Overseas Publication

Back in May, I was contacted by a young man on deviantART named Toni Kaarthinen letting me know that he's the editorial assistant to the Finnish Salvation Army's magazine "SotaHuuto". He explained, at the time he was sending the message, that he was working on their August issue and was requesting permission to use one of my older paintings of the Virgin Mary (which I painted back in 2007) for an article he was working on about women of the bible. He did reassure me that he would give me credit for the piece. Well I was honestly suspicious to say the least so looked up the Salvation Army of Finland & Sweden to check with them to make sure he was who he claimed to be.

To whom it may concern,


I have a bit of a matter to inquire about that I hope that you can help me with. Earlier this morning I received an email from a Toni Kaarttinen of Finland asking permission to use an older painting of mine that I have currently posted on an online gallery account. He wished to use it for an article he was presiding over and helping to produce and publish in Finland. He says that he works for your organization (Salvation Army in Finland) and that he is the editorial assistant to a Finnish magazine called SofaHuuto. I did look into SofaHuuto but found that it dealt with Medieval reenactments. I was hoping that you could perhaps clear up the confusion I'm having because the connection between the two is difficult for me to put together. The following is the message I have received from the individual in question: 


Hey,


I'm Toni Kaarttinen and I work for Salvation Army in Finland. I'm editorial assistant of Finnish Salvation Army's magazine "SotaHuuto" (=WarCry).


We're doing August issue right now, and I would like to ask you, if you could consider to give us permission to use your picture:


http://dawnstarw.deviantart.com/art/Virgin-Mary-66688967


...as an illustration for article about Women in Bible: Virgin Mary.


I'd give the attribution for you in the way you like.
Tell me how you feel about this...


Best Regards,


Toni Kaarttinen
SotaHuuto
Salvation Army in Finland
toni.kaarttinen@pelastusarmeija.fi


Again I thank you for your time and assistance in this matter and hope to hear a response from you soon.


Sincerely, 


Dawn Star Wood
Elk Grove, California (USA)
http://dawnstarw.deviantart.com/

Much to my surprise, I received an emailed response to my inquiry in a mere hour or two with the information I needed to know.

The Salvation Army
Finland and Estonia Territory
__________________________


Dear Dawn Star Wood


Thank  you for contacting us.
I can confirm Toni Kaarttinen is working for The Salvation Army in Finland.
He works in the editorial department at our headquarters.
One of his responsibilities is the layout of our magazine called Sotahuuto.
Your assistance to him is much appreciated.


Warm greetings from Finland and may God bless you.


Hilkka Peltonen
Major

How could I say no? It was for a good cause and the idea of having one of my paintings in a publication overseas was fascinating to me. After that, I gave Toni permission to use my picture on the condition that not only he give me credit for the art but also provide at least a copy of the publication so that I could have it for my own records. Over the weekend I messaged him again asking Toni how the magazine was coming along since it was only a few days before August set in. Excitedly he let me know that not only had the magazines just come off of the presses but he had sent me both the Finnish and Swedish publications and that they would be here by the end of the week. Well today I crossed my fingers as I checked the mail to discover the package I had been waiting for. Thank you so much Toni! They have arrived safe and sound.

KrigsRopet - Swedish publication 

SotaHuuto - Finnish publication