I had a rare day off from teaching this Sunday and thought I would head over to the Maker Faire to do a sketch. I have sketched the Maker Faire quite a few times over the years.
I went to the website to see the hours and was shocked to see that one of my illustrations was being used to promote the event. No one had contacted me about using the image and I was certainly not paid for the use in their promotional materials. The image was cropped to remove my “Thor©” symbol. Back in 2015 when I did this piece I wasn’t watermarking the work that way I do today. I went ahead and added the watermark, signature and AADW logo that I use every day today. I had to go back to the site and replace the image so others do not continue to steal the art. I am surprised that the Maker Faire does not understand the meaning of the copyright symbol. Using the image without the consent of the artist is theft.
Well after visiting the Maker Faire site, I decided I will never be sketching at that event again. Maker Faire does not promote the work of engineers, artists, scientists and crafters, it steals from them. Instead of going to the Florida Fairgrounds I had to spend the day going through old AADW posts to make sure watermarks were added to all Maker Faire posts before more work is stolen.
So I voted against going to the Maker Faire. Instead I decided to sketch at the Maitland Rotary Art Festival. The Oak Hill Drifters are going to be playing on the main stage and I love that group. I also noticed the art event goes late into the night so I might stick around and do several drawings. I should also be a good chance to catch up and see the work of fellow artists.