IF YOUR ART GETS STOLEN

Every artist who displays their work, be it at an outdoor art show, gallery or wherever, runs the risk of having their art stolen. I have had a few taken over the years in one manner or another and I can tell you it is a frustrating and disheartening experience. You have lost hours, maybe months, of work on a piece that you painstakingly created and have nothing to show for it except, if you were smart, a reproduction in some form. And all you can write off on your taxes is the cost of the materials if you fill out a police report! Your time is not of any monetary value to the taxman.

There are some steps you can take that will make you feel better and might even aid in the recovery of the stolen article.

• There are websites where you can register your stolen item, I found two of them. One Stolen911 is free, the other The Art Loss Register appears to charge a fee
  
• You can also place a listing on Craig's List or other sites of that nature
  
• You can post a notice with a photo of the stolen item on your blog, website or profile page
• File a police report - it probably won't get your item back but you'll need it for your taxes
  

I posted a colorful notice on my booth at the art shows with a big headline saying: "HAVE YOU SEEN THIS ART? It was stolen at....." and I continued with the details of where and when it was taken underneath a photo of the art. Of course, that didn't get my art back, but I felt better and it had the added benefit of indicating that at least my art was good enough to steal!!

If you've had something you created taken from you, I extend my heartfelt empathy to you. I also invite you to make a comment and tell me your story. Hey, it's another way to tell the world, it might help other artists to prevent it happening to them and it will make you feel better! Photos will not be posted - that's what the links above are for, but your story could be invaluable information to a fellow artist.