Ce qui la baise?

"In West Virginia yesterday, a man was arrested for stealing several blow-up dolls. Reportedly, police didn't have any trouble catching the man because he was completely out of breath."

- Conan O'Brien

I just found out that someone stole this photo and used it as her shop's ad - in the SAME magazine I regularly publish in - BUSTED! Of course the magazine is totally innocent - had no idea of the copyright infringement, and corrected the fault immediately (no surprise, but thank you). The saddest part? All she had to do was ask and I would have let her use it. Does this mean that I'm famous? (eye-roll).

We artists (authors, photographers, designers, etc.) work really hard at our craft. Spending years of our lives (and a lot of money) to become good enough that, among other things, people will like our artwork enough to buy it - cool. But why do some people think it's okay to steal our work? WTF? (this profane acronym sounds so much nicer in French - the title of this post - vous nes pensez pas?)

Each of our creations represent a tiny piece of our souls (think Voldemort's horcruxes). Creations that take weeks, even months, to finish. And most of us are happy to share our work. But, just as people in every other profession, we expect to be paid and credited for our work - is that too much to ask?

People, please show your love to artists you like - we're so thankful and grateful when you do. You don't have to buy our work, but please don't steal it (sigh).

*I know that you're wondering why I've published this stolen photo without a watermark. The simple answer is that I refuse to allow a thief to mute my artistic joy - les baiser! Yep, that definitely sounds classier in French but the sentiment remains the same ;-)

Vivre! Rire! Aimer!

Temple