Two Boys, One Polaroid, & A sMacTack

The photo in my previous blog post is, as the caption states, my most recent Flickr upload after a bit of a hiatus.  Here is the actual setup, including the original polaroid (which I'd desaturated and brightened for Flickr) being held by Artie, one of my antique Schoenhut dolls.  Willie, to his right (you the viewer's left) is holding an original sMacTack which I make (and posted about in July) and which I shall be giving away... well, not this one, but another one... to a random drawing of my Facebook Fan Page fans.  So maybe you would like to consider becoming a fan if you aren't already!

As The World Flickrs: sMacshot!!

Find Comfort, originally uploaded by sMacshot.

My first upload in over 3 months... the computer and technical woes, the resulting never ending game of catch-up, (which seems unfairly weighted against me) and just everyday 'life' things which must be attended to (not least of which is a full-time day job) all kept me from being active there. I've missed it.

Three Wishes

One for me.  One for you.  Another for emergency; first come, first served.

Why, oh why are my prints printing out with inaccurate colors?  Is it because they were profiled and made on a PC?  Is it because the Mac does not 'read/interpret' icm or icc profiles made on a PC?  I have work to print out. I am so, so, so behind.  The holidays are coming, orders and commissions on hold or delayed.  I've recalibrated everything but now all my work (and anything, including my blog) is wrong... too contrasty, vivid, and ugly.  Why would I want to print out and match my screen when my screen is showing me ugliness, and not the way I made my art and photography to begin with?  Hours of search, forums, knowledgebase, Adobe, Apple, but nothing.  Not even anything related.  So frustrated and so little time.   Big pout.

UPDATE:  Snow Leopard apparently has issues with not only color calibrations systems, but my Epson 2200 printer, (which it will not work with beyond a text document at all!)  At first I thought it was now a matter of buying a whole new color calibration system which does have Snow Leopard drivers, but now I know this won't even matter now since my printer will still not print out matched prints.  Buying a new printer was not in my budget plan.  (Neither was the whole new computer and external hard drives, and house phones which all died together and had to be replaced.)  It's been quite the last few months, and I can't help but think about a certain sum of money someone never paid me back which would really cover all this right now.

Copycat Suing Original Artist

... yes, that's right, and guess what for?  For the rights to mass produce and sell the items he copies, basically.  Mr. Rick Wittrig, owner of FirePitArt.com has been selling pretty much exact copies of the beautiful firepit sculptures created by the wonderful, talented, and hardworking artist, John T. Unger.

What if this was you?
John, who owns the copyrights to his firepit sculptures (which he's made since 2005) is being sued by Mr. Wittrig to have those very copyrights overturned!  This is not a case which is likely to hold up in court, and I'm sure Mr. Wittrig is well aware of that fact.  However, it seems clear that he intends to 'outspend' John, since he is in a position to do so.  John's already spent over $50,000 of his own money in court cases fighting Wittrig, and if he cannot come up with the enormous funds necessary to defend his copyrights, a default decision means Wittrig wins.  That simple, and infuriating.  This cannot happen.  The Law needs to protect artists better than that.  There but for the grace of God go any one of us small-time artists who come up with an idea some big business man decides to seize as his own money-making scheme, and while I do not know this artist, I intend to help.

I hope some of you do as well.  Donate.  I just did, it was easy and safe.  Give a dollar.  Give five.  If you feel more strongly, give $75, and for that price take a sculpture of your choosing from this first set of 100 sculptures made from the firepit cutout scraps.  John lets you reserve the exact one by simply saying so in a comment to it's Flickr pic in the set.  (Each 100-piece set will be made in a different color of steel.  This one is colorless, or natural.  Red, orange, yellow, white, and black are also available.)

Put one in your studio or work area as a reminder of how we need to support each other, and that in doing so we make the ability to make a livelihood at being an artist a more attainable goal, not an idea easily desecrated by some unethical thieving businessman with fat pockets.  I've had my work stolen and sold, and not just once.  Many of us know how this feels, and it's not nice.  United States law needs to be more supportive and strong in this regard, and our assistance in helping to establish precedence in these cases might be the step in the right direction towards that end!

Grin and Bear It

Sometimes ya just gotta smile.  Everything which has ensued after my summer vacation has been a task in patience; the sudden 'retirement' of my beloved PC, my quick decision to go ahead and buy a Mac, and the whole new learning process involved as well as the software platform issue - - I do not like running them through another program which allows Windows to be hosted on a Mac.  It feels foreign, and inefficient.  It's slowed me down immensely, and there are other issues I won't get into which make it impossible to continue this way.  I need to switch the programs to Mac versions.  More money.  More delays.  ugh.

Additionally, I've not retrieved all (though many) of my lost files; (oddly, 3 external hard drives 'died' when I returned from vacation as well!)  who knew that often all that is required are new external enclosures to put those hard drives in once you figure out how to pry apart the ones that died.  Some successes, then, but more to go.  If anyone is still around once I am back up and running, it would be quite humbling.  I am one of many in a vast ocean of talented artists and photographers.  If I seem invisible, why should anyone keep looking for me?  So, thank you for any of you who still do; I promise I will be back, and I am hoping it is really soon.

As The World Flickrs: Snailbooty!!

There is no other doll photographer out there which can send my nerve endings into a delighted tizzy like a person who goes by the moniker 'snailbooty' on Flickr. Scenes from elaborate to simple are the settings for Snailbooty's fantabulous collection of bizarre doll-creatures. It's quite clear to me that much time is taken to set up scenes and lighting, and hours upon hours of shooting takes place. My favorites are the black and white 'film noir-esque' ones, which are at once jolting and comical (in fact, you'll find a lot of humor as you browse through the pages of Snailbooty's Flickr stream!) And the talent doesn't just end with the camera, no, Snailbooty is an artist as well. I invite you all to check out this wonderful body of work.

[**OFF-TOPIC NOTE ..... I am still without access to most of my files from the old pc. Two of my seven external hard drives died on the same day, and my images now only remain on the pc's internal drives (I had 3). It is seeming like an eternity for which I wait while external enclosures for those 3 drives arrive in the mail. Until then, I am unable to do much of my work, and going absolutely bonkers in the process!!]

Show's Not Over!

Exit, Stage Left, originally uploaded by sMacshot.

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We're just having technical difficulties. If it seems I've been absent lately it's because I have been; at least from the online world.

I returned from a month-long vacation to find that my beloved computer doesn't want to stay on more than 20 seconds. I nearly built this monster myself 6 years ago and it served me so well; never so much as showing me a hiccup or a wince (despite its age) in the face of heavy-duty tasking in Photoshop or 3D Animation/Modeling.
But the day has come and I am currently awaiting the arrival of my new computer, a Mac Pro. It's my first Apple machine but I still love Windows and plan on getting a laptop down the road.

Meanwhile, I've resorted to long distance phone calls with my sister - she is the one typing this now, as I dictate (since she's also the only person I trust with all my website logins). So hoping everyone will not abandon me - I haven't been ignoring you.

Happy Labor Day weekend to my US readers! :)