The importance of being honorable
I've been out of town and off the radar these last few days as events unrolled in a situation over in "The Land of Lost Luggage" where I teach online with my friend, colleague and partner, Julie Prichard. By now many of you have read Julie's heartfelt words regarding a blog posted by another artist in cyberland which referenced techniques learned from a "good friend" which were clearly learned from materials taught directly from our popular online class "TEXTURE TOWN." There is no need for me to spell out the details as they are already fresh on people's minds.
What is important is for artists in all arenas to be able to have the respect and credit that we all deserve. Creativity is how we make our living. Teaching an online class is so much more than sharing a technique in a casual manner over coffee. When you work hard to develop a class that "hangs together" with cohesion, supports the students understanding of how techniques can work together, and provides the kind of feedback and interaction that Julie and I provide it is good to get CREDIT for it! We can all take the high road here as artists and aspiring artists because we add credibility to our field if we behave honorably and respectfully to each other in all of our dealings.
It is absolutely true that stand alone techniques are hard to identify as being original, just as a set of 5 notes can be found in any number of original songs. But when a series of techniques are written down into a curriculum and videoed materials are included, the game changes. Five notes may not make it into copyright, but full songs do get copyrighted. This is no different.
Julie and I belong to two different generations and we often joke about our different experience sets. But the sense of violation that one experiences when something you work hard on is "stolen" crosses all experience sets. If the person who had shared the blog post had written that her friend who shared her "techniques" had recently taken an online course from us and then linked and given credit to the course, then there would be no discussion here. There would be no need for outrage or accountability. We would be highly appreciative of the compliment and thank the bloggers all around.
To the teachers, artists and readers interested in the world of art I ask that you take the high road in all of your dealings. Let's stand UP for each other and with each other. IF you learn something from someone else give credit where credit is due. As teachers we know that our "ideas" original or morphed will fly once you get hold of them and use them in your own work and that could not make us more delighted. But when you start sharing them try to remember that it is a chain of respect and honor that you are part of. We each teach one another. Inspiration comes from many places, techniques are only part of the story. If the parties involved are reading to these words, I ask that you consider setting the record straight. Then the chain will be restored.
To our supporters, thank you for all your kind words and postings. We're already planning the next class, so you can rest assured we are still in the game!
What is important is for artists in all arenas to be able to have the respect and credit that we all deserve. Creativity is how we make our living. Teaching an online class is so much more than sharing a technique in a casual manner over coffee. When you work hard to develop a class that "hangs together" with cohesion, supports the students understanding of how techniques can work together, and provides the kind of feedback and interaction that Julie and I provide it is good to get CREDIT for it! We can all take the high road here as artists and aspiring artists because we add credibility to our field if we behave honorably and respectfully to each other in all of our dealings.
It is absolutely true that stand alone techniques are hard to identify as being original, just as a set of 5 notes can be found in any number of original songs. But when a series of techniques are written down into a curriculum and videoed materials are included, the game changes. Five notes may not make it into copyright, but full songs do get copyrighted. This is no different.
Julie and I belong to two different generations and we often joke about our different experience sets. But the sense of violation that one experiences when something you work hard on is "stolen" crosses all experience sets. If the person who had shared the blog post had written that her friend who shared her "techniques" had recently taken an online course from us and then linked and given credit to the course, then there would be no discussion here. There would be no need for outrage or accountability. We would be highly appreciative of the compliment and thank the bloggers all around.
To the teachers, artists and readers interested in the world of art I ask that you take the high road in all of your dealings. Let's stand UP for each other and with each other. IF you learn something from someone else give credit where credit is due. As teachers we know that our "ideas" original or morphed will fly once you get hold of them and use them in your own work and that could not make us more delighted. But when you start sharing them try to remember that it is a chain of respect and honor that you are part of. We each teach one another. Inspiration comes from many places, techniques are only part of the story. If the parties involved are reading to these words, I ask that you consider setting the record straight. Then the chain will be restored.
To our supporters, thank you for all your kind words and postings. We're already planning the next class, so you can rest assured we are still in the game!
Posted by Chris Cozen Artist at 5/30/2011 2:30 PM 
Categories: Opportunities to grow, online classes, Julie Prichard
Categories: Opportunities to grow, online classes, Julie Prichard
I agree 100%.
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Chris, WELL SAID. very. well. said. Love what you and Julie are doing - love your work, love your classes, and love that you are both so generous in sharing what you know & the techniques you use. SO generous. Thank you for teaching online, and for continuing to develop new online courses.
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i just hate that this has happened. and both of you ladies (whose classes i have adored) have said it all quite well! we do need and have to stand together with INTEGRITY! i am with you both all the way!
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Good for you, Chris, writing this article! Well said, and, I heartily agree with you.I hope whoever violated the "code" will right their wrong. God Bless You and Julie!
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Very well said, Chris.
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Well said...
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Chris and Julie, put their heart and soul into these workshops and its rare to find 2 more dedicated instructors/ workshop artist teachers. Please, encourage and inspire others (i.e. friends) to join(pay for them!!)their workshops but certainly do not share details, information/videos; that is most unfair.
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This is a very well written post which I find really interesting, as I too have written about respecting other artists/crafters - my post was more about giving credit where credit is due.There are too many people passing off ideas as their own when you can clearly see where the style/ideas came from.If you consciously know that someone has inspired you and you wouldnt have created the work without them then credit them!
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I completely agree Chris. I also teach. I have incorporated techniques that I have learned from other artists, whether from taking a class or looking at their work, and I ALWAYS give them credit in class. ALWAYS. We have to honor that, don't we?
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Totally with you both on this!
I've taken a class from you both of you & was pleased to find the high quality of instruction & time given to feedback. You both have such a wealth of knowledge & are great teachers.
Hate to think that there is someone taking advantage of this but I see so many knock-off online workshops now. And no credit to the place that they learned the techniques.
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I have know people who teach who have no compunction about making copies of other teachers' handouts and passing them out to their friends. They attribute them, but they don't pay the original artist/teacher for the copies.
They are bored with me continually coming up with "Um, that's copyrighted material; you're not allowed to copy it and hand it out unless you have written permission."
But I say it every time.
I think that people think that because it is very easy to copy and use other people's work, it is somehow "ok" to do so.............
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