One day at an art show a man came rushing up to my booth. He had heard that I make jewelry pieces from the dried paint from artists palettes, and he just had to see it for himself.
"Oh my God, this is the most amazing thing I've ever seen!" He exclaimed, picking up one of the necklaces and inspecting it. “Please tell me you have a patent on this?!”
Well no, I didn't have a patent on it, I explained. He gave me an incredulous look and said " Well that is the first thing you should do! I would hate for someone to steal your idea!”
That’s when the dreaded internal dialogue began. You know the ones, those pesky inner voices that say “What were you thinking, putting your idea out there for someone to steal? Are you that dumb? How can you be so naive? You better quit now before someone steals it from you.”
The next morning I was on the phone with a very helpful patent attorney, who helped me realize the truth of the matter. Turns out I can't really put a patent on the use of materials for my mixed media wearable art. I mean I could, but then I'd have to spend my time running all over the country finding all the offenders who pulled acrylic paint off the palette and made it into something else. And then what would I do; sue them?! Really, I’ve got better things to do with my time!
The attorney assured me that I would make better use of my time continuing to make one of a kind jewelry pieces that no one else makes. In essence, stay ahead of the crowd and don't worry about getting copied.
That conversation encouraged and motivated me to go forward with my ideas. Since then I have made and sold hundreds of pieces of jewelry that began as dried pieces of paint. Are there other people out there pulling paint from palettes and making it into jewelry? YES! Does it bother me? NO! In fact, a few years after that conversation, I decided to offer DIY kits for people to make their own earrings, and guess what material is in each kit?! Yes, even you can make earrings out of paint pieces if you want!
Kits are available here
This year I am celebrating 30 years of making upcycled wearable art jewelry. THIRTY YEARS?! Someone hand me my cane! I’m so glad I didn’t let that excited man’s comments freeze me in my tracks and talk me out of my idea. I have no intention of stopping now; to the contrary! I can’t wait to get back in the studio and see where those paint palettes will take me next!
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