Monday, May 25, 2015

GET INSPIRED -- Patchwork show Santa Ana, plus 4th Street Market!

After a flurry of conventions and other SNB activities I got to enjoy a little down time in the company of photographer pal Sarah Hunt at one of our favorite haunts ... one of the Patchwork art and craft shows.

We attended the show in Santa Ana. Regret I forgot my camera, so no "day of" photos for this post. (pics above are from 2014).  But here are some highlights of my haul of treasures...
PAPER WILDERNESS
cards and a sea-life themed "to do" list notepad from Jenna at Paper Wilderness. Here's link for website http://www.paperwilderness.com/
And Facebook https://www.facebook.com/paperwilderness
 A cool note pad with Narwhals .. AND jellyfish .. must. buy!
CHELTENHAM ROAD
 Also cannot resist the re-purposed vintage images of nifty vintage style from Cheltenham Road.
 They do custom orders too!! Lots more at the on-line Esty store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/CheltenhamRoad
Also on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cheltenham-Road/190275374343860
LOS ANGELES LIBRARY
One of my favorite shops is the bookmobile LA Library mobile store ... a truck full of cards, totes, plush, games etc .. all book and library themed! Help support the library ... check out (get it??) their on-line store: https://www.lfla.org/store/

FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD!
SANTA ANA 4TH STREET MARKET
A new find for me at this Patchwork show location .. the near by Santa Ana 4th Street Market. Super yummy food hall that opened in early 2015. (photo below by Anne Watson .. from Santa Ana 4th Street Market Facebook Page).
https://www.facebook.com/4thstreetmarketdtsa
Loads of interesting, artisan food stalls ... an outdoor patio.. indoor seating.. and facilities.
Best of all ... walking distance from the Patchwork show location.

Of course there are always lots of food choices at the Patchwork shows ... a number of food trucks and also individual vendors. But why stop eating there. Of course enjoy some on-site treats ... then work up more appetite with a lovely stroll to the food hall!

One of my all-time favorite Patchwork exhibitors ... the Torch S'mores cart ... has a full-time location at the 4th Street Market. Go there. Eat s'mores!!!
More info about the Torch s'mores stand here: https://www.facebook.com/torchsmores
and here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/torch-smore-santa-ana
Here are links with yelp reviews and news stories about the Santa Ana 4th Street Market.
Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/4th-street-market-santa-ana-2
Orange County Register http://www.ocregister.com/articles/roll-654632-offers-food.html
Los Angeles Times http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-fourth-street-market-santa-ana-20150220-story.html

More Patchwork show posts on blog. Click on this link to see photos from Santa Ana and Long Beach locations:
http://stuartngbooks.blogspot.com/search?q=patchwork

Find locations and info on upcoming Patchwork shows:http://dearhandmadelife.com/patchwork-show/upcoming-shows/

Saturday, May 23, 2015

Claire Wendling Sketching -- video from Big Wow, Link for John Flesk Vemo clips

While Claire Wendling appeared at the April Big Wow convention -- two film crews shot footage of her while she was sketching.

John Fleskes has just posted his videos of Claire Wendling sketching. These were shot when Claire was set up next to the Stuart Ng Books booth. In the photo below .. John is operating the camera with the tri-pod.


These videos appear on John's Flesk Publications blog .. here is the link for his blog post:
http://fleskpublications.com/blog/2015/05/23/2924/

Friday, May 22, 2015

Get Inspired -- Artists rights (The Instagram Photos story) .. References ... and Missions (UPDATED)

Artist reference material ... and artist rights info... appear frequently on the internet.

My post from July 2014 on "Copyright Info for Artists" lists case studies and resources. Theft of images on the internet is a continuing issue for artists. It occurs often enough that I'm still updating this post with recent stories: http://stuartngbooks.blogspot.com/2014/07/copyright-info-for-artists_15.html
(Stock image below from Dreamtime.com)


Today there was a story about a so-called "artist" stealing images from the internet, blowing them up, and using them in a Gallery show .. without crediting or compensating the source of the material.. It turns out he has made quite a fortune from this practice.Wikipedia covers the 2009 copyright infringement "Cariou v. Prince" case against this same artist. Here is the summary:
The Southern District of New York (SDNY), in March 2011, held that Prince's works were infringing.[2] At that point, the Cariou v. Prince case received significant attention, because the SDNY ordered that Prince's unsold works, and Rizzoli's catalogs, be impounded and destroyed.[1] The SDNY in found that the works were not transformative, in part because Richard Prince did not claim to be "commenting upon" the original works.[2]
Prince, whose works often sell in galleries for many thousands of dollars, appealed to the Second Circuit. The case was of high interest to the art world, which largely favored Prince's position,[3] and to the photographic community, which largely favored Cariou's position.
In April 2013, the Second Circuit reversed the SDNY's decision, finding that most of Prince's works were indeed "transformative" to a "reasonable observer" and therefore fair use.[4] In particular, the Court found that the lower court erred in requiring that the appropriating artist claim to be commenting on the original work, and found works to be transformative if they presented a new aesthetic.[4] The court found 25 of 30 works to be transformative fair use under its standard, and remanded the case to the lower court for reconsideration of 5 of the works under the Second Circuit's new standard.[4]
On March 18, 2014, Cariou and Prince announced that they had settled the case.[1
Here is link for summary: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cariou_v._Prince:

And this link is for the 2015 situation...
http://gothamist.com/2015/05/21/artist_steals_instagram_photos_sell.php

Four more links added to this post on May 24th --- this story keeps getting more coverage!
from the New Yorker 2007--
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/10/15/the-joker-2
Art News Oct 2014
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/richard-prince-sucks-136358
New Yorker Sept 2014---
http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/richard-princes-instagrams
Business Insider May 2015
http://www.businessinsider.com/richard-lewis-instagram-photos-100000-dollars-new-york-new-portraits-copyright-2015-5
Washington Post May 25 2015
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2015/05/25/a-reminder-that-your-instagram-photos-arent-really-yours-someone-else-can-sell-them-for-90000/
Business Insider May 29, 2015
http://www.businessinsider.com/instagrammers-from-richard-princes-photos-didnt-take-the-original-pictures-2015-5

Just a little online search reveals that this artist has a long history of using other artists work ----There's even a term for it: "rephotographing"
We must all be vigilant about image theft.... these rules are still being made up while we go along in this early era of art on the web. Artists need to be making the rules about this .. and educating patrons and venues.
Image below from Gagosian Gallery:
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Sigh... on to better news.

Medical Heritage Library has a Facebook page. This is a great way to learn about vintage, public domain books being made accessible on the internet.
https://www.facebook.com/medicalheritagelibrary

Post on this page today featured this news: One of the Medical Heritage Library's newest contributors is the University of Leeds, which recently added John Marshall's "Anatomy for Artists," published in London in 1878:

Here's a sample image.


Another Medical Heritage Library story illustrates (literally) how many in the medical field often apply their interest in anatomy to other fields of research---
John Collins Warren (1778-1856) was a pioneering American surgeon who performed some of the first experiments with anesthesia at Massachusetts General Hospital in 1845 and 1846.
He was also fascinated by the fossilized remains of a Mastodon found in New York near the banks of the Hudson River in 1845. Warren performed a meticulous study of the bones and produced this beautifully illustrated volume, "Mastodon Giganteus of North America," in Boston in 1855:



link to books above here: https://archive.org/details/60941130R.nlm.nih.gov
More info also via the Medical Heritage Library main website : http://www.medicalheritage.org/
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Another inspiring story today features "paying it forward" project by author Jeff Kinney, creator of "The Wimpy Kid" series ... he's building a bookstore! http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/24/business/media/the-bookstore-built-by-jeff-kinney-the-wimpy-kid.html?_r=0

Photo below by Charlie Mahoney for the NY Times:

Bookstores are a risky business ... but darn it, isn't everything.



 Quotes and advice and examples are all around us ....

 Ideas are hard to come by ..
 and even harder to live by ..

WRITE -- OR REVISE -- YOUR MISSION STATEMENT
If you're feeling unsure about your direction in art .. or life ... maybe that's a good time to revisit your mission statement...It's not just good business advice .. it's for your well being... (image below from coolchaser.com)

Read more about Mission Statements for wellness on this link from the Health and Wellness page of the NY Times -- :http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/05/personal-coaches-and-mission-statements/


Thursday, May 14, 2015

Behind the Scenes at Wendling visit to SNB May 9, 2015, UPDATED 5/28 with links to sites by and about Claire Wending

Claire Wendling lived in the Los Angeles area during her stint at Warner Bros feature animation. She speaks fondly of her love of California .. the sunshine .. the beaches. During her time in California this year, she did get to see some of this...



Though we had some much-needed rain during her stay and the sunshine didn't always cooperate ... Claire brings her own magic to any appearance...While she was taking in the sights at the Pier, she got to see a seal in the surf!....
And she delighted the crowds on hand for her signings. Including this one at the Stuart Ng Books store...
This special day had the full SNB crew on hand --- Mark, Jim, Don, and Amber ..
 .. and we even had Mary back for a day!
SNB pal Paul Choy .. in action below with camera.. got lots of great photos. You can see them on the Stuart Ng Books Facebook  page: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10155494568935510.1073741827.430187415509&type=1
The pictures here on this post were all taken my me..
Many of the visitors that day were artists... and I wasn't surprised to see lots of drawing going on .. and sketchbooks being shared...
 There were some Wendling originals on display ... along with books and prints...

This signing was an all-day affair, which allowed more time to visit with the attendees and also to schedule breaks for the artist. Other signings at venues like convention booths and after a public lecture or panel are more intense affairs. The SNB location in Torrance is just off the freeway between LAX and Long Beach airports ... but it's not a central hub near schools or studios. That's a downside of our site --- but there are benefits too, like the coastal climate and South Bay dining and amenities. The more relaxed pace of a small store signing, with the calmer schedule and the crowd at dispersed throughout the day, was a contrast to the typical signing where folks get funneled through during a tight time slot.
During her short stay in California, Wendling has been able to appear at a varietyof events, meet many fans, and experience different types of signings to compare with her appearances in Europe.


Watching Claire Wendling draw was perhaps the biggest event of her SNB appearances... both at the store and at her table at the Big Wow convention. So amazing to see....


Thank you Claire from all your fans here ....
___________________________

POST UPDATED MAY 28

More art and news directly from Claire Wendling via her Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/laclairewendling

and Tumblr
http://clairewendlingblog.tumblr.com/
For links above on Facebook and Tumblr, items there are posted by Claire herself!

Here are links for more tributes to Claire Wendling from various blogs on the web. Interesting to read about her art from viewpoint of other artists:

Oct 13, 2007 post on LINES and COLORS blog
http://linesandcolors.com/2007/10/13/claire-wendling/

Oct  27, 2010  on CHARACTER AND CREATURE DESIGN NOTES
http://characterdesignnotes.blogspot.com/2010/10/clair-wendlings-cats.html

May 23, 2014 on BLOG OF ZE.. this post has brief summary of Wendling interview w/ Bobby Chiu, along with a link to the interview
http://artofze.blogspot.com/2014/05/claire-wendling-interview.html


Monday, May 11, 2015

Paul Choy photos from Claire Wendling SNB signing

I'm working on blog post with pics from Claire Wendling May 9th signing at SNB. ...


Meanwhile ... Stuart Ng Books Facebook page has amazing album of photos from that day.... pics taken by long-time SNB pal Paul Choy. https://www.facebook.com/stuartngbooks

Here are some samples from this Paul Choy album...