Pink Can Be Badass, Too + A Rant

______I've been thinking about creativity.

______The other day I was scrolling through Tumblr and came across an image that I thought a person I knew had drawn, a person who we will call Jessie. It had thousands of notes. "Hey, that's Jessie's picture!" I thought excitedly. "Good for them!" But upon closer inspection, it wasn't exactly the same image. A few stray lines were here and there. I knew Jessie had posted their version to Facebook, so I opened the two side-by-side and compared them. They were nearly identical. It was, disappointingly enough, a copy. A disappointing copy that Jessie had clearly made of the drawing from Tumblr.

______When I Google searched the Tumblr image, it came to an artist who had posted it a few years ago. It had been re-pinned, re-posted, and such so many times that the artist name had been lost, thought not a struggle to find. It's disheartening to think that a person I know would copy then claim another artist's image as their own. Maybe they don't think it's a big deal. But... it kinda is. Yuck-o.



______That's not to say it's wrong to look and be inspired by others' art, absorbing their ways of making or utilizing a technique you hadn't thought of, along with viewing source material as a reference--because it's most definitely not. Looking at other art is the only way to grow and not have your art look like other art! And references are great ways to make sure an aspect of your work is accurately depicted, as is copying it for the purpose of pure practice. However, to directly copy something line for line to the point where it's practically a replica, then adding an extra line or two and calling it your own? That's sort of more disgusting than a moldy egg sandwich.




______I understand that coincidences may occur, but coincidence and inspiration have to stray from each other at some point. The fact that Jessie turned their art in as an assignment, as their own, is what bothers me the most. Maybe the original drawing isn't the most renowned piece of art in the world, but it's still someone's creation. So why would a person say it's theirs? Whyyyyy? What would you gain except for a cheated sense of praise?

______I apologize for the grumpy gargoyle mood in today's post, but I suppose a blatant disregard for artists is one thing that picks at my nerves. Especially when it's another so-called "artist" doing it. People shouldn't get credit for what they didn't work hard at. You gain so much more through failure and actually trying than you ever will from turning in something that isn't yours. Art is something that should come from a person's own artistic knowledge, not an uncredited image from Pinterest.

______What's one thing you could rant on for hours about?



______On an outfit note, these snazzy-fierce Jeffrey Campbell boots were a Christmas present from the parental units. I think they make for a surprising combination with this hot pink dress. The metallic heel and embossed snake print in the leather caught my eye quicker than a bearded man in a room full of beardless men would. Nature calling? No, no. Shoe calling? Yes, yes.

Dress: Cynthia Rowley, via TJ Maxx (similar)
Sweater: via TJ Maxx (similar)
Boots: Jeffrey Campbell, via RevolveClothing
Necklace, earrings: Charming Charlie
Hair: styled by my most beautimous mother