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ENTERTAINMENT, FAMILY, LIFE, TECHNOLOGY, WEB 2013-12-04
pre-everyman
another semi-related story to the everyman deals in the buildup to the contest. in discussing the early motivation to get art, i mentioned going to an art fair and buying some photos for my newly purchased (and bare) home. during the transaction i struck up a conversation with the photog's wife who also served as his manager. she mentioned the newly forming web and their need to get her husband's work online but confessed they were having problems with it. having recently gotten into the game i gave her my sympathy admitting there was a lot of mystery to in using this new medium well, especially in the arts. but i waved my arm towards their wall of photography and said their task was simpler than most as the biggest thing they had to do was stay out of the way of her husband's amazing photography and let the art wash over the user. she conceded to the sense of the approach but gave the oft-used 'easier said than done' in reply. looking over the man's stunning work hanging on the temporary panels of his booth, various treatments for porting the images to the web came to mind. i asked her if she would be interested in an exchange—a web design for some prints (the prints were quite pricey for a fellow who just bought his first home). i added if they didn't like my suggestions they wouldn't owe anything in return. if they did, i would let them determine the quantity and size of prints they felt fair in exchange. she smilingly agreed.

as is the way with true inspiration in a matter of days i had produced a site design i thought would suit them well. i packaged up several screen shots and emailed them to the woman. as is the case whenever you share your artistic creations i sat back and awaited their reaction. none came. not after a day. not after three days. not after two weeks. i obviously took the silence as a solid rejection of my work and will say it injured my confidence in the craft and vigor for the trade more than i'd like to admit. i tried to push the failure out of my mind but the taunting notion routinely skipped through the forefront of my awareness like a teasing classmate.

then on a bored weekend night months later—i said it maimed me to embarrassing degrees—i pulled up the photog's site to try to see what they could like in their present design that my work did not improve upon. after the page loaded i stared at not the faltering design i had looked to replace, but the design i had sent them, albeit a clumsy implementation of it. i stared at the page using my design for several minutes trying to make sense of what i was seeing. i scrolled to the footer and about pages looking for a mention of credit. i found none.

Anger took the Rejection that had been moping around my brain by the collar and threw her out the front door with a flailing kick in the ass. the few times Recognition's bright face dared to knock on the door to celebrate the acceptance of our design Anger turned her away with a rough push in the shoulder.

i talked to marty about what happened. she told me to call them and say that its a sad world when one creative steals the work of another creative and especially after one supported the other by buying their work. i silently listened to marty's prudent advice but instead said things like, "nah, it doesn't really matter" or "if you have to say those words to an adult they won't matter". so i did nothing. well, that's not entirely true. every month or two i'd pull the website up and look at my design and feel the anxiety of emotions that sputtered and flared.

then the email campaign began. every few months i'd receive an email from this photographer announcing his latest prints and inviting me to see them on his newly designed website. to add to it, they even modeled the email campaign using my design. after the third email, i sent a polite request to be removed from their list and the following email exchanges took place.
Tuesday, December 3, 2002 5:13 PM
please remove me from your newsletter.
thanks.
troy.
Tuesday, December 3, 2002, at 10:27 PM
Troy,
Are you the designer in Kansas City (or maybe it was St. Louis) who spoke to me several years ago about creating a web site?  If you are, I've been trying to find you!  Please reply and let me know if I have the right guy.  Thanks.

Louise
Tuesday, December 3 2002 @ 11:01 PM
yes. i would be that guy.
troy
Wednesday, December 4, 2002 11:38 PM
Yea! I'm so glad it's you.  Whit and I have been feeling terrible about losing your information after my brother used your design for our web site!  We would like to compensate you for the wonderful mock-up that led to our site.  Originally you said that you would be willing to trade your work for some of Whit's work.  Is that still OK? We'd like you to pick some images (if you're still interested) and let us send them to you at our expense.

I'm sure you've been steaming over this the past 18 months.  Please know that we never meant for this to happen.  We are really grateful for the design.  We really are good people who would never dream of "stealing" someone's idea and not compensating them accordingly.  Let us know what we can do for you.

Sincerely,

Louise (and Whit) Bronaugh
Thursday, December 5, 2002 11:40 PM
well, this is a pleasant surprise. truth told, i was a little uncertain of what to make of the situation. i checked back on your site a few weeks after sending the mock-up and thought it looked reminiscent of my suggestion. your email somewhat restores my faith in the world around, and at a nice time with the holidays and all.

your brother's execution of my vision is to be applauded. your site is very nice, professional and i think conveys whit's work respectfully. hopefully it has proven to be an effective aid to your business. and, in perusing the site i saw that whit went to college at colorado state. i grew up in fort collins, just a couple of miles west of the campus. i used to skateboard on the sidewalks around moby gym quite frequently and worked several jobs at campus west in high school. great place. miss it dearly.

given the time that has passed, i'm somewhat compelled to pass on your offer, but i am hopelessly enamored with whit's work and would love a few more of his photos adorning my walls. last christmas, my brother-in-law bought a whit original for his wife after seeing his works in our home. i'm not sure what's appropriate but will list two and let you decide what's fair.

sunrise, sunflower
delicate innocense

thanks for the email and taking the time to follow up. i appreciate the gesture.

your lost web guy,

troy
the two things i learned from this ordeal are:
  1. every time i get myself worked up over something, it is almost always for naught in the end.
  2. when marty is kind enough to offer advice, i should be sensible enough to use it because it is, also, almost always spot-on counsel.
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