lornamatic

(steno: narrowing, contracting) + (teno: tendon) + [(syn: with)+(ovi: egg) == (synovium: the soft tissue surrounding your joints and tendons)] + (itis: inflammation)

It started about three months ago. After painting for several hours, my hand would feel warm and sore. I took ibuprofen. I stopped using my blackberry. I started painting less, taking longer breaks. Stopped writing email, stopped blogging, mostly stopped using a computer at all. My primary activity was limited to begging the secretaries of hand surgeons if they please could PLEASE find some time, within the next two months.

And then almost a month ago, I stopped painting. I could paint with my left hand, which was really much better than you’d think, but that was my only usable hand, and was usually too fatigued. For me, stopping painting was a lot like what people go through quitting cigarettes. It wasn’t pretty.

The whole time, I don’t know: Is it just a boo-boo, or is it a degenerative joint disease? At this stage of my life I’ve cleared out my calendar to pursue art full-time, really just discovered how much I love painting, and now I can’t even pick up a paintbrush. For the first time, self doubt hit me hard. Was this whole art plan a big mistake? I just bought enough paint and canvas for the next 3 months. Will I ever use it? Am I going to be able to paint again? How about put my own hair in a ponytail?

Monday of this week I finally saw a hand surgeon. Diagnosis: Stenosing Tenosynovitis. Trigger Finger. The short version is there’s some kind of extra tissue that built up on my A1 pulley tendon, and it became inflamed and painful. It’s probably the very best outcome I could have hoped for. The doctor gave me a cortisone injection, which inflated my finger like a water balloon, some reassuring words, and sent me on my way.

Tuesday of this week, I went back to one of my drawing classes. It was still too early to try and draw, so I though I’d observe. I left angry and early when I couldn’t take the sympathetic looks. Like I am a little bird with a broken wing, and everyone but me knows that I will never fly again.

Wednesday of this week, I searched the web for fellow artists who’ve gone through this, but I didn’t find very much at all. In later years Renoir had severe arthritis and couldn’t grip a brush. They’d tie a paintbrush to his hand so he could continue painting. For the first time, it seems like maybe it’s possible. Painting is in the eyes and the mind much more so than in the fingers. Though, as it turns out, the fingers really help.

Today, I did my own ponytail. I cleaned and refilled the hummingbird feeders. I did some laundry. And then I allowed myself 20 minutes to scribble out a funny little drawing. It’s something of a self portrait. I told Mike, I think it’s some combination of a rag doll and an autopsy. He looked at it and said, I think it’s you, stitching yourself back together.

I like that interpretation a lot.

I don’t know how I missed this whole story exploding, but here it is.

The short version:

Photographer makes beautiful work.
Posts work on Flickr.
Gets contract with Toyota, among other lucrative deals.
Flickr milks the press of its community darling for all that’s worth.

But then:

A bad person downloads the photographer’s images and presents it to a gallery as their own work.
The gallery signs them, and sells their prints both on ebay and through their internet store.
Photographer discovers her work has been stolen.

Photographer turns to the online community, you know, Flickr.
Says, hey. Someone stole my work. How do I get back at them?
And that’s quite a powerful moment, when you learn someone’s passed off your artwork as their own.
Flickr community rallies.

And then:

Flickr’s hall monitor / internet rent a cop / overzealous protector of its community deletes her post.
She wasn’t being nice to others, and some one might feel bad.
And that would violate the Flickr terms of service.

The photographer told the internet.
So then, the internet’s all, nuh-uhh.

And that’s when the whole thing blew up.

Here’s a post about the stupidity from Rebekka, the photographer.

Here’s some more information about what the Gallery’s had to deal with since the whole thing hit.

Me, I don’t know. I have some thoughts.

1. If your art is worth stealing, it’s probably worth defending.

2. But then if you leave a wallet full of cash on the street, you shouldn’t be surprised when someone steals it either.

3. Services like Flickr or even Google Image Search are already taking your artwork to the bank anyway. No one is pissed at them? See the ads on the side? How about a nice way for legitimate artists to make money? DeviantArt has taken some really nice steps in that direction, and Flickr could probably stand to pay attention. Either way, this sort of image theft is just beginning.

Register copyrights for your artwork. Defend your work when it’s stolen: people will help you, and you can win. I know, because I’ve done it. If you’re a gallery, take the time to get to know your artists. And we all need to pay close attention, because way too often, the policy on this sort of thing is made by people who are about three generations too far removed from modern technology.

Live-ish Quicktime feed
Recent Flickr photos of the fire
Catalina Fire Lays Siege to Avalon
KABC story
Catalina Island, Wikipedia
Google Map of the fire area

This happened before, in 1915, and all of Avalon was reduced to cinders, despite the efforts of the townspeople, forming a bucket brigade and beating at the brushfires with wet sacks. The LATimes Archive has the original article available for purchase online. Thanks to the Sony Bono Copyright Act, I can’t repost it for you for at least another 3 years or so. It’s worth the $3.95 to read it online, or the trip to your local library to dig through the archives.

A quick excerpt:

“Among the waterfront structures that were reduced to ashes are: Baker Photo Company, Catalina Tuna Club, bath-house of Mather & Borchers, Hotel Mirimar and Mathewson’s boat Shop. Thirteen boats were burned with the last.”

Last time, 200 people were left homeless and the damage estimates were at $500,000.

I am heartbroken. Catalina and especially Avalon has been a very special place for me. My thoughts are with the families who make their homes on the island and the ground crews of firefighters working throughout the night to save the town.

You have to use IE, and there’s an Autodesk plugin. Sorry.

But you can search for individual trees!