"My" Design?

I'm sure this is a question that every 'hobbyist' or 'amateur' beader asks themselves at one point - what constitutes an original design, and what is simply a small modification of the original? What is original vs. 'inspired by' and is there really a difference? What is a stitch technique, and what is someone's hard-won original work?

Some answers are easier - if you make a piece stitch for stitch, colour for colour from a magazine or book, you're copying! It's certainly not original. Change the colours, but keep everything else? Still copying in my book. Different colours does not an original design make. Change the stitch a little...probably still copying!

So, my discussion piece is above. Stitch - circular flat peyote. No one's got the right to claim that one as exclusive! It's the colour placement - in a recent issue of Beadwork, in my favourite "Seed Bead Style" section, there was this circular flat peyote piece that placed colours in such a way to make them look like they were swirling. Neat! I thought. It's diagonal peyote designs for round things!

In the artist's example, she created a bracelet with her circular flat peyote pieces stitched side by side. I had just completed the main body of "Geometry Experiment #1" (see earlier posts) and was into let's-see-what-happens-if-I-interlink-things stage. The result was above - "Green Gordian" (after the knot). I played with the bead count and made smaller circular peyote pieces to add some dimensional interest. I did a peyote toggle clasp, as in the magazine design.

Is this bracelet "my" design?