Art in Second Life (13) The Magical Forest by Jaz and Harry

27 Feb 2023 Leave a comment

by diomitamaurer in Art in Second Life Tags: , , , , ,

Jaz (Jessamine2108) sent a message to me and invited me to see “The Magical Forest“, an istallation by Harry Cover (Impossibleisnotfrench) and Jaz herself.
Along with the landmark to “The Magical Forest”, I got a notecard that contained all relevant information including a few words about the artists who were involved in creating “The Magical Forest“. I will be lazy and use most of this notecard.

First of all there’re instructions for your viewer settings and you should follow them to get the full experience.

The exhibit is an immersive experience of Peter’s story, his journey to the magical forest, and his assimilation into it. It also touches upon human greed and the possible consequences. The story unfolds in 11 scenes – the road will take you through the scenes in sequence. You can either read about each scene, listen to the narration, and experience the special effects.
The immersive exhibit brings together the creativity in multiple areas like mesh, landscaping, storytelling, photography and particles. We hope you enjoy the magic and the story.

You walk along the scences, each scene has a text going along with it. You can grab the according notecard or listen to the narrator. Listening will take around 5 min for each scene so the whole story unfolds in about one hour. The story is a tale with many references to today’s world and to our dealings with nature and wildlife. It is fun with enough seriousness.
The 11 scences are arranged in boxes along the edges of a sky platform. In the center you find some of the participant characters, flowers and other elements.

The Magical Forest – overview

The Magical Forest team would like to express their thanks to
Kurk Mumfuzz for his mentoring on particles
Natalie Starlight for offering her magical sim “Lost Unicorn” as the background for the story
Harriet Gausman for inspiring writers to create on her “Milkwood” sim
Frank Atisso & Jerzzie Reece for their continued support throughout this project

We hope you enjoy the magical journey through the forest.

The Magical Forest – scene 2 and 7

About the Magical Forest Team:

Finn Bookmite (Fionn Bookmite)
Finn Bookmite is a member of the Milk Wood writers group and Interested in the role of (coughs) more mature people in SL. In RL she is the author of four historical novels.

Harry Cover (Impossibleisnotfrench)
Harry Cover, a.k.a. Impossibleisnotfrench, is a French man. He started his second life by playing with prims, then sculpties and finally mesh.
Passionate about photos, graphic designer in RL (among others), and driftwood objects creator.
Come discover his creations, unique objects, inspired by his meetings, his interests including the recycling of metal objects. He has created L’Artistan to exhibit the objects he has created over time and welcomes you to share your comments, your visions and your experiences.

Jaz (Jessamine2108)
Jaz loves colors and loves to express herself with them. For her, creation is fun and a process of learning. She enjoys experimenting and loves to bring the different things that she does – tell stories, blend colors, create particles, and take photos – together. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t — but it is always fun doing it.

Wednezday Mourningside – Wenz (odinswendzday)
Wenz is a remarkably talented designer, possessing both an impeccable eye for aesthetics and a deep understanding of design principles. She has an innate ability to take complex ideas and distill them into simple, elegant solutions that communicate effectively to her audience. Wenz is also an excellent communicator and collaborator, always open to feedback and willing to work closely with clients to ensure their needs are met. Her attention to detail is unparalleled, and she takes pride in delivering work that is not only visually stunning but also functional and user-friendly. Wenz’s passion for design is evident in everything she creates, and her dedication to her craft is an inspiration to all who work with her.

The Magical Forest – scene 10 and 11

Thank you Jaz (Jessamine2108) and Harry (Impossibleisnotfrench) for this installation, thank you Finn Bookmite (Fionn Bookmite) and Wenz (odinswendzday). I had a lovely and relaxing hour visiting, listening and reading.
I enjoyed my visit!

Landmark to The Magical Forest – Landing point
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Caribbean%20Ocean/94/20/3206

Art in Second Life 2022 (89) Eunoia by Zia Branner

02 Nov 2022 Leave a comment

by diomitamaurer in Art in Second Life Tags: , , , , ,

I got an invitation from Zia Sophia (Zia Branner) to attend the opening of her latest exhibition named “Eunonia” at the Third Eye. I had no time to attend the opening but went there soon before.

Third Eye is Jaz (jessamine2108)’s home and gallery – a place that is designed to showcase art, particles, inspire stories, and offer a quiet place to relax and rejuvenate. Jaz says: “It is the culmination of my many dreams – to create a place that nurtures and helps the growth of all types of creative endeavors – be it words, pictures, or particles.“
Jaz shares the land with Harry Cover (impossibleisnotfrench), who runs his shop “L’Artisan” on the sim. Both are artists and I have reported about them before.

The Third Eye gallery is in a skybox. It is a classic gallery, in the form of a “L”. Zia’s pictures are arranged at the walls, in the center is a plave to dance and to celebrate events.

Impressions of “Eunoia” by Zia Branner @ Third Eye (1)

Zia explains the word Eunoia in the notecard that came with the invitation:
“Eunoia comes from the Greek word eúnoia. The meaning of this word is: beautiful thinking, a well mind. It indicates a mind in balance, benevolence, goodwill and kindness. 
In all lives from time to time it isn’t easy to have a mind in balance. We have our downs, we have our challenges. There is cold, there is warmth. Our strength then lays in our goodwill, in our kindness and with this the balance in our mind and our well being goes up again.
For me Eunoia is represented by the main colors blue and red. Of course you can assign to it the colors that are most applicable to you.“

Zia’s pictures are mostly abstract, yet the human brain tends to sort the impressions and to compare with known patterns. Some of them clearly look like labdscapes, like a beach or like a waterfall. Others are completely abstract, colourful and with multiple forms so that you can see objects like stones, teeth,  hands, or even persons or faces. And often the main colour is blue or red.

Impressions of “Eunoia” by Zia Branner @ Third Eye (2)

“Zia Branner had many drawing and painting art lessons at official institutes RL. She is also autodidact on things that did not come along in class. To her making art is a way of life. Often experimenting with techniques as a learning process …. The most important thing to her is that it makes her happy to see others enjoy her art as much as she loves creating it.”
Zia is in Second Life since 2008. She uploaded her RL paintings into SL. Zia owns an art gallery/shop “Elven Falls Art Collective“. Zia also has other permanent exhibitions at The Galleries, Emergent and at Carmel Art Community.

Zia Sophia (Zia Branner)’s motto is : “The Earth without ‘art’ is just ‘eh'”

Thank you Jaz (jessamine2108) and Harry Cover (impossibleisnotfrench) for providing the space for the arts and for enabling this exhibition by Zia. Thank you Zia for your artwork. I enjoyed my visit.

P.S.: Don’t forget to grab the two gifts in the center of the exhibition space. One gift is a 3D object created by Harry, the other is a painting from Zia.

Landmark to Third Eye and to “Eunoia” by Zia Sophia (Zia Branner)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Ravenglass/13/165/1002
Zia Branner’s art gallery/shop “Elven Falls Art Collective”
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Elven%20Falls/252/41/22
Zia Branner at “The Galleries”
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Georgiana/241/100/57
Zia Branner at “Emergent”
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Mystique%20Isle/191/20/21
Zia Branner at “Carmel Art Community”
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/McFarren/236/161/36

Simploring 2022 (2) Dyrhólaey

27 Mar 2022 Leave a comment

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , , , ,

Serene Footman is back in Second Life. A few weeks ago he re-opened Furillen for a few weeks and I visited it again and enjoyed the many memories (read my post about Furillen here). Serene’s sims are always outstanding. He rebuilds RL places in Second Life, places many of us never heard about before, or weired places with a very particular history or background. I didn’t see all of them, but many. And visiting a place of Serene like Khodovarikha (read here and here) or Rummu (read here) or Ukivok (read here) ..or… or.. was always a highlight of my Second Life.
And now Serene opened Dyrhólaey, his interpretation of Iceland in Second Life. It was not Serene’s attitude to rebuild exactly a part of icleand, he wanted to provide the atmosphere and to highlight some specific features of this beautiful place. I’ve never been to Iceland, it is still on my list of places to visit some time (hopefully). But now I can visit at least visit the southernmost point of Iceland, the home to the ‘endless black beach’ in Second Life and inhale some of it’s atmosphere and get some unique impressions.

Birdeye view and orientation map of Serene Footman’s Dyrhólaey

Serene wrote a very detailled blogpost about Dyrhólaey. He explained what you can see on the sim, which buildings he has picked for Dyrhólaey and where they are in reality. He described Icelands flora and fauna, the different birds, the sheep and horses. He gave background information about the wrecked plane and about the piano on the beach. To sum it up – I didn’t want to rewrite Serene’s post, I can’t do it any better! I strongly recommend to to read Serene’s post about Dyrhólaey before visiting the sim in Second Life.
Dyrhólaey is best viewed using shared environment with advanced lighting. The day/night cycle set to 24 hours. My first visit was late at night and I had the luck to see some aurora borealis in the skies, my second visit was during the day and the sim looks different at daytime.

First impressions of Serene Footman’s Dyrhólaey – aurora borealis in the skies

Serene Footman’s Dyrhólaey – The cliff retreat by architect Alex Hogrefe / Diomita enjoying the view over Dyrhólaey

Serene Footman’s Dyrhólaey – The café inspired by the Ion Hotel in Nesjavellir / the piano and horses on the beach

Serene Footman’s Dyrhólaey – wreck of the DC3 US Navy airplane 1973 / puffins / Skarðsviti Lighthouse / buildings on the high plateau of Dyrhólaey

Serene Footman’s Dyrhólaey – Svartifoss waterfall / columns of Reynisdrangar / places to enjoy and relax

As with previous sims Serene had some help from others builders. Harry Cover (aka impossibleisnotfrench) buildt the wreck of the DC3 US Navy airplane 1973 and Mara Telling made the bar in the cliff retreat by the architect Alex Hogrefe (which was never realised).

For your own visit, keep in mind that Serene’s sims usually are only available for a few weeks.
Thank you very much, Serene! I did enjoy my visit to the fullest.

Landmark to Dyrhólaey
https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Aride%20Isle/148/47/39
Serene Footman’s post about Dyrhólaey
https://furillen.org/2022/03/21/dyrholaey/
flickr group for Dyrhólaey
https://www.flickr.com/groups/dyrholaey/

Art in Second Life 2020 (59) Third Eye Gallery – Jaz and Lynn

25 Sep 2020 Leave a comment

by diomitamaurer in Art in Second Life Tags: , , , , , , ,

I got an invitation for the opening of a new exhibition at the Third Eye Gallery, featuring “Photos by Lynn” by Lynn (TitanicLynn Ayres) and “Navarasa” by Jaz (Jessamine2108). I went there Sunday, August 30th, the day after the opening.

The exhibition by Lynn is a collection of her captures of her SL exploration. They span across landscapes, architecture, still life, and stunning black and white photographs.

Lynn (TitanicLynn Ayres) started taking photos of Second Life this February. Lynn is fascinated by the colors and landscapes of SL. Most of her pictures are not post processed much, maybe just a few details like the sky. Her photos are about what captures her eye when exploring a sim. They maybe the vast panoramic landscapes or a small bird sitting on a branch. I personally was in particular impressed of the black and white pictures, a technique that I use myself for my pictures every once in a while.
Lynn presents her work also on flickr here.

20200830 Third Eye Jaz and Lynn_003

Impressions of “Photos by Lynn” by Lynn (TitanicLynn Ayres) at Third Eye Gallery

“Navarasa” by Jaz (Jessamine2108) is a visual journey through emotions in Indian dance. Navarasas are the nine flavors described in ancient Indian sanskrit texts in any kind of art, and the emotions they evoke. The photos are exhibited at two levels. The lower level contains a pose from Indian dance embedded in an RL photo that contains the emotion it evokes. The higher level contains a visual that uses the creations from SL to depict that emotion.

Mistero Hifeng, Harry Cover (impossibleisnotfrench), and Eldo (Eldowyn Inshan) created the beautiful and quirky subjects for “Navarasa”. The pose creators Olaenka Chesnokov and Belly Button (barkha131) made the Indian dance poses. The RL photos used for “Navarasa” are stock photos from Pexels.com.

20200830 Third Eye Jaz and Lynn_002

Impressions of “Navarasa” by Jaz (Jessamine2108) at Third Eye Gallery

Jaz has been doing photography in SL since 2018: “Thanks to all the artists and friends who have encouraged and inspired me. Special thanks to Harry Cover (impossibleisnotfrench Resident) for giving me an opportunity and courage to branch out on my own and to be able to collaborate and experiment with mesh with him. A big thanks to Kurk Mumfuzz and Tansee for showing me the magical world of particles and lights.”
I follow Jaz’ art work since 2019 when I saw an exhibtion of her work at Deva Westland’s Galerie Des Beaux-Arts (read here). Jaz is developing her own style and trying out herself and her art. I can sense her passion.

Third Eye is Jaz (jessamine2108)’s home and gallery – a place that is designed to showcase art, particles, inspire stories, and offer a quiet place to relax and rejuvenate. Jaz says: “It is the culmination of my many dreams – to create a place that nurtures and helps the growth of all types of creative endeavors – be it words, pictures, or particles.“

Landmark to Third Eye Gallery
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Midnight%20Sanctum/145/226/1101
Lynn (TitanicLynn Ayres)’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cheekymonkey009/

Art in Second Life 2020 (44) Third Eye Gallery – Jaz and Michiel Bechir

26 Jul 2020 1 Comment

by diomitamaurer in Art in Second Life Tags: , , , , , ,

I got an invitation to the opening of a new gallery: Third Eye Gallery. I couldn’t attend the opening event but I went there a few days later. For the opening Third Eye Gallery features the collection “Virtual Cities” by Michiel Bechir and “The Awakening” by Jaz (jessamine2108).

Third Eye is Jaz (jessamine2108)’s home and gallery – a place that is designed to showcase art, particles, inspire stories, and offer a quiet place to relax and rejuvenate. Jaz says: “It is the culmination of my many dreams – to create a place that nurtures and helps the growth of all types of creative endeavors – be it words, pictures, or particles.“

Third Eye Gallery featuring Jaz (jessamine2108)’s art (1)

Jaz has been doing photography in SL since 2018: “It would be more than appropriate to say that Milla (Ladmilla) introduced me to the nuances in the art. While I still have much to learn, I am enjoying every minute of it. Special thanks to Eta (Etamae Resident) for making me look at the amazing possibilities of SL and to Harry Cover (impossibleisnotfrench Resident) for giving me an opportunity and courage to branch out on my own and to be able to collaborate and experiment with mesh with him.”

Third Eye Gallery featuring Jaz (jessamine2108)’s art (2)

Jaz selected “The Awakening” as the title of the collection at Third Eye Gallery. The series is about her changing perception of SL – to the possibilities and to be able to see beyond the surface and showcases the way I now perceive SL. I recognized at least one place that I visited myself: Kohlmannskuppe, a place installed by Serene Footmann. Jaz made a “postcard from the past” from the picture she took at that place – nice work!

Michiel has started his long virtual journey into Second Life as a photographer in 2009. Michiel enjoys seeing new places, meeting new people from all over the world and expierencing the creativity in Second Life (just like I do!). Michiel discovered the possiblities of different tools to improve his pictures. By editing them he also tries to add a personal touch and feeling.

Third Eye Gallery featuring Michiel Bechir’s art (1)

Michiel named the collection of picture showcased at Third Eye Gallery “Virtual Cities”. It shows the the virtual versions of the urban living in its different forms. Included in this exposition are works from his entire period as a photographer in Second Life (2009-2020).

Third Eye Gallery featuring Michiel Bechir’s art (2)

Thank you Jaz for this gallery and for the opening exhibtion. I enjoyed my visit.

Landmark to Third Eye Gallery
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Midnight%20Sanctum/145/226/1101

Art in Second Life 2020 (36) Michiel Bechir’s Art Gallery in June/July exhibitions

22 Jun 2020 Leave a comment

by diomitamaurer in Art in Second Life Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

I got an invitation for an opening party for a new exhibtion at Michiel Bechir’s Art Gallery for Saturday, June 20th. As I had other activities at night in Second Life, I peeked in already on Thursday, June 18th.

The new exhibtion features the art of Pavel Stransky and Hazel Foxtrot on the ground level and the pictures of Jaz (Jessamine2108) on the 2nd floor.

Right at the entrance you see Michiel Bechir’s on work. Michiel has started his long virtual journey into Second Life as a photographer in 2009. Michiel enjoys seeing new places, meeting new people from all over the world and expierencing the creativity in Second Life (just like I do!). Michiel discovered the possiblities of different tools to improve his pictures. By editing them he also tries to add a personal touch and feeling. Experiments with the effect of colors are often done, and more recently he is trying to show the details by working with high resolution photos.

Michiel Bechir’s Gallery in June/July – Michiel Bechir’s own pictures

To the right from the entrance is the room with the pictures of Pavel Stransky, who joined Second Life almost 13 years ago. Pavel Stransky’s motivation to visit sims in Second Life are quite the same as Michiel’s and like Michiel he takes pictures inworld and as far as I could see, Pavel also processes his pictures. But his style is quite comparable with Michiel’s – at least from what I saw. Pavel Stransky has also a flickr account.

Michiel Bechir’s Gallery in June/July – Pavel Stransky

To the left from the entrance is the room with the pictures of Hazel Foxtrot, who is active in Second Live since 2008 and she shares the passion of taking pictures. Her motives are a bit different to those of Michiel and Pavel. 3 of her pictures reminded me of Melusina Parkin’s Roadside pictures (read here), an exhibition that I visited in May. Other picture capture the atmosphere of towns. Hazel has also a flickr account.

Michiel Bechir’s Gallery in June/July – Hazel Foxtrot

All three Michiel, Pavel and Hazel make pictures while traveling through Second Life. They find great motives and the right viewing angle to creat their art.

The exhibtion on the 2nd floor of Michiel Bechir’s Art Gallery, named Balance, is different. It combines pictures from Jaz (Jessamine2108) with poems from Zoe Ocelot. Balance is an exhibtion about the current pandemic and its effect on humans and animals as well as on nature due to the lack of pollution and cleaner air and water.
Before you enter the room you’re asked to wear a face mask, which is provided, The exhibtion has two parts, that are divided by a fence. One side shows pictures and texts from the physcial world. Very impressive is a picture from India showing the vers same place before and during the lockdown and how the air got clean. A 3D model of the earth is in the center of the room and circled by dark polluted clouds as well as be clean clouds.
On the other side of the fence you see pictures from Jaz, taken in Second Life but clearly referring to the corona pandemic.

Michiel Bechir’s Gallery in June/July – Balance by Jaz and Zoetrope Ocelot

Jaz has been doing photography in SL since 2018: “It would be more than appropriate to say that Milla (Ladmilla) introduced me to the nuances in the art. While I still have much to learn, I am enjoying every minute of it. Special thanks to Eta (Etamae Resident) for making me look at the amazing possibilities of SL and to Harry Cover (impossibleisnotfrench Resident) for giving me an opportunity and courage to branch out on my own and to be able to collaborate and experiment with mesh with him.”
Jaz exhibits some of her work at her homeplace Third Eye and has an own little gallery Bohemian Imaginarium@ – two places to add to my list.

Thank you Michiel for enabling this joined exhibition, thanks to the artists for their work. I enjoyed my visit!

Landmark to Michiel Bechir’s Art Gallery
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Embrace/26/226/2502
Pavel Stransky’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/pavelstransky
Hazel Foxtrot’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/166901264@N04/
Jaz (Jessamine2108)’s homeplace “Third Eye”
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Midnight%20Sanctum/145/226/1101
Jaz (Jessamine2108)’s gallery Bohemian Imaginarium@
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Blue%20Moon/78/120/25

Art in Second Life 2020 (27) Extempore Gallery and Lounge

18 May 2020 4 Comments

by diomitamaurer in Art in Second Life Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

After my blogpost about the April exhibition at La Maison d’Aneli (read here) I had contact with one of the artists who were featured in this exhibition – Etamae.
Etamae is from the UK and began taking photographs and then turning those photographs into digital art in 2018.
Her first passion was erotic art and I had come across Etamae in 2019 the first time when I visited her exhibtion “Dominance and Submission” at Elevate Femdom (see here).

And more of etamae’s erotic art can be seen at Eta’s Feed Your Fetish Gallery which is “a little edgy, somewhat sensual centered about the erotic and the BDSM lifestyle” and hence does fit to my personal passion. On Monday, April 27th, I visited Eta’s Feed Your Fetish Gallery (see my blogpost here).

Besides owning Eta’s Feed Your Fetish Gallery Etamae owns two other galleries and I visited one of them on Thursday April 30th: The Extempore Gallery and Lounge.

Extempore Gallery and Lounge – impressions of etamae’s own art

At the Extempore Gallery and Lounge Etamae showcases pictures taken in Second Life and manipulated in particular by recolouring and adding light effects to them as well as some animated permantently changing pictures. Etamae is not defined by just one style or area of art, she plays with different patterns and tries herself out in a broader spectrum of art.

At the Extempore Gallery and Lounge Etamae not only showcases her own art but provides the space also to other artists. At the time of my visit the gallery featured also the art from: CybeleMoon (hana.hoobinoo), Patrick Moya, Sophie Marie Sinclair (perpetua1010), Aneli Abeyante, Jipe Loon, Patrick Ireland (PatrickofIreland), Harry Cover (impossibleisnotfrench) and Safar Fiertze.

Extempore Gallery and Lounge – impressions of Patrick Moya’s art

I saw already some of Patrick Moya (moja janus)’s art. I came across him in 2017 when I visited his Moya Land (read Simploring 2017 (56) Moya).
Patrick Moya (born 1955 in Troyes, France), is a French artist. He is a part of the artistic movement “Ecole de Nice”. Moya has been at the forefront since the 1970s of straddling the latest forms of media and technology to benefit art rather than rendering it extinct.
(excerpt from wikipedia).
He is an early pioneer of video art and is active with his art in Second Life since 2007 in addition to his work in the physical world. The barriers between the two worlds do blur in his artistic work. Moya Patrick (moya janus) has also a website http://moyapatrick.com/ with tons of information about his work and about Moya in Second Life. Unfortunately it is in French only.
At the Extempore Gallery and Lounge we see examples and drafts of at Moya label in many different variations. I’m not sure, but somehow it felt familiar, I might have seen some ot the exhibits already before

Extempore Gallery and Lounge – impressions of CybeleMoon (hana.hoobinoo)’s art

I also came across CybeleMoon or Hana Hoobinoo already a few times, the last time when I visited “The Itakos Project and Art Gallery“ (read here). Cybele’s picture always have a fantasy background and often show portraits or people in a peaceful, mostly hazy fantasy world. Her pictures seem to tell a story, that you have to make up yourself.

Extempore Gallery and Lounge – impressions of Sophie Marie Sinclair (perpetua1010)’s art

“Sophie Marie Sinclair is a RL painter and book author. She mainly paints nude from models and abstract art. She loves to experiment with different kind of paint and lithography. She has made several book illustrations and was for many years political cartoonist for a well known satire magazine. She lived and worked in the Unites States, Australia, Rome and Monaco.
At Extempore Gallery and Lounge you can see some of her “Inpirations in Red”, powerful paintings in red with a fantastic 3D-effect.“

Extempore Gallery and Lounge – impressions of Aneli Abeyante and Jipe Loon’s art

Aneli Abeyante, who runs La Maison d’Aneli, creates objects in 2D and 3D, colourful, steadily moving, and with particular light effects. Aneli writes about herself:
“I love geometry and mathematics. So after much practice, I managed to clear structures and shapes. In reality I practice painting, I do not have precise style but I always seek harmonization.”
Some of the Aneli’s work exhibited at Extempore Gallery and Lounge was already shown at La Maison d’Aneli in January/February 2020 (see my blogpost here). You see geometrical shapes with one dominating colour. Most of the displays as constantly changing.

The 3D figures that are showcase in the area of the staircase were created by Jipe Loon, erotic figures, truely exaggerated yet intriguing. Jipe is in Second Life for more than 12 years and he sells his creations on the marketplace. I came across some of his figures already before in the frame of my simploring tours, but I never saw more than one, yet at Extempore Gallery and Lounge you see a few of them.

Extempore Gallery and Lounge – impressions of Patrick Ireland (PatrickofIreland)’s art

When I visited “The Itakos Project and Art Gallery“ (read here) I saw an exhibition of Partick Ireland’s art but I couldn’t find any information about him. Patrick’s art, surrealism pure, is shown also at Extempore Gallery and Lounge, but there was a notecard with a bit more information, including his SL name PatrickofIreland:
“Originally in SL in 2008 and recently back after a hiatus of many years, Patrick found his passion for SL photography a little more than a year ago. In this short time, he has become a prolific SL photographer known for his detailed sets and desire to share the joy of his many interests, including surreal subjects, Asian art and philosophy, civic issues and, of course, love.“

Extempore Gallery and Lounge – impressions of Harry Cover (impossibleisnotfrench) and Safar Fiertze’s art

Harry Cover, also known as Impossibleisnotfrench, is from France. He started his second life by playing with prims, then sculpties and finally mesh (Blender). He’s passionate about photos and  graphic designer in RL (among others). One of his objects – Statue vis ecrou all inone – can also be found at my home *winks*. Harry also works with Serene Footman, who creates sims after real places, you’d usually never come across exploring the world as a tourist. He creates landmark buildings for Serene and I mentioned him several times already when I wrote about Serene Footman’s weired outstanding places.

Safar Fiertze has two installations at Extempore Gallery and Lounge. She’s in SL for almost 12 years and writes about herself: “I love labyrinths and labyrinthian minds. I like the artistic and innovative juxtaposition of words. I’ve discovered the joys of juxtaposing prims”
Baletka is an interactive story experience at Extempore Gallery and Lounge loosely inspired by an R.D. Laing case study. You can walk through the story and see Safar’s 3D art.
There’s a second installation of Safar Fiertze “Mechanical Apparition of Emergent Dream” where you can interact with bouncing balls, which reproduce themselves – intriguing.

My spontaneous visit to Extempore Gallery and Lounge became longer than I thought. I had fun seeing it and I enjoyed the art from artists who I came across before again. Thank you etamae for providing and curating your Gallery. I had only one more gallery from etamae to visit “Etamae’s gallery at Absolute Bliss” and I tried Saturday, May 2nd .. but it is gone or the Landmark I had was invalid,

Landmark to Extempore Gallery and Lounge
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Blarn%20Isle/13/210/1502
Eta’s Feed Your Fetish Gallery
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Swanbridge/204/19/3216
Landmark to La Maison d’Aneli
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Virtual%20Holland/36/55/3501
Landmark to Moya Land
https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Moya%20Land/53/95/36
Patrick Moya’s website
http://moyapatrick.com/
Landmark to “The Itakos Project and Art Gallery“
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/ATL/177/192/1011

Simploring 2020 (29) Kohlmannskuppe

13 Apr 2020 1 Comment

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , , , ,

Just in time for Easter Serene Footman opened his new sim “Kohlmannskuppe” taking us to “a ghost town and tourist destination in southern Namibia. Once a thriving diamond mine and one of the richest towns in Africa, the abandoned buildings are now being swallowed by the Namib desert.“

Kohlmannskuppe was given up in 1956. Serene has done a very detailed resarch about the history of Kohlmannskuppe, he studied pictures taken today and historic pictures. He researched the history of the place and it’s current state as the town is flooded with sand. He gives us some insight into the era when Kohlmannskuppe flourished as a diamond mine during the time of the colonial power of Germany in the early 20th century.

Impressions of Kohlmannskuppe in Second Life (1) – the entrance building / around the landing point

He rebuilt some of the most outstanding buildings that are still existent, first and foremost the Kasino with it’s theater room but also others like the ice factory that provided the community with ice for their fridges. He also rebuilt some residential houses and – with all artistic freedom – gave them the look and feeling of how they look today and back in the early 20th century.

I strongly recommend to read Serene’s own blogpost “Kolmannskuppe – The Ghost Town of Namib Desert” before visiting. It will enhance your experience. Another good source is the entry about Kohlmannskuppe in wikipedia here.

Impressions of Kohlmannskuppe in Second Life (2) – The Kasino with theatre room and cafe

 

Impressions of Kohlmannskuppe in Second Life (3) – ice factory, bakery and a barrack

In his blogpost Serene also wrote about the buildings you see at Kohlmannskuppe in Second Life and who helped to create what we can now experience virtually: “Directly opposite the Kasino, you will find the teacher’s house, for which I have utilised the prefab brilliantly created by Milk Motion (Marie Lauridsen). This building has those richly coloured walls one finds in so many photographs of the real Kolmannskuppe.“

There are more very interesting details in Kohlmannskuppe like the tram that was used to transport water from one end of the town to the other. The tram that you can see was built “in a collaborative effort with Harry Cover (impossibleisnotfrench), who helped with the tram’s seats and brakes. Harry also helped out by meshing the quirky little diamond retrieval machine that sits next to the Kasino building.“

Impressions of Kohlmannskuppe in Second Life (4) – account house / around the tram station

At the 2nd floor of the Kasino building you will find a small gift shop, with custom-made postcards, posters, and tee shirts for sale, as well as a museum area.

Impressions of Kohlmannskuppe in Second Life (5) – the bowling at the 2nd floor of the Kasino / behind the Kasino/ desert camp and wildlife

But there’s a lot more to explore and discover like original boards in several languages spread over the sim. These boards are really there in reality, in particular the one to protect the brown hyenas. Serene also added some animals quite rarely seen in Second Life, “such as Bighorn sheep, Gemsbock (aka Oryx), Sable Antelope, Wildebeest” and the above mentioned Hyenas.
I want to mention the big pool, nowadays filled with sand. This pool was really there and it played an important role for the community.

Impressions of Kohlmannskuppe in Second Life (6) – Hospital ruins / pool and water storage

Don’t miss seeing the 2 colonial houses that witness the former wealth of Kohlmannskuppe. You can walk inside and as opposed to reality, going in is safe! You find the leftovers of the former residents, some look like they just left like the kids toys in one of them or the sewing machine, some other leftovers are just rubbish.

Impressions of Kohlmannskuppe in Second Life (7) – Colonial house, witness of former wealth

As usual in Serene’s installations you find many opportunities to sit and watch on furniture that is not that inviting, but fits to the scenery.

Once again Serene Footman took us to a place that most of us will never see in reality and can be experienced now virtually for a limited time. During times where we all can’t travel in the physcial world – take the opportunity to travel to Kohlmannskuppe.

Impressions of Kohlmannskuppe in Second Life (8) – Colonial house, witness of former wealth

Thank you very much for this Easter present, Serene. I enjoyed my visit a lot and I took tons of pictures. One personal remark: Yasminia, the sim where Kohlmannskuppe is built on, was once kind of my second home in Second Life about 10 years ago and it is already the second time that I visited it on my simploring tours with a totally different design. What a coincidence!

Landmark to Kohlmannskuppe
https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Yasminia/254/7/22
Serene Footman’s blogpost “Kolmannskuppe – The Ghost Town of Namib Desert”
https://furillen.org/2020/04/10/kolmannskuppe-the-ghost-town-of-namib-desert/
Kohlmannskuppe in wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolmanskop

Simploring 2020 (18) Ubay Island

07 Mar 2020 Leave a comment

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , ,

Today I came across Ubay Island and I should have noticed it before. With closing his summer version of Khodovarikha (read Simploring 2020 (13) Welcome back, Slava – Khodovarikha in Summer) Serene Footman has opened up another place: Ubay Island.

Serene Footman’s Ubay Island – overview

I strongly recommend reading Serene’s blogpost about this place in his blog here before you visit. Ubay Island is in the province of Bohol, Philippines, flooded due to climate change and the 2013 earthquake. It has an area of 1,5 hectares and a population of 223.

Impressions of Ubay Island (1) – upper left is the basketball court at the landing

Serene describes the living conditions on Ubay Island in his blog. It is absolutely astonishing how people manage to live there with wet feet getting flooded with each high tide. Serene has two short video’s in his blogpost. Don’t miss watching them. I promise you’ll get a different view on what you see in Second Life.

Impressions of Ubay Island (2) – discovering by boat

Serene has added some spots from the real Ubay Island into his Second Life version of it. I want to mention the basketball court right where you land when visiting Ubay Island (This is where we play) and the ruined building admist the sea, that is used by children as jumping and diving platform. This building has been realized by Harry Cover (Impossibleisnotfrench).

Impressions of Ubay Island (3) – the school and the church

There are swamps close by just as in the real place and hidden in them is a shack that is dedciated to another aspect of the local culture: Filipino folk magic, known as Kulam or ‘Pagkukulam’ (look it up on wikipedia)

Impressions of Ubay Island (4) – the ruined Building used as a jumping platform and the Kulam house in the swamp

Needless to say that Serene has added a lot of details to discover! The huts are mostly furnished, you find countless opportunities to sit and look around. There’s also a boat rental so that you can discover the swamps without getting wet feet. And for our convenience Serene has built wooden walks to get around in the village.

Impressions of Ubay Island (5)

Once again I learned something new and saw a place that I never would have come across without Serene’s Second Life installation. Don’t miss out seeing it. As ususal this place won’t be available very long. Thank you very much, Serene!

Landmark to Ubay Island
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Arcole/86/163/21
Serene Footman’s blogpost about Ubay Island
https://furillen.org/2020/03/03/ubay-island/
Flickr-Group
https://www.flickr.com/groups/ubay_island/

Simploring 2018 (73) – Art Afternoon

06 Sep 2018 1 Comment

by diomitamaurer in Exploring sims in Second Life Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I found some time for simploring on Friday, August 24th and decided to visit some exhibitions.

First I went to Daphne.Arts and visited the exhibition Nativo, which brings a compilation of drawings, paintings and poems, created by the Italian artist Stefano Mingione. Mingione is an Italian artist in the physical world, who has been active since the 1970s. A common theme in these works is the depiction of duality in the human nature: youth and adulthood, birth and extermination – in a never-ending spiral of life and death. Along with his artworks, Mingione is presenting three of his poems, including “Nativo”, that gives name to the exhibition.

When you enter Nativo you’ll stand in the middle of Mingione’s pictures in black and white, which are kind of threatening, showing masses of desperate people, eager for life but scared to death. In many of these pictures you’ll find the crucified Jesus. There’s a clear relation to christianity in these pictures.

“Nativo” by Stefano Mingione at Daphne.Arts

You will see a human in an embryo pose hoovering in quite some distance of the pictures and a hallway leading to it. There’s one chair just at this scuplture, you can sit down and listen to the above mentioned poems, narrated by Stefano Mingione himself. For those not understanding Italian, there’s a translation to English.
You can get more information about the exhibition “Nativo” on the Daphne.Arts website.

Thank you Sheldon Bergman (sheldonbr) and Angelika Corral for providing Daphne.Arts.

Landmark to Daphne.Arts “Nativo”
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Isle%20of%20Seduction/42/233/4001
Daphne.Arts website with information about “Nativo”
https://www.daphnearts.com/nativo/

Then I went to La Maison D’Aneli where a new exhibtion was opened to the public on August 22nd. Aneli Abeyante presents the work from several artits: JudiLynn India, 9Volt Borkotron, Megan Prumier, cullum Writer, Senka Beck, Impossibleisnotfrench and herself.

The exhibition is varied and compromises black and white erotic pictures (Megan Prumier), moving colourful geometric forms and spirals (Aneli Abeyante), artful mesh objects with a touch of technic (Impossibleisnotfrench), colorful abstract pictures (JudiLynn India), fractals and colourful pictures (cullum Writer) and the very colourful fantasy objects and pictures (9Volt Borkotron, Senka Beck).

There are notecards for more information about the artists avaiable either close to their work or as a folder with all of them. In the notecards you’ll find also links to other websites with even more information. I just used some basic information along with the pictures I took. Most of the exhibited art is also for sale.

Aneli Abeyante adores geometry and maths, she owns La Masion D’Aneli and provides her place for the art.
Known in SL as JudiLynn India and in RL as Judi Lynn studied art at Tyler School of Art/Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. She focuses her creativity on acrylic and digital painting.

Megan Prumier is a multimedia artist and resident in Second Life. Her skills are extended on the field of photography, mostly portraits on modern, minimal and even surreal Scenes.


Harry Cover, also known as Impossibleisnotfrench, is from France. He started his second life by playing with prims, then sculpties and finally mesh (Blender). He’s passionate about photos and  graphic designer in RL (among others).

Cullum Writer is from Brazil and found her artistic inspiration here in SL. She found the happiness to capture and perpetuate images that touched her sensibility with the harmony and grace of their forms and colors. She tries new techniques as fractals, collage, developing her graphic art.

9volt Borkotron’s digital works are most influenced by the gradual and often musical stages of natural transformation in all it’s forms ranging from the macro/micro biological material to the quantum electromagnetic on all scales.
Senka Beck’s playground is SL where she enjoys interacting with peeps and prims. She worked already at several projects within SL.

Thank you Aneli Abeyante for this great exhibition!

Landmark to La Maison D’Aneli
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Virtual%20Holland/33/49/254