it appears, is beginning to gather a great deal of attention and criticism for widespread copyright infringement. It is estimated that 99% of what is pinned to Pinterest is done so in violation of Pinterest's own terms as well as in violation of existing copyright laws. And to make matters worse, the user agreement seems to make the user/pinner responsible and therefore the one that gets sued for infringement first if they pin things without permission or infringe upon the copyrights of others. Instead of me trying to explain this all properly, I've gathered some links to articles written about it: (if you search "Pinterest copyright" you'll find even more articles to read)
~ Pinterest's Copyright Strategy Puts the Burden on Users
~ Why I Tearfully Deleted my Pinterest Inspiration Boards
~ Not Pining for Pinning
~ Is Pinterest the new Napster?
~ Pinterst is blowing up - with cries of copyright infringement
~ Avoiding Copyright Pitfalls on Pinterest
~ What you Should Know about Pinterest and Copyright
It's a slippery slope for artists and other content copyright holders. If we give permission to pin our work/content, we are giving permission to Pinterest to not only profit from our work/content, but to do with it as they wish, essentially giving up the rights to our own work. If we don't give permission to pin our content, we're the snobby bad guys because we've rained on one of the biggest happy place parades of all time. Who doesn't love the idea of Pinterest, sharing the world's best images of the worlds' best ideas in one handy dandy easy to use place? Damn you Pinterest! (with tongue in cheek)
Ah, but maybe you're still on the "what about all the great exposure?" side of the fence. I seem to be having a hard time swinging my leg over that fence too. Of course, I'm very interested in free advertising on one of the hottest sites ever created! But if the exposure means giving up the rights to the work I could gain from in the first place, I don't know how free the advertising really is. It is a prickly pickle, this whole Pinterest thing. (say that 3 times fast)
I honestly don't know what to think, do or say about it all. I have deleted my own boards for the time being and won't pin anymore until a few more kinks are worked out. I just can't knowingly and purposely violate copyrights over and over myself. But, I am waiting and watching and praying for miracles that all will get resolved and I can happily return to the greatest (and possibly most productive) pastimes of all internet history without fear of being sued or my work being pirated by Pinterest.
Is there any way to fix all of this? I think so.
1) I think Pinterest could change their terms to protect the artist by not claiming the right to do whatever they want with what is being pinned.
2) I think Pinterest could flip things over and allow people to "opt in" rather than "opt out". In other words, encourage artists to display a button or switch where the works are originally shared that gives permission to post to Pinterest instead of forcing artists to go around writing 10 gabillion requests to remove work that they never gave permission to be used in the first place.
3) And, I think users need to be sure they are only sharing pins with direct links to the original source - no more tumblr links that essentially bypass the artist/original source altogether. There is a group starting a grassroots effort to get the word out. You can find some information on their Facebook wall here and some information on their blog here.
Before I go . . .
I promise no more "heavy" posts for a few days. And THANK YOU for your support, encouragment, good wishes, love, thoughtful comments and gracious messages regarding my post below. The path continues to be lit with the love and compassion of you all! ♥
Feb 29, 2012
Feb 27, 2012
Catching up . . .
Hello world . . . of 2 or 3! I think I may have understandably lost most of my blog audience with my inconsistent posting the last few months. But, I'm just not willing to give up on the blog. I keep thinking it is something I'd like to do better and cultivate into something productive and meaningful. I just need to continue to get my ducks in a row at home.
Blue Me
copyright by Marsha Jorgensen 1/20/2012. All rights reserved.
Digital collage. Image credits: everything from my personal stash and Tumble Fish Studio image kits including Divas, Remembrances, Nitty Gritty, My Picks and more.
So, I thought I'd finally explain a little more of what's been going on . . .
It's hard to explain completely (that's why I've put it off so long). There are lots of nooks and crannies that would take many pages of words to tell the whole story. The punch line is that back in November, just before my husband had the mini-stroke, our 18 year old daughter was diagnosed with severe clinical depression. I'm sharing this with my daughter's permission.
My husband's situation was not brought on by my daughter, we don't think, but his own stress from work and need for blood pressure medication. His work is going well, it's just growing in responsibility and adjustments need to be made to lighten his load. We're all working hard to streamline life and take time to smell the roses.
I have found, since Lauren's diagnosis, that discussing depression is a bit like discussing politics or religion due to some close minded opinionated know-it-all type people I have encountered - some in my own family. I've found I have to avoid discussing it with some people and that has been painful for me - not talking about my daughter in this case would be like trying to ignore an arm falling off. Talking about it with people that think it is just a case of feeling sorry for herself infuriated me. Lauren's depression is as much an illness as diabetes or high blood pressure or any other disorder many of us could have or develop. It's not a pity party, it's not a mood, it's not an attitude problem. It is a real medical and biological illness that may have very well been triggered by her being so sick with mono last year in the midst of all the pressure of graduating high school, scholarship applications, soccer games and college team tryouts, etc. Stress, lack of rest, and poor health can have a greater impact than many of us realize. Sometimes these things result in more easily discussed medical conditions and sometimes they can trigger mental illness issues. The stress Lauren put on herself, coupled with being one very sick person physically, just caught up with her and the brain chemistry changed along the way and whatever chemical we have in our brain that lets us recognize and feel happiness or relax went missing in Lauren. It took us from July to October to figure out what was going on and she progressively got worse as we misunderstood what was happening. Once we got an inkling and were able to get her proper help (therapy first and then medication), things started to improve ever so slowly and we are so grateful that she is, just recently, returning to the Lauren we all know and love. But it has been a long difficult journey and it took my focus away from work and blogs and emails and made life very simple in some ways - Lauren's survival was my task and endeavor and that was about it for both of us and all of us at some points.
I still don't know much about depression - I know what it isn't in some ways and I know enough to get frustrated with short sighted people that lack the compassion to try and understand it with me/us. We've all had "the blues", been down and out for periods of time and picked ourselves up and got on with life. Clinical depression, not situational depression, is a very different animal and not something that can be flipped around with attitude and coaching alone in many cases. I'll leave it at that for now as that is a lot to read, especially when you don't have to. I just wanted you to know why my focus has shifted and I may seem more distant and inconsistent.
The piece above, "Blue Me", is a little about my own reflection and grief in how I may have contributed to my children's life stumbles/struggles. The piece below, Un-Sung is full of symbolism in my recent months with Lauren. She not able to see life accurately, faking smiles just to get through a conversation or momentary encounter. Me (the bird) trying to "direct" her along the way, describing blue skies ahead, the target of being happy and getting well. Again, I'll leave it at that.
Un-Sung
copyright by Marsha Jorgensen 2012. All rights reserved.
Digital collage. Image credits: most everything from my Tumble Fish Studio kits including Etcetera, Happy Place, Freestyle, Random Favorites, City Skies, and more; head from picassoswoman at flickr and used with permission.
On a lighter note . . .
I have some new kits in the shoppe at Deviant Scrap! Making kits has been wonderful therapy for me and the one thing I've been able to continue with at my own pace. I have many ideas swirling in my head for future work and projects and when my situation doesn't allow for focus on them, I have enjoyed preparing for them with the creation of new kits.
Flying Things
HouseHold Items
HouseHold
Blue Me
copyright by Marsha Jorgensen 1/20/2012. All rights reserved.
Digital collage. Image credits: everything from my personal stash and Tumble Fish Studio image kits including Divas, Remembrances, Nitty Gritty, My Picks and more.
So, I thought I'd finally explain a little more of what's been going on . . .
It's hard to explain completely (that's why I've put it off so long). There are lots of nooks and crannies that would take many pages of words to tell the whole story. The punch line is that back in November, just before my husband had the mini-stroke, our 18 year old daughter was diagnosed with severe clinical depression. I'm sharing this with my daughter's permission.
My husband's situation was not brought on by my daughter, we don't think, but his own stress from work and need for blood pressure medication. His work is going well, it's just growing in responsibility and adjustments need to be made to lighten his load. We're all working hard to streamline life and take time to smell the roses.
I have found, since Lauren's diagnosis, that discussing depression is a bit like discussing politics or religion due to some close minded opinionated know-it-all type people I have encountered - some in my own family. I've found I have to avoid discussing it with some people and that has been painful for me - not talking about my daughter in this case would be like trying to ignore an arm falling off. Talking about it with people that think it is just a case of feeling sorry for herself infuriated me. Lauren's depression is as much an illness as diabetes or high blood pressure or any other disorder many of us could have or develop. It's not a pity party, it's not a mood, it's not an attitude problem. It is a real medical and biological illness that may have very well been triggered by her being so sick with mono last year in the midst of all the pressure of graduating high school, scholarship applications, soccer games and college team tryouts, etc. Stress, lack of rest, and poor health can have a greater impact than many of us realize. Sometimes these things result in more easily discussed medical conditions and sometimes they can trigger mental illness issues. The stress Lauren put on herself, coupled with being one very sick person physically, just caught up with her and the brain chemistry changed along the way and whatever chemical we have in our brain that lets us recognize and feel happiness or relax went missing in Lauren. It took us from July to October to figure out what was going on and she progressively got worse as we misunderstood what was happening. Once we got an inkling and were able to get her proper help (therapy first and then medication), things started to improve ever so slowly and we are so grateful that she is, just recently, returning to the Lauren we all know and love. But it has been a long difficult journey and it took my focus away from work and blogs and emails and made life very simple in some ways - Lauren's survival was my task and endeavor and that was about it for both of us and all of us at some points.
I still don't know much about depression - I know what it isn't in some ways and I know enough to get frustrated with short sighted people that lack the compassion to try and understand it with me/us. We've all had "the blues", been down and out for periods of time and picked ourselves up and got on with life. Clinical depression, not situational depression, is a very different animal and not something that can be flipped around with attitude and coaching alone in many cases. I'll leave it at that for now as that is a lot to read, especially when you don't have to. I just wanted you to know why my focus has shifted and I may seem more distant and inconsistent.
The piece above, "Blue Me", is a little about my own reflection and grief in how I may have contributed to my children's life stumbles/struggles. The piece below, Un-Sung is full of symbolism in my recent months with Lauren. She not able to see life accurately, faking smiles just to get through a conversation or momentary encounter. Me (the bird) trying to "direct" her along the way, describing blue skies ahead, the target of being happy and getting well. Again, I'll leave it at that.
Un-Sung
copyright by Marsha Jorgensen 2012. All rights reserved.
Digital collage. Image credits: most everything from my Tumble Fish Studio kits including Etcetera, Happy Place, Freestyle, Random Favorites, City Skies, and more; head from picassoswoman at flickr and used with permission.
On a lighter note . . .
I have some new kits in the shoppe at Deviant Scrap! Making kits has been wonderful therapy for me and the one thing I've been able to continue with at my own pace. I have many ideas swirling in my head for future work and projects and when my situation doesn't allow for focus on them, I have enjoyed preparing for them with the creation of new kits.
Flying Things
HouseHold Items
HouseHold
Feb 13, 2012
Feb 8, 2012
I am here . . . part 2
copyright by Marsha Jorgensen 2012. All rights reserved.Digital journal page. Image credits: everything from my Tumble Fish Studio kits including Freestyle, Freestyle 2, Etcetera, Nitty Gritty, My Picks, and others.
I really want to share with you a bit of what's been going on in my life because I think it's important, sometimes, to share such things . . . you never know when sharing the nitty gritty in your life will help someone else not feel alone in their own life matters. But, it's hard to write about and I need to be in the right mood. So, know that I will get to that stuff soon and fill in the blanks for my sporadic posting and presence in internet world lately.
Today, I thought I'd share the surface stuff . . . the stuff that we all keep going so that life at least appears to be normal and working. Sometimes its THAT stuff that actually DOES keep us going and normal and working even if it's just camouflaging the real story deep down.
I've been making art. I've been making image kits. I've been collecting new old antique papers and pictures and things. I've been making plans for new projects and new ways to work and design and create. I've been researching (does Pinterest count as research?). I've been helping with a bathroom remodel (which, as we all know any such project . . . ) takes over the whole house in one way or another. That's the surface stuff, the stuff that keeps me going and normal.
You won't want to miss this . . . a little customer appreciation on Valentine's Day!
Most recent kits . . .
Pictures are linked to their listing in the Deviant Scrap shoppe. All of these have printable jpg sheet versions in my shoppe too, so look for those listings if you prefer.
Something's Fishy
Nitty Gritty
Be Mine
Frippery
Some recent work . . .
MamaFish
. . . some of you know my nickname is MamaFish so I guess it's a bit of a self portrait in some ways . . . maybe.
copyright Marsha Jorgensen 1/18/2012. All rights reserved.Digital collage. Image credits: all but the net from my own Tumble Fish Studio kits and images. Net from Christina Renee designs.
Noises in my Head
copyright by Marsha Jorgensen 1/27/2012. All rights reserved.There is a second version of this with a little lighter feel to it posted just after this one in flickr.Digital collage. Image credits: everything from my own personal stash and Tumble Fish Studio image kits including Male Persuasion, Frippery, Slightly Sinister, Freestyle, Freestyle 2, and more.
The bathroom remodel . . . in progress
If you look very closely in the lower left you can see metal tape closing up a hole left by grout fallen out between the floor and cabinet. The old pipes were so corroded, you could not stick a pencil in the hole the water was coming out. So, we demolished the old lath and plaster to get to the pipes (thank goodness! I was sick of the original 1945 pink!), put in new copper pipes, had a contractor float the wall to plum it up with new lath and mortar and the new tile is being placed as I write this.
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