"Take a step back and think."
That's what my professor, Alex Juhasz, suggested I do to finish up the semester. It was during a class dinner for another course I am taking of hers (MCSI: Archive). She suggested I think about my DIY Learning course objectives, and what has changed. What have I done? What have I learned?
To start, I learned I don't need the online communities to be able to create, but they do help. In the end, I found I had to log off Pinterest and YouTube and just do it. I could pin as much as I wanted and watch the same videos or new ones and still I would not be in any better shape to finish the project. There is research and knowledge, and then there is creation.
Online communities are so powerful. Think about #BlackLivesMatter. Imagine the kind of impact a group of individuals was able to create simply by reaching out and starting an Internet movement.
Our lives have changed with the online environment, but the act of creating has not. We use online communities to feel less alone, but when I am knitting a scarf, it does not matter to me if 10 other people have knit this same scarf and taken photos of it and posted them on ravelry. None of that matters during the act of creation.
Before, when I am planning the project, and after, when I am showcasing the project, the online crafters are awesome. They post thoughtful comments and add a +1 to my google post. Which is all well and good, but the gratification has never come from others.
I create so that I feel proud of something I made with my own two hands. Whether other people think it's cool or if I find like-minded individuals-- that is a whole other playing field from the act of creating.
I love the online crafting communities, don't get me wrong. But I have realized that these communities are just that-- communities. They do not hold your individual potential and they cannot cultivate the sense of gratification you reach when you know you have made something all on your own. The act of creating is an individual experience. It can exist in a larger community. You can go out and brag. You can type out the pattern. You can give it away to a catfish you met online. I don't care.
But never forget that crafts are an act of creation. Whatever the book or website that helped you was only a stepping stone. Because YOU were the one who did this. You should be proud, online and offline, in real life and in digital spaces, alone and together.
As always, stay creative.
Much love,
Rebecca "Rivi"
Friday, December 18, 2015
Summary...
Okay. Okay. I got this.
I'm trying to think of the best way to start this post or reflection, because honestly, there's a lot that I've learned. There is a lot to reflect on.
Parks and Recipes:
This was a fun project. I really enjoyed coming up with ideas for this, and the research I later did on fan art was fascinating. Creating and blogging about these recipes took way longer than planned and did not achieve as attractive of a result as some of my other projects.
Review Video of Circular Knitting Workshop:
This was a hard project to begin but relatively simple to complete. Filming the video itself was pretty fun, and being on camera felt much more natural than I originally thought.
The process of reviewing was interesting, because I was able to share all my thoughts and observations about my projects with anyone who may be interested. Little things, such my vest neckline, could be watched and evaluated by other people, unknown to me, who also understand my frustration.
Also a super fun fact: I mentioned in the video that I would like to be sponsored, which was pretty much just a joke and a cute way to address the fact that many of these types of videos and craft bloggers are sponsored and promoted by bigger companies. I have to assume only a small number of crafters take the time to spread their knowledge online without any compensation whatsoever.
The fun fact is that I was actually contacted by a family friend who owns a small knitting store! Not sure what this means for future lucrative potential of my online crafting stuff, but it is pretty awesome.
Blog Posts:
This was probably the most tedious of all the work I have done over the semester. It involved breaking down all the knowledge I already understand about online crafting communities and writing it out in an organized and logical style. It did give me some time for reflection.
I have discussed this with friends and with Professor Juhasz, but there is a collective thought process on the online crafting communities to be constantly on the go. We are making and creating but we are not considering the complexities of what we are doing. We are focused on the initial idea and on the final project but we forget to contemplate what it means to create.
Required Readings:
I read a few books, but I didn't blog about them as much as I probably should have. For one, it's harder than one would think to connect books and traditional materials to the digital sphere. It almost seems pointless in a way. I read paper books and make highlights and notes in the margins; I read online crafting articles and I write an online crafting blog post in response.
This was a basic overview and summary. Don't go away, I'm adding one more on the philosophical thoughts on what I've learned.
Stay Creative!
I'm trying to think of the best way to start this post or reflection, because honestly, there's a lot that I've learned. There is a lot to reflect on.
Parks and Recipes:
This was a fun project. I really enjoyed coming up with ideas for this, and the research I later did on fan art was fascinating. Creating and blogging about these recipes took way longer than planned and did not achieve as attractive of a result as some of my other projects.
Review Video of Circular Knitting Workshop:
This was a hard project to begin but relatively simple to complete. Filming the video itself was pretty fun, and being on camera felt much more natural than I originally thought.
The process of reviewing was interesting, because I was able to share all my thoughts and observations about my projects with anyone who may be interested. Little things, such my vest neckline, could be watched and evaluated by other people, unknown to me, who also understand my frustration.
Also a super fun fact: I mentioned in the video that I would like to be sponsored, which was pretty much just a joke and a cute way to address the fact that many of these types of videos and craft bloggers are sponsored and promoted by bigger companies. I have to assume only a small number of crafters take the time to spread their knowledge online without any compensation whatsoever.
The fun fact is that I was actually contacted by a family friend who owns a small knitting store! Not sure what this means for future lucrative potential of my online crafting stuff, but it is pretty awesome.
Blog Posts:
This was probably the most tedious of all the work I have done over the semester. It involved breaking down all the knowledge I already understand about online crafting communities and writing it out in an organized and logical style. It did give me some time for reflection.
I have discussed this with friends and with Professor Juhasz, but there is a collective thought process on the online crafting communities to be constantly on the go. We are making and creating but we are not considering the complexities of what we are doing. We are focused on the initial idea and on the final project but we forget to contemplate what it means to create.
Required Readings:
I read a few books, but I didn't blog about them as much as I probably should have. For one, it's harder than one would think to connect books and traditional materials to the digital sphere. It almost seems pointless in a way. I read paper books and make highlights and notes in the margins; I read online crafting articles and I write an online crafting blog post in response.
This was a basic overview and summary. Don't go away, I'm adding one more on the philosophical thoughts on what I've learned.
Stay Creative!
Monday, December 14, 2015
Final Project: Random Acts of Kindness
For my final project, I am going to be getting off the online tutorials and actually do something in the real world.
Project: Random Acts of Kindness
Here is my Pinterest Blog
Rant about this project:
I really hate it when people use the online/digital space to brag about all the good they are doing. While I guess it's good that people are doing something, usually it is to boost their own popularity or aid their own selfish agenda. So I will not be documenting my random acts of kindness, but I will post which ones I do and how to do them so you can spread the kindness.
Other notes:
I will be posting a final reflection piece on everything I have learned over the semester
Stay creative!
Project: Random Acts of Kindness
Here is my Pinterest Blog
Rant about this project:
I really hate it when people use the online/digital space to brag about all the good they are doing. While I guess it's good that people are doing something, usually it is to boost their own popularity or aid their own selfish agenda. So I will not be documenting my random acts of kindness, but I will post which ones I do and how to do them so you can spread the kindness.
Other notes:
I will be posting a final reflection piece on everything I have learned over the semester
Stay creative!
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Sunday, December 6, 2015
Project 3
I will be making an un-boxing/review style video for the book "Circular Knitting Workshop". No, I was not sponsored in any way, shape, or form-- but if knitting companies see this and want to sponsor me I'm right here. Sitting by my laptop, ready to be sent free stuff. Waiting to hear from you. :)
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Checking in
So, I was checking the syllabus. Of course I have made my adjustments to it and everything, but I figured I have to update my fans on where I am at as the semester comes eerily close to an end.
Schedule (Meetings and Projects)
Week 1: Create Syllabus, purchase books, first meeting with Professor Juhasz
Link to my syllabus post:
Week 2: Blog Post 1; create personal blog for tracking Independent Study activities
Link to the blog: http://diylearningpitzer.blogspot.com/
Link to the first blog post: http://diylearningpitzer.blogspot.com/2015/09/what-is-this-blog.html
Week 3: Project 1 proposal due, read chapters 1-4 of Video Nation, Blog Post 2
Reading Video Nation: http://diylearningpitzer.blogspot.com/2015/10/what-im-reading-video-nation.html
Project 1 Proposal: http://diylearningpitzer.blogspot.com/2015/10/flip-flopping-syllabus.html
Week 4: Project 1 due on September 27 (extension due to Jewish high holidays); Blog Post 3; Finish reading Video Nation
Project 1: http://parksandrecipes.blogspot.com/
Week 5: Read chapters 1-3 of Craft, Inc.; Submit proposal for Project 2; Blog Post 4
Project 2: Reflection on the effects of DIY Learning; an online tutorial
Week 6: Project 2 due; Meeting with Professor Juhasz
Project 2 (online tutorial): http://diylearningpitzer.blogspot.com/2015/11/reading-old-fashioned-knitting-pattern.html
Week 7: Read Chapters 4-5 of Craft, inc.; Blog Post 5
Week 8: Read Chapters 6-7 of Craft, inc.; Draft Proposal for Project 3; Blog Post 6
Blog Post 6, Reflection on the topics of "Craft, inc.", fan art, legalities, and the culture of online selling
Yes, I am a little behind. Here was the original plan:
Week 9: Project 3 due; Meeting with professor Juhasz
Week 10: Read and review one book from niche craft books list; Blog Post 7
Week 11: Proposal for Project 4 (Austenland); Blog Post 8
Week 12: Project 4 due
Week 13: Proposal for Final Project; Blog Post 9
Week 14: Work on final project; Meeting with Professor Juhasz
Week 15: Final Project due; Blog Post 10
Updated plan:
Project 3 proposal due Wednesday, November 25
Project 3: Thoroughly review one project or book. This can be made in a video blog (un-boxing/review style video) or in written blog form with pictures.
Project 3 due Friday, November 27. Project 3 will include a review of a craft book and a review of a niche craft book
Project 4 (fan culture) has been completed. Blog post on the legalities and effects of fan culture artwork is already done.
Watch 'Austenland' or a similar movie and write an online blog review due Sunday, November 29.
Blog Post on Friday, November 27.
Blog Post on Friday, December 4.
Blog Post on Friday, December 11.
Proposal for final project will be posted on the blog by Friday, December 4.
Final project progress update on Friday, December 11.
Final project is due Tuesday, December 15, 2015
WISH ME LUCK!!
Saturday, November 21, 2015
The Legalities of Fan Art
Apparently, since this is an academic class, I still have to do work?? :/ What is this madness?
So to start off my research based part of the posts I will be referencing my fan-based craft tutorial blog, Parks and Recipes.
This blog was created out of my need to connect with Parks and Recreation outside of the TV set. My sister is a huge fan of the show, and for her birthday I bought her two shirts from the NBC Universal Website
These are the shirts if case you were wondering:
Here is where issues start to come in: Copyright. Parks and Recreation and all its related products are licensed by the NBC Universal company. I learned all about this in my Introduction to Media Studies as well as Learning From YouTube. It is a huge problem for fandom crafters, especially within the online environment.
I tried to avoid these issues. My first step in sneaking around this issue was to put in "inspired by". This suggests that the idea was from the copyrighted work, but the project itself was original and only inspired by, not taken from, the copyrighted material. This is my version of putting "unofficial" in front of my fandom projects.
Update: I messed up. Using "inspired by" does not save you from copyright issues
(https://www.etsy.com/teams/7718/questions/discuss/14552307/)
After a pretty quick google search, I found this wikipedia-type page that details the legalities of fan art and profit. Basically, you can't profit from copyrighted material if you are not the copyright owner. I'm pretty safe in a lot of these terms because I am not profiting from these blog posts, nor will I profit from any type of fan craft I design.
However, once an artist starts profiting off of a trademarked product, they are breaking copyright laws and treading into illegal territory. Even using the name in the title or the tags can result in copyright infringement if you are profiting from the project.
Good luck out there...the issues are murky and big companies can be cruel in regards to personal work with their trademarked symbols. In the end, these companies are after profits and they can and will shut you down for entering their territory. Tread carefully.
Further Reading:
https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2010/05/13/the-messy-world-of-fan-art-and-copyright/
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2044685/i-almost-got-sued-for-knitting-a-firefly-hat-the-legal-risks-of-pop-culture-fan-art.html
http://www.craftsandcopyrights.com/faq.html
So to start off my research based part of the posts I will be referencing my fan-based craft tutorial blog, Parks and Recipes.
This blog was created out of my need to connect with Parks and Recreation outside of the TV set. My sister is a huge fan of the show, and for her birthday I bought her two shirts from the NBC Universal Website
These are the shirts if case you were wondering:
Here is where issues start to come in: Copyright. Parks and Recreation and all its related products are licensed by the NBC Universal company. I learned all about this in my Introduction to Media Studies as well as Learning From YouTube. It is a huge problem for fandom crafters, especially within the online environment.
I tried to avoid these issues. My first step in sneaking around this issue was to put in "inspired by". This suggests that the idea was from the copyrighted work, but the project itself was original and only inspired by, not taken from, the copyrighted material. This is my version of putting "unofficial" in front of my fandom projects.
Update: I messed up. Using "inspired by" does not save you from copyright issues
After a pretty quick google search, I found this wikipedia-type page that details the legalities of fan art and profit. Basically, you can't profit from copyrighted material if you are not the copyright owner. I'm pretty safe in a lot of these terms because I am not profiting from these blog posts, nor will I profit from any type of fan craft I design.
However, once an artist starts profiting off of a trademarked product, they are breaking copyright laws and treading into illegal territory. Even using the name in the title or the tags can result in copyright infringement if you are profiting from the project.
Good luck out there...the issues are murky and big companies can be cruel in regards to personal work with their trademarked symbols. In the end, these companies are after profits and they can and will shut you down for entering their territory. Tread carefully.
Further Reading:
https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2010/05/13/the-messy-world-of-fan-art-and-copyright/
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2044685/i-almost-got-sued-for-knitting-a-firefly-hat-the-legal-risks-of-pop-culture-fan-art.html
http://www.craftsandcopyrights.com/faq.html
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