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Category: engage your creativity

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What’s in a Name: Using Pseudonyms When Registering Works with the Copyright Office

Posted by: Nora Scheland

The following is a guest post by Jessica Chinnadurai, a registration specialist at the U.S. Copyright Office. My first name, Jessica, was the most popular baby girl name in the 1990s. My last name, Chinnadurai, is a unique surname with origins in southern India. The dichotomy has resulted in me being fascinated by names. We …

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Celebrating Women’s History Month: Conversations About Creativity, Hope, and Healing, Part 2

Posted by: Nora Scheland

This Women’s History Month, we celebrate the intersection between creativity, hope, and healing. In part two of our two-part blog series, we talk to some more of the women who work at the U.S. Copyright Office about what it means for them to be creative.

Someone is holding up a large quilt with a purple edge, and may differently shaped and colored squares quilted together across the middle. The quilt contains lots of yellows, purples, and shades of brown.

Celebrating Women’s History Month: Conversations About Creativity, Hope, and Healing, Part 1

Posted by: Nora Scheland

I have always been someone who likes to make things. I love to bake and cook, I like to knit, and I make my own ceramics. I am drawn to items that were made by hand, either by me or someone else, and I am convinced that I will never be finished finding art for …

The Art of Healing: A Nostalgic Ode to Black Hair Braiding

Posted by: Ashley Tucker

Black history tells powerful stories of innovation, perseverance, triumph, and celebration but also stories of loss, tragedy, trauma, and pain. Historically, African Americans have turned to art for its inexplicable healing powers. There is healing in African American spirituals and in praise dance; in African drums; and in beatboxing, in storytelling, and in rhythm and blues. …