Rather than go through and individually answer the hundred or so comments on Miremer1 that it had as a result of being a DD, I thought I would say a big THANK YOU to all the folks who made such marvellous comments. They are very much appreciated and I'm very pleased at both the DD and the general positive reaction.

THANK YOU!!

A reminder about derivative works.

It is always good to know that people like your work enough to use it as the basis for their own art, however my images are definitely not 'stock'(in the dA sense). Please; if you feel the need to use one of my pictures for a derivative deviation, it is necessary that you ask me first and obtain permission. It is only in exceptional circumstances that I would turn down such request, but I do need to be consulted first before you make use of one of my pictures.

Thanks,

DD

How far can you take the idea of avoiding products tested on animals?

I know this is not specifically a question related to art, but I'm sure it is one that we are all familiar with.

I reject animal cruelty and I do my best to avoid products tested on animals. I was reading through several websites recently, trying to find 'ethical' alternatives to common products, and all I discovered was confusion, anger and misinformation. I never realised how much of a spectrum of different positions there are on what I thought was a fairly simple thing. Having read through all the mire of data on the subject, I've come to the conclusion that setting oneself the goal of TOTALLY ethical shopping is destined to failure.

Modern life and commerce are suffused with so much complexity and connectedness that it is impossible to say that any specific product is 'cruelty free'. It all boils down to how you define an ethical product, and what you consider 'taints' a product as associated with animal testing. If company 'A' manufactures a product and as part of its safety approval, they perform or sanction the performing of animal testing, then it is clear that product is associated with animal testing. Let us now consider company 'B' who produce some products tested on animals and some that are not. Are the products not tested on animals sufficiently 'tainted' by the other activity of that same company as to invalidate claims that a specific product is 'not tested on animals'. Can a potentially 'ethical' product be unethical just because it is produced by an unethical company?

Do you believe that the reason for boycotting a product is to encourage a company to change it's practices, or is it a simple personal choice and has nothing to do with changing the world?

Almost all of the basic ingredients for health and beauty products have at some time in the past undergone animal testing, either individually or as part of a finished product.

Let us imagine for a moment that we are setting up a hypothetical company with the goal to manufacture ethical products. We use a specific ingredient as a component in one of our products. We know that the manufacturer of that raw material we buy does not carry out animal testing. We subsequently discover after years of trading that an unconnected and separate company using the same raw materials has recently tested that chemical on animals. What kind of philosophical position does that now put us in? Can we no longer say that all our ingredients are'not tested on animals'? This is just one of hundreds of difficult potential scenarios that complicate this judgement. For instance, when L'Oreal took over Body Shop, did that invalidate the ethical stand that was previously maintained by Anita Roddick?

The fact is that I don't know what to do. The more I think this through the more confused I become. The only way to totally avoid anything tainted by animal testing is to take the 'Amish' philosophy and never to buy any finished products, but make all your own from scratch.

Where do you stand on this? Would you boycott an entire supermarket chain because they sell both ethical and unethical products, or would you shop there and just select the ethical alternatives? Would you stop using the Body Shop entirely just because they are now owned by L'Oreal?

As soon as you choose to go down this road, it brings up a bewildering catalogue of questions that all really come down to 'how far do you take it'?

Control and context in how images are displayed on dA.

I've been putting my pictures on dA for two years now. I'm very happy to be part of this vibrant and talented community. It pleases me very much that people enjoy my pictures and express appreciation. For the most part it has been a very positive experience and I have few regrets at getting involved, but there are however some things that sometimes cause me to review my decision.

I have discovered that so long as I keep fairly quiet and I don't step outside my circle of like-minded friends, my dA activity is valuable and inspiring. I also know that whenever I have ignored that rule, I have regretted it bitterly. It is easy to forget that all human life is here, both good and bad.

One thing that bothers me more than anything else, is the lack of control we have over the presentation and context of our images when they are displayed in other members favourites and collections. Don't misunderstand me; I do like people to favourite my work, but as I said before, there is all human life on dA and sometimes our work can end up in collections alongside pictures that (although they might comply with the dA guidelines) are of little artistic value. I speak (for example) of those poorly executed close-up shots of genitalia and those artless dawbings and scribblings we have all seen and try to avoid. There is nothing we can do to prevent the possibility of our carefully and thoughtfully executed work ending up in a collection mixed-in with all that garbage. There is also nothing stopping a dA member taking one of my art nudes and putting it in a collection entitled something like 'nice tits' or 'hot babes'.

Am I being too sensitive? Should I just close my eyes to it? Are the positive aspects of dA enough to compensate? I just don't know.

A small selection of pictures featuring corsets, latex, bondage and high heels.