The Demise of Teaching Handwriting?

Here's an interesting radio segment http://ttbook.org/book/precious-ink on how schools have stopped teaching handwriting.  *Please note it starts about at the 20-minute point.  Click "Listen" at the top of the page.

Show Description: Precious Ink

Everybody used to learn handwriting in school.  And whether or not our handwriting was beautiful, we knew cursive and studied penmanship.  Today, clasroom instruction hours are shrinking and who needs penmanship when we have keyboards and autocorrect?  This hour, are we witnessing the twilight of handwriting?

The Dragon Project

A friend of mine, Marie Jensen submitted her art to "The Dragon Project" and I thought other artists might want to know about this. It is a project to  help children in Japan who were affected by the earthquake, the tsunami and the radioactive pollution in Fukushima, Toko Shiiki and Nino Trentinella.. The Dragon Project is an international, collaborative endeavor to showcase all the artwork created by the participants in fundraiser exhibitions around the world.

The project joins all the artwork submissions together to make a long dragon which are exhibited at a Fundraiser art exhibition in Paris and other cities around the world. Also, they make and sell books with all the submitted artwork.

ALL money raised through the fundraisers and the sale of books will be sent to the Fukushima Children’s Fund and Living Dreams and used to help buy food radiation detectors, provide material support such as clothing and footware, create monitoring stations and construct a rest home for the child victims. 

 

 The Show

 

  The Book

  

Marie's Art Submission (Also in the Book)

Have you filed your copyright?

Have you filed your copyrights for all the art you've created this year? For only $35 you can file your images digitally online at http://www.copyright.gov/eco/




Kate's tips:

• Have the Tutorial open on your screen while you go through the application process, otherwise it's easy to get sidetracked and go down the wrong road, especially when a lot of their examples are oriented towards musicians & video producers.

• There is a hour time limit for downloading, so it's best to have your art ready before you get on the site. Make copies of your art files, reduce their file sizes and put them all in one folder on the desktop. That way, they are ready to download and easy to find. I reduced each image down to 100-500K range.

Have any tips of your own? Leave them in the comments below or write to me directly and I'll add them on this post.

Before using the service, read

eCO Acceptable File Types,

eCO Tips,

eCO FAQs, or eCO Tutorial (PowerPoint) eCO Tutorial (PDF).

For recently added features, see eCO Updates

Articles on Copyrights

Fear of Getting Your Art Stolen? Look at the Numbers

How to Register You Copyrights Digitally

Artist Protects Copyright Through Twitter

The 10 Key Points That Must Be In Every Licensing Agreement

Protecting Your Designs with Watermark Tools

Photoshop Tip: How to create a customized signature brush

Protecting Your Art: Interview with Alyson B. Stanfield

How to protect your assets in a licensing agreement

Free Booklets from the Copyright Office

PDF Copyright BasicsPDF Registering a Copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office
PDF Make Sure Your Application Will Be Acceptable
PDF Cartoons and Comic Strips
PDF Have a Question About Copyright Registration?
PDF Make Sure Your Application Will Be Acceptable
PDF Publications on Copyright
PDF Copyright Notice

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Copyright Books for Artists

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The Copyright Zone: A Legal Guide For Photographers and Artists In The Digital Age If you license or publish images, this guide is as indispensable as your camera. It provides specific information on the legal rights of photographers, illustrators, artists, covering intellectual property, copyright, and business concerns in an easy-to-read, accessible manner. The Copyright Zone, Second Edition covers: what is and isn’t copyrightable, copyright registration, fair use, model releases, contracts and invoices, pricing and negotiation, and much more. 






Legal Guide for the Visual Artist This book provides legal guidance for any visual artist involved with creative work. Topics covered: developments in copyright, artists in artist-gallery relationships, First Amendment protections for graffiti art and the sale of art in public spaces, cases dealing with art and privacy, model contract for Web site design. The book also covers copyrights, moral rights, contracts, licensing, sales, special risks and protections for art and artists, book publishing, video and multimedia works, leases, taxation, estate planning, museums, collecting, grants, and how to find the best professional advisers and attorneys. In addition, the book teaches strategies for negotiation, gives information to help with further action, contains many sample legal forms and contracts, and shows how to locate artists' groups and Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts organizations. 

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How Customize Keyboard Shortcuts in Photoshop

Check out this great article that explains how to make personalized keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop.  It's a great step-by-step explanation with graphics.

Go to:  http://designmodo.com/customize-keyboard-shortcuts-photoshop/ on the designmodo website.

(sample visual)

What 5 things do you want to accomplish this year?

I can't make or keep New Year's resolutions very often, but what I can do the "Rule of 5" I learned once in a vegetarian cooking class.

The teacher told us: "Most people eat the same 5 meals over and over again-- so if you want to cook and eat healthy foods -- just find 5 meals you really like, and don't worry about trying to create new recipes or changing your eating habits dramatically."

I found that very easy to do, perhaps because I don't enjoy cooking that much.  Keeping things simple works.  I think it's better to have 5 small goal that one big elusive one.

I've always remembered that "rule of 5" for setting realistic goals in my work life and personal life.  But I've also found it helpful to look at the past accomplishments and acknowledge them.

It's so easy for years to fly by and you might wonder if you are heading in the right direction.  One way to answer that question is to look at what has already happened last year.  Are there 5 things you are glad you did or learned? Did you move closer to or away from your life purpose?  Or perhaps you haven't even sat down to ask the question.

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My Favorite Card of the Year: From the Sewer Repairman!

We had our sewer line repaired by a local business called "Pipe Spy." They sent us this great New Year's card.  Their design is exciting, playful and humorous.

Front of Card

I love this contradiction of a man in a tuxedo -- because you don't expect him to be carrying a wrench!  It makes you want to open up the card to understand what this image means.  The colors are so simple yet effective.

Inside Card

Note the bolt in the martini.  

The Inside has reflective silver ink.  

The font has a grunge effect as if it was hand-stamped -- by a spy of course.

 

Back of Card

Their logo and theme is a wonderful concept.  

They make sewer repair feel mysterious, with a dash of "underground" intrigue!

 

This card was made with a high quality, classic crest, heavy weight recycled paper. 

Their marketing materials are a great way to approach dealing with what could be an unpleasantly sounding business.This is one the best examples I've ever seen of a business that uses greeting cards to market their service. 

Also, having the blue Pipe Spy truck parked in front of the house is more fun and eye-catching that "Joe the plumber" or "Roto-rooter!" 

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How to Enjoy the Season

This card by Hiromitsu Yokata is a good visual representation of a magical Christmas.  It brings us into a dreamlike world and lets us imagine what is possible.

Artist Information:

Hiromitsu Yokata represented by LeJarie Noguchi
www.artas1.comhttp://artas1.com/
323 742-1005

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