legal precision

I am working on the second glass bas relief face for a textile-and-glass piece (click here to see the first one). I want to depict an older woman -- here is my first sketch:

Finding a model to draw is no mean feat. I have to be careful when using others' photographs. Like a good little attorney, I am mindful of the rights of copyright holder, and am following the litigation between Shepard Fairy and the Associated Press over whether Fairey's famous Obama poster constitutes permissible fair use, or is a copyright infringement.

To avoid any problems, I bought a book of copyright-free depictions of women, and will draw them. Meanwhile, reducing this face to a fiber paper rendering for my bas relief piece is another challenge altogether. The fiber paper is quite dense, and has a tendency to tear, even with a sharp new Exacto knife blade. So...


I bought some scalpels at the local medical supply shop! I will try these today to see if I can get more precise cuts.

I won't even begin to address the fact that it is well nigh impossible to find photos of older women, except in the obituarites!