Just Marie interview 20/26th April

Started by Graham Lee, March 31, 2009, 05:42:22 PM

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Simply Shonna

#15
Finally I get to see this dress!  I love it and I really like the polk-a-dots.

What do you do to protect your photos and to make sure that others don't "use" them to get credit for work they didn't do?

Shonna

justmarie

#16
Shonna,
You're such a crack up!  Most of the time I plaster that big ol' website address across my dresses.  

WARNING - I'm about to be outspoken again!
Recently one of my most well publicized dresses, or at least the picture of it, was used without my permission.  

I often search the web for balloon dresses for a number of reasons.  I like to make sure that my site's ranking is still high.  I also like to see if other artists have come up with anything new.  I was quite shocked when I saw the dress I'd made for The Disney Channel being used to promote another artist with no credit being given to me.  Since this other artist and I had had prior dealings, well, let's just say I was far less than complimented by situation.

The picture was later removed from the site with a pseudo apology.

What happened to me was not uncommon.  It happens ALL the time.  You can "watermark" your pics, you can put your website or name across them...  There is NO guarantee that someone else is not going to use them.  All you can do is hope that the person using your pics is not taking business away from you.  

Another safety measure would be to always name the pictures you put on your website with something easily searchable in the title.  That way, you can check on them and see if they show up on other sites.

justmarie

#17
If you could start all over again, would you change anything?
     I'm not sure if I'd do anything different.  I have always really enjoyed making balloons.  I sometimes wish I was working more just because the economy is so incredibly bad right now.  But, at the time it wasn't necessary or even something I wanted to do.  I attended every single event I possibly could - having small children was the only reason I didn't make it to more.  

Who's the most famous person you have made a balloon creation for?
     Sadly, I haven't really made balloons for anyone famous.  I did tie the balloons that made the one balloon doggies that my kids made for Cindy Crawford - does that count?  lol
     Oh, wait, I made a corset for a local radio personality and another artist and I made a ride inside police car for a professional baseball player!  (It was a fund raiser for an injured police officer.)

How do you keep the enthusiasm going & what still excites you about our great world of latex?
     I DON'T KNOW!  Isn't that funny?!  I just LOVE balloons.  I've been a crafter since I was four years old.  Usually I stick with a hobby or craft for a few months then move on to the next.  I have been working with balloons going on six years now!  Maybe it's that I have a whole community of obsessive freaks (no offense) that are just as into it as I am...  I honestly can't tell you why.

     I love the looks of amazement on people's faces when they realize that you can create something truly beautiful from something they consider a child's toy.  


By the way, those obsessive freaks I mentioned, my life wouldn't be the same without them!

Graham Lee

#18
Quote from: "justmarie"By the way, those obsessive freaks I mentioned, my life wouldn't be the same without them!

I do hope you include me in those obsessive freaks that you mention  ;)
"Lets Improve Our Art"
Balloon Excellence 2012 Award Winner
For Services to the Balloon Community.
https://www.balloonartwholesale.co.uk
http://www.sempertexballoons.co.uk

justmarie

#19
Graham,
You're one of the biggest freaks!  
;)

justmarie

#20
OK, now I'm going to vent about one of my biggest pet peeves in the balloon industry - or at least on another very popular balloon related site.

(heavy sigh...)
     Why is it that artists are constantly complimenting pics or DVDs and saying how great they are when they aren't?  It's especially bothersome in the category of DVDs/videos.  If an artist creates a dvd and the work is less than perfect for one reason or another, shouldn't that information be made public or at least brought to their attention?  It's not always in the artist's best interest for their peers to tell them that their work is of a certain caliber when in fact it isn't.  Most often times it seems people want to "say something nice" rather than be honest and risk hurt feelings.  However, constructive criticism can be just that - constructive, helpful and valuable.
     I once bought a DVD that was highly recommended online.  When I watched it, the sound quality was SO bad at some points I couldn't even understand what the artist was saying.  When I mentioned this to friends at the next convention, they all said their copies did the same thing.  ???  Why hadn't anyone mentioned this before instead of consistently saying, "_____ is a great DVD"?!
     Now, I'm not saying you have to blurt out, "OMG, the sound sucked and you shouldn't buy it!"  But one could easily comment, "The sculptures are great, but the sound quality made it difficult to understand some of the instructions."  

Ok, I'm done  ;)

Graham Lee

#21
I have a collection of around 160 video's/DVD's and CD's and yes the do vary in quality.
Here's the list, although it needs to be updated again as I've got a few more CD's to add to the collection.
viewtopic.php?f=22&t=461&hilit=collection+of+dvd+s
I only have one which is a tape so fairly old that the sound is so bad and the tape looks like it's a copy of a copy so I couldn't see or hear anything at all. I bought this from a well respected wholesaler in the US and did mention the problem but never heard nothing back from them.
"Lets Improve Our Art"
Balloon Excellence 2012 Award Winner
For Services to the Balloon Community.
https://www.balloonartwholesale.co.uk
http://www.sempertexballoons.co.uk

justmarie

#22
Who would you like to work with dead or alive?
     When doing any sort of line twisting, I love working with anyone I can "play off of" - people with a sharp wit.  It's a sort of sarcastic taunting back and forth.  I think the audience enjoys the playfulness.
     I've had the opportunity to work with so many of my favorite balloon twisters, I can't really think of anyone.  Well, everyone again!  ;)
   
What is the largest sculpture you've worked on?    
     Don Caldwell is my ultimate balloon idol.  I have admired him since I bought his first video.  Lucky for me, Don twisted in a restaurant that was closer to my home than his own.  I would frequently stop by just to see what he was working on.  He had a very unique situation where he would create large scale sculptures to decorate the lobby and display cases one day a week.  On a few occasions, he would allow me to assist him on his endeavors.  WHAT a learning experience!!!  He is truly a master of his craft.
     Once he envisioned a group of restaurant guests waiting in the lobby (Six, to be exact) complete with beverages and hors d'oeuvres.  Halloween was a giant Frankenstein's Monster with the Doctor sitting on his shoulder.  Christmas... Wow, Christmas!  Don's idea was to create a life-like tree.  He created a framework of a 6' tree.  Don, Eddie Medrano and I spent the next few hours creating branches to insert into the framework to look like a real tree.  We weren't done there - next came the ornaments!  We left Don to create the Santa and suspended reindeer!


Graham Lee

#23
Marie, Thanks for taking the time to answer the questions on the forum :D  
Did you tell us what make you laugh?
"Lets Improve Our Art"
Balloon Excellence 2012 Award Winner
For Services to the Balloon Community.
https://www.balloonartwholesale.co.uk
http://www.sempertexballoons.co.uk

justmarie

#24
What makes me laugh?
 
My mother-in-law is coming to visit for a month...  So, not much, lately  :(

Graham Lee

#25
Quote from: "justmarie"What makes me laugh?
 
My mother-in-law is coming to visit for a month...  So, not much, lately  :(
well that made me laugh  :lol:
"Lets Improve Our Art"
Balloon Excellence 2012 Award Winner
For Services to the Balloon Community.
https://www.balloonartwholesale.co.uk
http://www.sempertexballoons.co.uk

justmarie

#26
Graham,
In all honesty, I spend the majority of my time at conventions laughing!  I love everyone that I've met in this great community of ours.  OK, before you call me on it, of course there are a few exceptions, but we don't need to mention them!  ;)  For the most part, balloon people are some of the best in the world!  I've met people from all over:  The Netherlands, Japan, Slovenia, Belgium, France, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Spain, Canada and a few odd ones from the UK...  Even when language is a barrier, balloons transcend that.  

We put our personalities, our politics and even our religions aside for that brief moment and we share our passion.  And for that time...  all is right with the world!
Thank you so much for letting me share.  I can't wait to see you again.  
Huge hugs,
Marie

Graham Lee

#27
It's been fun reading your replies :)  and I wonder if I should ask who you don't get on with but knowing you as I do that may be a bad move and you may overload the forum with your replies  :lol:  :lol:
Well I'm looking into coming over for diamond jam in August and then on to a magic masterclass in Vegas
I'm writing this while on the train up to Scotland.
"Lets Improve Our Art"
Balloon Excellence 2012 Award Winner
For Services to the Balloon Community.
https://www.balloonartwholesale.co.uk
http://www.sempertexballoons.co.uk

Smiggle

#28
Odd people? - in the UK? - Surely not  :D  :D
C\'mon Let\'s twist again...