Post #252551 by needstocreate on Tue, Sep 5, 2006 9:51 PM

I am the husband of Audrey who has gotten several insensitive if not downright cruel messages, especially the one from nitropic. Now I know nothing of TIKI art and little of art in general, but I know my wife, and married her because of her compassion and integrity.

Audrey is an artist who has worked for major publishers in a large metropolitan city and has no need to take from another’s work. Indeed, she has multiple sclerosis but courageously has spent hours and hours of time on the computer trying to bring us some income by designing art she hoped to sell.

If her designs happened to resemble SHAG’s art--whatever the quality or originality of his work--it was under no circumstances done deliberately. She never heard of him previously, let alone saw his website. In fact, she is the first to agree that there is some resemblence, but the idea she was ripping off another artist is both ludicrous and unfounded. It is possible however, the answer to some extent lies in the “clip art” she used, which I am told is in the public domain and available to anyone. For example she used two clip art figurines from Adobe Illustrator {which she paid for] which one might make a case resembles that of SHAG.

But what to me is tragic is that many of you out there are so cynical that without any factual or confirming evidence you automatically take the least generous assumption and treat it as fact. (The email from nitronic is excluded as he is a sick individual who is no doubt emeshed in the very material he wishes to portray as value.) Even the member who wrote a personal note in part stating "we'd love to have you work on your own style, we already have Shag," while his/her intention was good, nonetheless should have realized the arrogance and presumption of that statement.

Given the above, Audrey has rightly decided it is best to move on and find another arena to sell her work, if not to move out of TIKI design altogether.

As for those honorable and extremely talented artists who simply desire to express their passion by the use of this website, I mean no disrespect.

This message will be on for the following 48 hours at which time Audrey's ad will be removed.

[ Edited by: needstocreate 2006-09-05 21:59 ]

[ Edited by: needstocreate 2006-09-06 03:29 ]