A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about designs being shared without the designer’s approval, and suggested that it isn’t right to do so. The post was linked to on HackerNews; then on a few more tech blogs and suddenly the whole subject was attracting attention and comments from a new range of people, and people, what’s more, who have an interest in the subject of copyright – software piracy is a problem too.
It became clear in the course of reading the comments, and the links, and the emails I received, that in fact (debates over ethics and terminology notwithstanding) most of my correspondents felt that the copyright and intellectual property system as it stands is ill-adapted to our digital world, and needs changing. As to how – none of us is very sure about that.
Essentially, the comments and emails fell into two categories: philosophical discussions of how/why the situation is as it is, and suggestions for new business models that might meet the changing circumstances. I’ve split my follow-up into two posts along the same lines.
First, though, my terminology was imprecise, so yes, technically, the unauthorised copying of a digital work is not theft, but copyright infringement.
Second, (going back to Monique’s original post on Inside Number Twenty) I acknowledge that when we see x downloads from the file-sharer, it probably doesn’t equate to x lost sales.
That isn’t the point, though, is it? The real point is that ease of copying has undermined the general appreciation of the value of the item in its digital form.
Any creative work already tends to be undervalued because non-creative people assume that talent does all the work. It is assumed that if you are talented, creating something comes easily (haven’t we all encountered that one?). We who create things know that this isn’t true, that talent needs to be supported by time, effort, and application. Thomas Edison was right when he said that genius is composed of 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration.
So there is a problem of education here. The consumer needs to be reminded that creation isn’t simply a matter of snapping one’s fingers, that the artist may have devoted years to learning their craft before being able to produce anything for the market, quite apart from the time they spend in refining their vision to create the final piece. They need to understand that when they use or enjoy a digital copy of a copyrighted artistic work for which they have not paid, the artists whose work they enjoy are the ones who suffer, even if in the case of music and films it is the big media companies that complain.
Taking the specific example of the needlework business – most of the companies, even those producing threads and tools, are really very small. They don’t have a huge financial buffer, and they can be as easily unbalanced by sudden success as by a fall in sales. The companies producing charts often aren’t companies, but just one person, trying to make a living in a way that fits around other obligations.
Even those of us who are not immediately affected, perhaps because we design most of our own pieces, need to remember that the sale of charts and designs supports and encourages the sale of threads, fabrics, tools and charms. If the designers go out of business we may very well find that manufacturers do as well. And we know that we don’t want that.
Perhaps, though, the current business model is truly unworkable, and a new one is needed. I’ll describe some of the suggestions I’ve been sent in another post.
—
Thanks to: Davide ‘Folletto’ Casali, Robert Bronsdon, Mace Moneta, Harleqin, Alex, Eric Larson, Ed Marshall, Philip Hunt, Posy, and Janice.
Detached Buttonhole With Return
While I continue to persevere with the silkwork, I am trying to keep up with the new stitches, practising on a separate cloth. In the case of the Detached Buttonhole stitch with Return, I think you can see that the fabric and the thread are not well matched, and so the structure is correct, but the appearance is not. The stitch should be much more closely worked, giving the impression of a fabric, not of a net. It’s tricky to be sure that the gold thread doesn’t kink back on itself in working this stitch, although this may be easier when I’m working on the real thing, using a slate frame on a stand, and therefore have both hands free to control the thread!
Eight Spoked Wheel
This second stitch is an Eight Spoked Flat Spider’s Web. It is very similar to the one in last month’s pair of stitches, but uses a foundation composed of a cross and an upright cross. I suspect it will be rather more stable than the four-legged version.
These “spot” stitches may come in very handy when I start thinking about some elements of the Amarna Panels.
I’m using a single type of thread for all these practise stitches. I don’t want to confuse myself with problems that may relate to an unfamiliar thread when I am already dealing with unfamiliar stitches! Still, already when I look down the row of stitches I’ve already tried, I see ideas for further experiments and even for applications of the stitches. This is what I hoped for when I joined the course, so I’m very happy with how it is going!
SilkWork On Sampler - Progress
I’m still working away at the silkwork on the sampler. It has been so grey and miserable recently that the light has been poor and it has been difficult to make any progress at all.
Some time ago I bought a daylight lamp to use in the evenings or when the natural light is poor. It works well for some projects, but not this one. I think part of the problem is that it glares on both the fabric and the magnifier, and believe me, I’m not going to work this piece without a magnifier!
So I can only work on this when there is good natural light, but not glaring sunshine, of which there has been all too little this summer. I’m also careful not to strain my eyes, so I work maybe two lengths each time I sit down, but no more.
I’m working one motif at a time, and letting it grow from the nearest point at which it approaches a previously finished one. That means I have relatively little counting to do, although sometimes I start a motif somewhere a little odd. The one I am working on at the moment started from the tip of the large leaf. When I do have to count, I count in fours – that is, the width of one Queen Stitch. I can almost do that by eye, and if I do miscount, it’s easy to double check.
The stitch produces a very pleasing texture on the fabric, and because it is a pulled stitch – at least on this fabric – there is a light and lacy look to it. If only I had better light I would be enjoying this even more!
"The Cat Who Walked By Himself" in canvaswork
The design in counted cross stitch that I created, “The Cat Who Walked By Himself” (now being re-issued by Classic Embroidery – remember how excited I was a few months ago?) was such a success that I experimented with other ways in which the basic design might be used.
First of all, in ordinary tent stitch at a large size. Pleasant enough, but rather dull – for me, at any rate.
Then, at the same size as the original cross stitch, but using ornamental canvaswork stitches. Originally I had in mind to run classes based on these designs, in one of the local shops, but the shop closed, life changed direction, and I’ve not done anything with it yet.
As I post more of my early canvaswork, you will probably notice some stitches recur. For example, I like Upright Cross Stitch – it is sturdy and heavily textured – and Milanese stitch (I think just because I like the name). I usually sneak in Leaf Stitch as well (remember the Elephant of Considerable Charm?). I’ve also used Jacquard Stitch, and Satin Stitch. The background was worked in Encroaching Gobelin Stitch.
I’ve not put the heavy outlines on yet. Tapestry wool would be too heavy – some of the areas are quite small – but on the other hand, I don’t want to use something that will draw too much attention to itself by being shiny..
First Panel - basic design layout
Second Panel - basic design layout
It occurred to me that now would be a good time to create some diagrams to show the design ideas that I have, so that when I refer to “backgrounds” or “side panels” it is clear what I mean.
The basic fabrics are dress-weight linens, one in a sandy colour (the High Desert is not that far away from the site) and the other two are in different turquoise shades, rather like faience.
I have not decided how wide the side panels will be, or how they will be attached. In some cases the design elements will be stitched separately (as the Faience Hippopotamus was) and then applied as a patch, and in others they will be stitched straight onto the base cloth. Again, I am not sure how I will decide what happens in each case. At present the project is progressing on those bits that I have made a decision on, and the more difficult matters are being left to one side.
John Pendlebury was fascinated by the medieval period as well, and over dinner the first evening they were at the site, Mary Chubb describes how they doodle a coat of arms for the dig. When I was a teenager I was fascinated by heraldry, so that was definitely going to be part of one of the panels; the fez is for an official at the Cairo Museum who acted as the intermediary between the Egypt Exploration Society and the Museum. The violets spring from Mary’s efforts to learn Arabic. More about that when I get there!
In reading the book, one feels as though Mary is haunted by the leading characters of the past – Akhenaten and his Queen, Nefertiti. She even finds herself imagining a visit by Nefertiti to the Dig House in the days when it was merely one of the houses of Aketaten. That is why all the activity on the panels will be overlaid by a faded “head shot” of either Akenaten or Nefertiti, screenprinted onto the finest and most transparent gauze I can find. I may decide to offset these a little so that the heads are over the tawny linen and all the bright elements around the outside have only the merest veil over them.There’s going to be a finishing problem right there, because I want the gauze to hang in front of the panels and not be stretched over them.
Still, we all like a challenge, don’t we?
The Faience Hippo Finished
So here is the Faience Hippopotamus finished. That is, unless I decide to go over him with another layer of long and short stitch to break up some of the patterning even further…
I’m reasonably pleased with him, as a matter of fact. The loose weave of the base fabric was sometimes challenging to work on, and it isn’t at all a hardwearing piece – some of the stitches are half an inch long, which would be bound to catch on something – but as it will be part of a carefully protected wall panel if it makes the final piece, this is not going to be a problem.
I enjoyed doing it, as well. It was fascinating to see the colours change more subtly when I started using the thread turned end-for-end, and this vibrant turquoise/teal colour is one of my favourites.
And, yes, I did manage to work an entire piece in long and short stitch. It is fair to say, I think, that it will never be my favourite stitch, but it does have its place, and I am certainly happier to use it now I have had Tricia’s instructions on the Floral Glove Needlecase Course.
Forget Peter Ustinov playing Blackbeard or Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow – piracy isn’t cool, it isn’t clever, and there is nothing endearing about it!
I don’t usually attempt to produce topical posts – my embroidery is a very long-term sort of occupation! – but I care about the health of the needlecrafts industry, and there is something we all need to be aware of. I’ve let my thoughts settle over the weekend, and this is my two-pennyworth.
Monique over at Inside Number Twenty has recently discovered her charts being “shared” without her permission and has done a few sums to see what the actual financial costs are to her and to the other businesses associated with hers. The results make sobering reading. No wonder designers are shutting up shop, as Jen Funk Weber reports – not merely because designs are being “shared” (read “pirated”), but because people are downloading free charts rather than paying for a designer’s work. Eventually the designers will have to do something else to earn a living, and then the range of designs available will no longer develop and grow.
A few months ago Tricia Wilson also discussed the financial and social aspects of needlecrafts in a post on The Embroiderer’s Story. There’s a great deal of subtle interplay between the buying decisions we make and the ongoing effects that spread throughout the industry.
The music industry has been complaining about piracy ever since file-sharing became possible, and has been ignored because people consider that pop stars make so much money they won’t miss the few pounds from file-sharers. Maybe, maybe not. I don’t know about margins in the entertainment industry, so I can’t comment on that.
Copyright and intellectual property law was originally devised to support and encourage artists – in all media – so that society as a whole can benefit from their work, while they receive just recompense for their efforts.
As for needlecrafts – most of the businesses are so small that “industry” conjures up entirely the wrong image. The margins are small, and loss of even a small portion of revenue may make a difference between a viable business and a designer giving up and getting a non-creative job to pay the bills.
As Yvette has already commented, sharing a copyrighted design is theft. There are a whole range of people who suffer as a result, including ordinary people who enjoy stitching and would never dream of using a pirated chart.
We were all told at kindergarten that theft is wrong. How come people have forgotten?
Month Three Goldwork Practice
I am continuing to work practice lengths and fragments of the stitches in the Goldwork MasterClass, since I am still working the silk motifs that form the basis for the Spot Sampler.
Again I worked the Heavy Chain Stitch in two “scales”. I find it rather surprising that the stitch changes width with the length, even though the needle comes up from and returns into the same hole. Still, it is useful to know that I can change the appearance of scale so much without changing the thread I am using.
The second stitch is Four-Legged Flat Spider Web Stitch, and I’ve not found a diagram on the web anywhere. It is a large cross stitch, woven around in a weaving pattern. Simple to do, if you make sure to go over the top layer of the cross stitch and under the bottom layer. The challenge lies in keeping the thread spiralling smoothly around, rather than catching itself and crossing where it shouldn’t. I think I would be reluctant to use this stitch on a garment or something that would move a lot, as I would be uncertain of the stability of the coil. Using it on my sample cloth might reveal that, of course. I shall try to remember to examine it at the end of the course!
C is for Cat Cushion Panel
When I saw this as a painted canvas is a needlework shop, it immediately made me think of a friend who had a black cat, so I thought of doing it as a present.
The original canvas showed a seal-point Siamese with blue eyes, so I stretched a few points and used grey and navy to create a black cat that was light enough to show its shape and markings, and gave him green eyes as well. The cat is entirely worked in basketweave tent stitch. Much as I enjoy working the ornamental stitches, sometimes restraint is advisable!
Besides, the bright blue “C” is double padded with soft embroidery cotton and then satin stitched over with pearl cotton. I thought that would be quite dramatic enough without any additional flourishes!
The background is worked as a gentle oblong check in Straight Cashmere Stitch, using two shades of soft embroidery cotton that tone with the velveteen I used to make the cushion it is mounted on. I’d almost forgotten about this panel until I was rummaging for notes of some other embroidery I had done and found a reference to it, so it is gratifying to find that I am still very pleased with it. It was a fairly simple and straightforward design, and I think my choice of stitches and threads was simple enough to reflect that while having enough variation to be interesting.
I’m not sure what the real cat thought of his portrait. Cats are what they had in mind when they came up with the word “inscrutable”!
The reason I am calling this poor fellow an experiment is that I’m working him in long and short stitch. I have said that working on the Floral Glove Needlecase project has been illuminating and that I am warming to long and short stitch – well, we’ll see what I think when I’ve worked an entire piece in long and short stitch!
Half Done Hippo
In the meantime, here he is, half done. The darkest and lightest shades are ordinary stranded cottons, but the middle three use overdyed threads. One of them shades from turquoise blue to russett, and the others are both fairly subtle variations on a dark and a light turquoise.
I am using two strands, with one of them turned end-to-end in comparison with the other. I’ve never done this before, but it means that the shading of the overdyed colours is slightly more spread out and more subtle than it would be if I left them both as they came off the skein. It also means that the twist in one strand runs counterwise to the twist in the other so one strand shortens during stitching. I’ve chosen not to mind about that, but if you did happen to mind I think the way to achieve the same effect would be to buy two skeins and start them at different points in the cycle of colours.
I’m also working in slightly untidy sections of the body, with two or three needles ready to go, depending upon the colour I need. I’m using long stitches, and aiming to cover the fabric beneath without packing the stitches too closely.
I’m really pleased with this so far. The colours are working well, and the variations will give a bit of modelling without attempting to create a needle painting.
