Bravo Karen. Superb writing and illustration (especially the high contrast frames).

And yes I noticed the transformers poster on the last page! Nice

Thanks Bec!

Good job, all of you!  It looks fantastic!

Heheheh ... Hello Kitty is my muse!

See! I told you they were cute stick-figures - especially when they’re angry!

Kawaiiiiii!

Heheheh ... H, it’s never going to happen! Carpe diem!

Kere: Yes, I own all three of Scott McCloud’s books on comics, but I’ve found Making Comics hard to get through—I guess because, as you say, his primary target audience is artists. But it’s very interesting and helpful all the same.

Very nice

I’ll put this, too, on my list of things to do when I have more time…

Any discussion of the purpose of art is going to huge and unwieldy. And in the end, I suppose, my question would be whether or not it truly matters or if it can be defined in a way that truly encompasses, rather than limiting, the possibilities of art and the roles of the artist. In the end, I don’t have to write (there is no compulsion) but nor do I write for any end purpose (which to me would still involve some form of compulsion). I write because it’s part of who I am, because I love it and would rather do it than not. The process is enough for me, is the enjoyment. It’s not the story or the characters or the theme or message - all of that is about the end product - but the work itself, the way it happens, the word choice and the way its chosen, the way each part works together and how I’m making that happen. It’s said that a work of art is never completed only abandoned and I think that’s true and that this is why: art is about the creation, not about the product.

But that’s just my point-of-view - it’s the importance of art for me - and there are no ends of artists and critics who would disagree with me and do so strenuously. And I don’t know that there is a right or wrong here. For me the end product is… very nice and I’m happy to do something with it. I’d like to think it can express something important to other people and that that message should be to God’s greater glory. Which, as you’ve pointed out, it cannot help but be. But for me it’s about the process which is, to some extent, a view of art for art’s sake.

Well, that was convoluted. I’m planning a wedding! I have an excuse! ;p Hope that made some sense. ^-^

Hihi. The book Jon recommended to me when I started my graphic novel is Scott McCloud’s ‘Making Comics’. I found it quite useful, though a lot of the stuff it says are things you would think of yourself given the moment to do so and he’s very much coming from an artist’s point-of-view and seems to assume that the drawing comes before the writing. Still, he had some interesting things to say and in an interesting manner.

I’m very glad you’ve done some drawing for this. I found it interesting to think in the right way for this kind of static visual form, unlike a form like film which is… *tries to find the word* based in action rather than having all the action happening between images. (Why sue one word when ten will do?! ;p ) It takes some getting used to, though I’ve been doing layouts as I write which helped no end.

Anyway, this is alll shiny. ^-^

Good discussion and reminder, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of this series

It’s something I think about from time to time, and should probably devote a bit more thought to, although I’m approaching art from the point of view of a profession/vocation more than as a vital form of self-expression. But I will often be among people who do, so shouldn’t ignore that aspect.

I wonder if there’s a name for that kind of creative/artistic circularity ...

George, one day I will come and borrow your collection ... once I get through my unread pile!

Kathleen: no, not yet. It’s sitting pristine in a ziplock bag ;P

Hee hee, yes I did! And today I found some blue pencils so I’m going to have a go at using them.

We will have to collaborate some time in the future ... I will keep thinking up more ideas for four-page comics ...

And that Copper tutorial was great - informative and funny. Did you hold the pencil the right way?

So glad you went for it! I was going through my notebook the other night and found my sketches and thought, I wish I had had time

It’s so lovely, like something made out of spiderweb! My “string” illustration was based on a sketch I made of you knitting it (although I didn’t know it at the time).

By the way, I have every Georgette Heyer book (all the romance ones). She’s one of my favourite authors.

That was such a funny, enjoyable read especially the thing about the knitting needles.  Funny stuff and sad but true
I love going to Brizzy.  I like how laid back the city is, there’s little aggro, and I love the weatherboard architecture.  I have a friend who lives near St Lucia (actually Kenmore) and I always love going there… Ah!  I miss it.

Yes, but there’s a difference between following the rules and trying to convince people they are reasonable

It was a very excellent chair, Karen - and your photos all turned out really well. I’ve got some sketches up on Flickr (but they don’t look like you!).

Used the sketchbook yet?

About the bamboo knitting needles, they follow rules as a requirement of their job. As with most people, keeping their job is most important so regardless of how silly the rules are, they must be followed as she would be well conditioned to do so.

http://boingboing.net/2008/10/07/us-customs-sketching.html

http://www.xtcian.com/arch/001602.php

Tea Inn! And freezer section of Asian supermarket.

Thank you again - it’s lovely!

the last spray bottle I got I got from woolies (in australia). I would be suprised if they have stopped selling them. Maybe you should try looking in the gardening bit? I can’t remember where it was.

you have inspired me to get a wii fit too! I am rubbish at the soccer heading game. but I like the ski jump!

alison 8-)

Ooh, where do you get dessert dumplings? Hang on, I think I might have had them in some Chinese restaurant. Not with the soup though.

1. Dessert dumplings!! Have you ever had them? White on the outside, filled with peanut sauce or black sesame on the inside. You have it with a sweet watery soup. Also, you can get ice-cream type dumplings (if that’s stretching the definition of dumpling a bit far )

2. Duck gyoza?? Yum! Wanna try that!!

Wow! That is amazing!!

Sorry about that! My blog must be rather hungry, eating comments like that ...

So glad you’re still reading Been praying for you.

Hi! *I’m* still reading your blog!
sounds like you had a nice time!

the last comment I left got eaten (i.e. never appeared) so better luck this time??

Alison P.

Thanks for this. I have it all sorted! I wonder why all that other html stuff comes up whenever I look at other rss feeds, when it’s that simple ...

Regarding Google Reader:

Click on “Add subscription” (LHS menu).

Copy and paste the relevant feed URL. My blog is complicated because there are four:

• If you want full posts, use http://hippocampusextensions.com/karen/rssfulltext/
• If you want full posts and my del.icio.us links, use http://hippocampusextensions.com/karen/rssfulldelicious/ (at the moment, however, the del.icio.us feed isn’t quite working because there’s this one thing I don’t know how to do).
• If you prefer just reading headlines and excerpts, and then clicking through to the full post if it’s interesting, use http://hippocampusextensions.com/karen/rssexcerpt/
• And I also have a feed for all the comments that get submitted to my site: http://hippocampusextensions.com/karen/rsscomments/

Click “Add” and you’re done!

This has nothing to do with your post, but I am clueless as to what to do with your feed things on here up there in the corner, and can no longer get this blog in google reader. So, can you enlighten me as to what I might do with that html stuff up there?

Everyone automatically gets copyright on work they produce and publish. You don’t need to (C) 2008 the work, its automatic law.

You can release that work under a license otherwise it defaults to the normal copyright law. A license can give certain permissions and apply certain restrictions in the use of the work.
Often people release works under more than one license, for say a commercial license and a free license where free may have some restrictions such as preventing re-sale of the item.

Patent law only applies if you obtained a patent, which only applies to inventions which are new and original. Unfortuantly people can patent too many things these days such as DNA and thereby own living organisms.

*struggles to express thought coherently* What Kathleen said. ;p If your enjoyment of the activity is suffering because of the pressure other people’s suggestions place on it, then perhaps you should cut back on accepting those suggestions. I now have a default response of “no” to most suggestions that I offer the things I do to relax or for my own enjoyment in the service of something or someone else. Not that this stops me offering to do things but I know it’s easy to feel like you should do something because people have suggested that it might help.

This is really lovely, Karen. I’m always in awe of people who can knit: it’s always been beyond me. This is just gorgeous.

I think it’s something you work out only by getting into that situation. I’ve been there, and learned to say - I’m not enjoying X anymore… why was I doing X and how important is X? And if the demands of other people’s wishes and suggestions and deadlines interfere with both that reason and other things that are more important, then I don’t agree to them in future. It sounds like you knit for relaxation and creativity, to rest and recreate for the rest of life, and the extra obligations imposed on knitting ruin both the r&r;and (therefore) hurt other areas of your life.
It’s the sort of thing you learn by trial and error. I’ve had to learn to make extra activities based on those things a default ‘no’, and then have a really good reason if I change that.

I agree with Nathan, I don’t think you can copyright the pattern, you’d have to get a patent. Sounds like wishful thinking on the pattern creators part.

No doubt people weren’t aware that others were selling stuff made from their patterns. But now that we have the internet, it’s easier to track these things.

From the brief reading I did, even if Australian copyright law were slightly different, because of how other countries subscribe to certain forms of international copyright law, they can still claim their rights even if you’re in Australia and they’re in the US.

Anyway, the problem come when you sell what you knit; if you give it away for free, it’s fine.

I’ve gone and asked for permission from the original designers of the patterns I used. One said a flat out no. I’m waiting to hear back from the other two.

I was wondering about this the whole time I was admiring your work. The thing is that it’s not clear cut in any way shape or fashion. Some patterns will say that you can’t sell any products from the pattern but some will say nothing at all. Nathan insists that the only thing that can be copyrighted is the paper/online pattern itself. If the designers didn’t want you to create and sell from the pattern then they should have patented it.

It’s very murky. Copyright australia website has some pdf helps but even then I’m unsure on the whole copyright vs patent issue.

I think this is only a very recent thing in the crafting world. Before it used to all be about sharing patterns and sharing ideas for the common good. But now it’s all about ‘gimme, gimme, gimme’.

If you made a derivative work of another, which all creative people do all the time anyhow, it is up to the copyright holder to prosecute you.

Or otherwise, you can ask the copyright holder for permission to use it as such in which case they can say yes sure, or the can ask you for money.