Sunday, November 29, 2009

I'm at a Loss

Hello Readers,

I am sorry that I haven't posted lately but I have been in a bit of a situation that really has me flummoxed. I have been posting many of my creations online for people to appreciate and learn from in the spirit of sharing. I realized that by posting my creations on the Internet, abuses might occur but I was never fully prepared for the situation that I am in.

Some of you have asked if you could use some of my designs for personal purposes and for the most part, I have granted permission. Never did I realize that people would steal my designs and use them for their personal gain.

Some of my silhouettes have appeared in another artist's store as their own work. Not modified work but my work in its original form. I have been careful to label my work so that pictures couldn't be stolen. This "artist" simply copied my work, scanned it, and then reproduced it without asking or without any modifications.

For those of you who don't know, silhouette/paper cutting work is very meticulous and time consuming. Getting correct proportions, placements, etc is very much a trial and error process and sometimes can take hours to get correct. This person has bypassed all of this work and effort by simply stealing my designs.

Right now, I have had to spend money on getting an attorney to write a cease and desist letter which we had hoped would solve the problem. So far, this artist has refuse to abide by this letter. We are now in the process of suing this person for damages.

So, dear readers--if there are any of you left out there--that is why I haven't posted recently. I don't want to provide this person with anything else to steal. As soon as we get this resolved, I will post more pics of projects that I have been working on. Right now, I am in the middle of the holiday season and I am making some goodies of which I will be able to show you pictures.