Grungy Monday 08!

Featuring Special Guest Star Designers:

Sue West 

Ellen Vargo

Wow, you guys ROCKED the Color Block art last week! Wasn't that a fun technique? I'm having a blast seeing the variety of beautiful pieces you guys created-- so many brilliant ideas and so much talent! This week, we're back to Tim's blog for a classic that I think you'll love, but first...

***Important Message from Your Hostess!***

I'd like to mention something I think you'll all want to be aware of. In the past week, I've been shown two unique instances of someone in the online art community laying claim to Tim's work as if it were their own. In the first case, an alert blog friend (thanks, Connie!) sent me a link to an online e-Zine where tutorials were all but lifted directly out of A Compendium of Curiosities, but Tim's name was never even mentioned. The second case was a link Mario sent me, where-- incredibly-- a retailer has apparently scanned or photographed Tim's Idea-ology Word Keys and is selling the resulting image as a downloadable file (including warnings about not using it for your own commercial-use products). There's no mention that those keys are Tim's signature products. Amazing, isn't it? 

As artists, we share ideas, we learn from each other and we discover things together. That's a big part of what makes the process so much fun! But, we're also mindful of the fact that when another artist, be it a peer or a teacher, creates a new product or a technique, it's absolutely essential to give them proper credit. We do this to avoid any copyright issues, certainly, but also because it's simply the right thing to do. I know that the legalities surrounding intellectual property are murky, at best, and have no idea how instances such as those I've cited above would be viewed in that arena, but I do know it's disrespectful and often financially damaging to the actual creator when someone lays claim to their work. 

Please be assured, I'm not talking about being inspired by something you see and using that inspiration to create something new and wonderful of your own. That's what we do, and it's awesome! Nor am I talking about the fact that sometimes, two or more people simply come up with the same (or very similar ideas). That's bound to happen in the creative community. I'm talking specifically about people who copy someone's work outright and don't give credit, or worse, take the credit for themselves. 

I've been so impressed with the participants in the Tim-inspired challenges I host-- you guys are great about giving Tim the credit he deserves. Occasionally, though, someone simply forgets to do so. I get that. I forget stuff all the time! But, as hostess of this challenge, it's my responsibility to make sure that the credit, the link back to Tim, is present in every submission. In good conscience, I have to remove any submission that doesn't include that link. I'll always contact the person first, though, and I doubt I'll ever encounter someone who doesn't immediately correct the omission. 

Okay, that's my Public Service Announcement for the week. How 'bout we engage in some artiness?!

This week brings one of my all-time favorite techniques from Mr. Holtz, and that's saying a lot because I've never seen a Tim Technique I didn't like! It's a fun, totally clever way of creating a watercolor image using stamps and Adirondack Dye Ink. Let's hop into our handy Technique Time Machine and visit a blog post from a few years back...

Tim's September, 2008 Technique Challenge

Our Special Guest Star Designers took this challenge to the stratosphere! Check out these amazing works of art from two very talented ladies:

Sue West

Pink Ink

Ellen Vargo

Ten Thirty-Six Arts and Crafts

Ellen put some great "code" in her piece!

I've had such a hard time not posting this next photo until now! Ellen actually gave me the gorgeous piece she created for this challenge when I met her after Ranger U! It's now hanging in a place of honor in my studio, a reminder of a wonderful friend and inspiring artist!

 Yes, that's the one of only Hels Sheridan in the background!

Here's my own GM08 piece:

Please click here for my product list.

I hope we've inspired you to try your hand at this beautiful technique! I think you'll really enjoy the process, but do heed Tim's advice that "practice makes perfect" on this one. It might take a couple tries to get a feel for it, but fear not! You will, and you'll have a masterpiece in no time!

When you've completed your work, use the InLinkz button at the end of this post to add your image here. You'll need to have a blog or an online, public photo album to participate. And, of course, please include a link to Tim's website in your blog post or photo comments section, as we discussed above.

After you link your art here, don't forget to add it to the Grungy Monday photo album at the All Things Tim group at Yahoo! Fabulous Gloria, who owns and moderates the list, has generously given us a place to share our GM pieces there, and the lovely folks on the list will make you feel right at home. Be sure to wish Gloria a happy, slightly belated, birthday, too (it was the Saturday)!

 Okay, friends, go forth and grunge! I hope you all have a fabulous week!
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