IT'S RANT TIME!!

I've talked about this a lot, because it's something I feel very passionate about. I'm going to talk about it more because it just keeps happening. No one seems to learn. Rantiness follows the jump.

It's NOT OK to claim that you are the inventor of something like putting sprinkles in resin. Let's take a little trip down tangent lane and talk about noodles. Just bare with me because this IS relevant. There was that whole thing about how Marco Polo brought back noodles from Asia to what became Italy like a BILLION years ago (OK so it was in the 1200s I think). Well that's not true. Sure, I wasn't there for the invention of noodles so I don't know exactly what went down but it's believed that noodles were not invented solely in Asia. Noodles were probably happening all over the world at roughly the same time. These people were all inventing noodles and none of them had any way of knowing that someone on the other side of the world was doing the same. There might not have been 6 billion people on Earth at the time but there were still LOTS of people using their big human brains to invent all kinds of shit. Every culture has it's own unique dishes but there are a lot of common denominators like noodles.  [I'm not trying to pick on one person specifically although I mention below that a specific person is annoying the crap out of me with their self righteousness.]

Sure, there are original people out there and people who just piggy back on the success of others. These leeches don't use any of their own creativity. They see something doing well and completely rip it off for their own personal profit. It's not OK but that's how business goes. Someone is always going to be ripping off your hard work and selling for less. It SUCKS. Thankfully it's never happened to me but if I ever do become successful at this jewelry making thing it very well might. It's not going to feel good but at the same time it'll mean I've created something WORTH imitating. It's sort of a right of passage. It means you've arrived.

The ugliest part isn't the copying. The truly awful stuff is when people who have an inflated sense of self importance go around bullying other people for using the same materials. There is one person specifically that I'm miffed at but there's no reason to start any kind of silliness. Anything I have to say isn't going to change this person's ideas or pop their inflated ego. I'm not writing this to start drama or hurt feelings. I'm writing this because this blog is my outlet. My boyfriend is probably very tired of hearing me rant about this subject but I need to get it out.

WHY can't people let go of pettiness like this? You were not the first person to put resin in a mold and I certainly won't be the last. You were not the first person to put candy in resin. It probably upsets me much more than it should but your claims are unfounded and ridiculous. If you were the FIRST PERSON EVER LIKE OMG to put candy in resin I want PROOF. If you can give me proof that ONE person in the WHOLE WORLD was responsible for this craze than I will STFU and never bitch about it again. Until then I am going to continue to believe that you've gotten too big for your britches and take everything you say with a massive dose of salt.

I still like the work of the person in question. I think I will continue to like their work, but I don't think it's the most original work ever and I don't think this person deserves to walk around with such an enormous head. Especially if they think they can go around pitching a fit at any person who also happens to use resin (which is a product available at ANY craft store along with molds. You know what molds are for? Making something that is the SAME, EVERY TIME. WOW.)

When you use commercial resin, commercial molds, stickers from Japan, candy that can be found in the grocery store, and glitter from the craft store you have very little right to go around shitting on other people. That includes me. I use stickers, candy, glitter, and resin too. A lot of people do. Unless I start making custom molds (and I don't mean just pressing some Japanese cabochon into silicone putty) I'm not going to bitch at everyone who uses a heart mold. The only thing you can do is try to interpret what's going on through the filter of your own creativity. I try to put myself, my ascetic into the pieces I make and I think that's all that it takes to be truly original. It's not about the materials, it's not about the mold or the candy. It's about what you do with them. It's about your INTENTION. If you make work intending to copy one one else's hard work then you're not doing anything new. If you look at something, get inspired and try to put your own spin on it then you're working your way to something new and different. Sometimes it takes many tries to create something original. For those of you who draw I'm sure you traced something you admired while you were a little kid. It helps you learn the motions so that you can change them. In art school we took many drawing from life classes because once you understand how things are put together you can change them to your liking to fit your personal ideal.

This has gone on long enough, and I think I've made my point to the best of my ability, especially when I'm still pretty ticked about it. I hope that if anyone is reading this they will take a minute and think about how things actually happen in the creative world. There are so many people making things that it's impossible to claim sole creative responsibility for an idea unless you somehow have documented proof that is indisputable! So in other words: Pics or it didn't happen. The end.