SketchCrawl as a Business?

The good news is, the next announced sketchcrawl is October 16th.  (See my notes from my July 2009 sketchcrawl.)

Right now, I’m on the fence. The email I rec’d from SketchCrawl.com was very different from the fun, wide-open, no-rules announcements of the past.

A man sketching, on site, as in a sketchcrawl.First, there was this message from that site:

– A key thing, help us spread the word!

If you are reading this, we are sure you have a number of friends that might be interested in this as much as you are. Tell them about SketchCrawl! Let’s share this idea with the rest of the globe. No borders.

“No borders.”  I like that reminder. The idea of a global, art-based event always delights me.

So, I was in a happy mood, already thinking about where I’d like to organize a sketchcrawl in October.

Then, I reached the list of rules that weren’t on previous SketchCrawl announcements.  Here they are, cut-and-pasted from the email.

When you participate, please remember to:

-Notify us of any sketchcrawl events (as applicable)
-Link back to sketchcrawl.com
-Give credit to Enrico Casarosa as the founder
-Must be a non-profit event
-Include sketches in sketchcrawl.com/forums and Flickr pool (as applicable)
-Try and time your sketchcrawls with the World Wide dates we promote at sketchcrawl.com

Those sound reasonable enough, individually, but — in combination — they seem like corporate rules. That seems a little hinky. (Hinky = strange or suspicious.)

I did a quick check.

So far in 2010, the U.S. Trademark Database doesn’t show anything when I search for “sketchcrawl. So, as of 2010, the term “sketchcrawl” is still free to use without trademark-related restrictions.

SketchCrawl trademarked now? Not per the U.S. government.

2023 UPDATE: As of January 2023, at the Sketchcrawl (dot com) site, the “TM” with the name suggests they did trademark it. (Adding a copyright symbol next to that? That’s odd, since the term has been in use for a very long time. He can copyright the site but not the word “sketchcrawl.”)

 

On one hand, I understand the importance of claiming a word or phrase that’s unique to your business. I’ve failed to do that (repeatedly) with my own projects. That’s been an expensive and disappointing series of blunders.

However, when I did a quick search to see if the Sketchcrawl (dot com) claim was legitimate, the results were interesting.

Here’s my search on 25 Jan 2023:

And here are the results of that search:

So, that suggests the “TM” indication is in error on the Sketchcrawl (dot com) site.

Hmm…

I remain wary.

I’m relieved and a bit baffled.

On one hand, I never want a popular word trademarked. That goes double for a word already in popular use in the arts community.

I don’t like seeing people staking claims, trying to make money off things that were initially created to be free, fun and cool.

But why would someone suggest that they’ve trademarked a term when they haven’t? That’s very weird.

Maybe he doesn’t understand how copyright and trademarks work?

I’d like some clarification. After all, for at least a dozen years, this has been a concern for some of us.

For now, I may organize my own sketchcrawls, as I did in the past. However, I’m uneasy posting them on the Sketchcrawl site.

 

Art, The Secret, and Feeling Good

art and feeling goodWhen I create anything artistic, I feel good.  I’ve also noticed that my life goes better… I attract more good things into my life.

So, when Bob Proctor sent me this quotation this morning, I knew I wanted to turn it into a mini-poster and put it on my wall.

The quotation is:

“It’s really important that you feel good.  Because this feeling good is what goes out as a signal into the universe and starts to attract more of itself to you.

“So the more you can feel good, the more you will attract the things that help you feel good and that will keep bringing you up higher and higher.”

Of course, that summarizes The Secret in three sentences.

However, whether or not you believe in The Secret, this is still a happy way to look at life and the world around you.

It’s empowering, on a deeply spiritual level… and, regardless of your religious beliefs, isn’t that what creating and art are all about?

Click here to download your free copy

Photo credit: Justyna Furmanczyk, Poland

FREE 24-Hour Zine – Download

Looking for a FREE art zine? Here’s one of mine. It’s from 2010’s “24-Hour Zine Thing” project. You can download this zine, page-by-page, and assemble it yourself. (It’s easy. Really.)

What’s a 24-hour zine?

During July 2010, participants had to go from concept to printed/bound zine in 24 hours or less, and the zine had to be 24 pages long.

We couldn’t prepare anything ahead of time.  We weren’t even supposed to think about what we might put into the zine.

It was exhausting, but I learned a lot!

(See my links at the foot of this article, for more information about the challenge, the diary I kept during the process, and what I learned.)

Remember: This is NOT an art zine.  It’s a rambling, personal zine reflecting my thoughts as I worked on this challenge.

To read (or print) your own copy of this zine

Download these PDF files and print them on letter-sized (8 1/2″ x 11″) paper:

Cover
Pages 1/24
Pages 2/23
Pages 3/22
Pages 4/21
Pages 5/20
Pages 6/19
Pages 7/18
Pages 8/17
Pages 9/16
Pages 10/15
Pages 11/14
Pages 12/13

If you’re not sure how to print &/or assemble the zine, check this article: 24-Page Zine Layout

If you can print back-to-back, do.  That’ll save paper and bulk in the finished zine.

See my hour-by-hour diary (not very cheerful, by the end of the 24 hours…) at Zines – The 24-Hour Zine Thing.

Read my happier summary (posted the following day) and see the contents of a 25th page (that didn’t fit in this zine) at 24-Hour Zine Thing – What I Learned.

And, if you’d like to try making zines, here’s a simple, single-sheet zine project anyone can make, easily: Single-Sheet Zine Layout. (It includes a link to yet another free zine you can download. Not as impressive as the 24-hour one, but it IS an art zine.)

24-Page Zine Layout – How to Make a Zine

The first time you try a zine layout, I know it can be confusing.

And frustrating.

But I’m about to show you how to put your zine pages together so they’re in the right order in the finished zine.

I’ve been creating zines for over 30 years, and I still sketch my zine layout on paper, to be sure I paste it up the right way.

So others don’t have to reinvent the wheel, I’ve put several zine layouts online.  Here are a couple of them:

  • If you’re looking for the classic 16-page zine layout, using just one sheet of legal (8 1/2″ x 14″) paper, here’s the link: Zine Layouts. (Yes, that creates a small, 16-page zine from just one sheet of paper, total.)

The 24-Page Zine Layout

If you’d like to try a 24-page zine, or you’re trying to figure out how to assemble a downloaded PDF of one of mine, here’s that design.

24-page zine layout

Basically, your first page and last page will be on the same sheet of paper, and on the exact same side of the paper.

If you start with that and sketch it out, you can usually figure out which page goes where. (Want a free zine you can download and print, to see how it works? Here it is: The 24-Hour Zine Thing Zine.)

The good news is, you can create your own zine.

And, with a little double-checking to be sure your zine layout is right, you can print and share it with confidence.


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