Art in Second Life 2023 (18) Photo Cafè

12 Apr 2023 Leave a comment

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

I got an invitation by Kika Yongho to visit Photo Café, a sim and a brand new location for 2023 for a group of SL photographers to gather every 2 weeks and discuss about related themes.

Poster of Photo Café / landing at Photo Café / the welcome pop-up menu

The sim in not just exclusively for a particular group, it is a meeting spot for all SL Photographers (at any level) to gather and share experiences, hints, tips & tricks, landmarks or contests (inworld or Flickr) and whatever else comes to mind!
At the regular meeting every other Saturday at noon SL time (9 PM Central Europe time) are moderated and accessible to everyone. And there’s also an agenda and a set theme for the meeting.

I visited on Saturday, April 8th. At the landing point a pop-up menu appears. You can grab a notecard, landmarks and links, join the group or get a gift. If you accept “experiences” walking straight forward brings you to the sim.
I had not set my environment to midnight at first. I strongly recommend to set it to midnight. Quite in the center of the sim is the meeting circle where I met Kika Yongho, who gave a quick tour to me.

Impressions of “Photo Café” (1)

The sim is just beautiful and offers countless great backgrounds for taking pictures. If you join the group you get rez rights and can use your own props. The current theme of Photo Café is “Tropical fantasy night” with many waterfalls, exotic plants and lights and light effects. There’s also an underwater world. Amoung the plants you might discover art, Kika pointed me to a sculpture of Mistero Hifeng.
Besides the meeting area you find a beach, a cafeteria and of course an event area. Kika told me that the next event is scheduled for Saturday, April 22nd at 9 AM SL time (6 PM Central Europe Time) before another scheduled meeting of SL photographers.

Impressions of “Photo Café” (2)

Another highlight of the sim is hidden in the skies above. You can reach it when you go to the well in the center of the meeting circle. First I thought I’d be in a spaceship. But is is a photo scene rezzer. Just click on the center rhombus. Changing the photoscene is a great show (turn your sound on!). I just tried out 2 of 50 or more different scenes and took a quick snapshot. But I can imagine that you can create great picture with the according poses.

Impressions of “Photo Café” (3) – the photo rezzer

So if you look for great backgrounds for your pictures, or just want to talk and get hints and exchange about photography in Seond Life Photo Café might be the place to go to.
Thank you Kika Yongho for inviting me over and for the tour. And thank you also to the other participationg group members Duraya, Kapaan and DaneAlbion, as well as to Violette Rembrandt, who built the sim.
I enjoyed my visit.

Landmark to Photo Café
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Midnight%20Party/158/208/21
Photo Café on flickr (new photos on top)
https://www.flickr.com/groups/14789205@N20/pool/
Photo Café website
https://www.photocafe.news/

Art in Second Life 2023 (9) Reflections by Maddy (Magda Schmidtzau) & Onceagain Art Gallery

06 Feb 2023 Leave a comment

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

I got an invitation to visit Maddy (Magda Schmidtzau)’s latest exhibition named “Reflections” at Onceagain Art Gallery. A good reason to visit Onceagain Art Gallery (once) again, as it is more than one year since I my last visit there (read Art in Second Life 2022 (2) Onceagain Art Gallery).

The landmark leads you to a small gazebo within a park. From there you walk through the park, cross the gate, turn left twice and walk a path upwards to reach the exhibition “Reflections” which is shown in kind of a cloistered court.

Impressions of “Reflections” by reflections by Maddy (Magda Schmidtzau) (1) – from the landing point to the exhibition

Onceagain (Manoji Yachvili) wrote about “Reflections”:
“I’m really pleased to host in my gallery a delicate artist, who I discovered last year by chance when I won one of her works at an auction.
In life you don’t always need to look for deep meanings, sometimes beauty is enough to reconcile you with the world and Maddy with her works is what she manages to do.”

The exhibition consists of 11 pictures all showing woman, mainly portraits, in their beauty. Most of the pictures are monochrom (not all) and the women are all dressed beautiful and they wear flowers, ornaments, jewelery and other accessories underlining their beauty and attracting the spectator to look for details and to get pulled into the picture.

Impressions of “Reflections” by reflections by Maddy (Magda Schmidtzau) (2)

Maddy wrote: ““Reflections” is a journey of portraits that experiments with new ideas using A.I. technologies. The exhibit showcases photos created with Midjourney and Second Life Avatars, combined with the use of A.I. to create a melancholic and dark atmosphere that captures the essence of the subjects portrayed. The soft colors and blurs emphasize the intense emotions and intimacy of the portraits, inviting the viewer to immerse themselves in the images.”

Maddy (Magda Schmidtzau) is in Second Life since 2009. She’s passionate about photography in RL and SL. She writes: “I’m not an artist but a researcher of images to be developed… a dreamer with open eyes of this world “out of time”. In SL always open to new possibilities of experimentation trying to convey the magic that I see.”
I’ve seen Maddy’s art the first time back in 2017 at Enchanted Art where her exhibition “Maddy 2017” was showcased (read here). Further on I saw Maddy’s work at La Maison d’Aneli in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022 and at GenovArt Glass Gallery in May 2021 (read here). You can see more of her art at her flickr page.

Once at the gallery I took the teleporter, where I landed for my visit to “Reflections” and visited the Onceagain Art Gallery.

Impressions of Onceagain Art Gallery (1) – Two buildings / Two sculptures (Cherry Manga and Bryn Oh)

The place has changed quite a lot, the concept is still the same. In a large park are several buildings. The park and the buildings are full of Onceagain (Manoji Yachvili)’s art collection. In the park you find 3D art as well as inside of the buildings at windows or larger spaces. The buildings are galleries and feature the art of many artists.

Impressions of Onceagain Art Gallery (2)

I know and wrote about most of them, though I admit that there’re some, who I didn’t come across yet. The following list of artists is certainly not exhaustive, but it testifies to the size of the art collection and the many styles:
Moki Yuitza, Mihailsk Syros (mihailsk), June Langer, Kika Yongho, Eviana (eviana.robbiani), Maddy (Magda Schmidtzau), Milena Carbone (mylena1992), Filthy Fluno, Marina Münter (vivresavie), Melusina Parkin, CioTToLiNa Xue, Zia Branner, Maloe Vansant, ZYNTHEA, Mareea Farrasco, Celestial Demon (celestialdemon), Gully Rivers (gullyrivers), Karma Daxeline (Karma Weymann), Cad (cadwallader), Lika Cameo (LikaCameo), Scylla Rhiadra, Mara Telling, Frank Atisso, Cherry Manga, Harbor Galaxy, miu miu miu (miumiumiusecond), Therese Carfagno, Bryn Oh ….

Impressions of Onceagain Art Gallery (3)

onceagain (Manoji Yachvili) ist in Second Life since 2007. Manoji is Italian and lives and works in Tuscany, Italy. She “likes photography, art, landscapes, animals, visiting strange places, most of these things she also does in RL“. You find more of her also on her flickr account.

Thank you for showcasting so many artists in a great environment and for enabling Maddy (Magda Schmidtzau)’s exhibition “Reflections”.
And thank you Maddy for your art.
I enjoyed my visit.

Landmark to Onceagain Art Gallery and to Reflections by Maddy
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Peaceful%20Mountains/51/173/3502
Maddy (Magda Schmidtzau)’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/magdyne/
Onceagain (Manoji Yachvili)’s flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/69389809@N03/

Art in Secod Life 2022 (85) MISHAPS – The daily life of Ambre Singh

12 Oct 2022 2 Comments

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

I got an invitation to see a new exhibition of Ambre Singh in the NovaOwl Sky Gallery: “Mishaps”. The invitation was similiar to that I got for “Past Masters” (read here). It was a HUD with quite some menu entries for landmarks also to her main gallery, her biography, something about the exhibition and other links, like Ambre Singh’s own webpage, her store on the marketplace and her flickr page.

Ambre wrote about “Mishaps”: “Since a good part of my SLife consists of getting into all sorts of misadventures, the theme was a natural one. Another common thread in my SL presence is a form of spiritual activism. My virtual existence might as well serve a purpose, right? It is therefore with pleasure that I invite you to discover my new exhibition, “MISHAPS, the Daily Life of Ambre Singh”, generously hosted by The NovaOwl Sky gallery.”

Knowing Ambre Singh’s art, I expected funny and witty pictures. I was not disappointed. Ambre herself was present and welcomed me with the words “Welcome to one more silly outburst of mine :)”
The gallery space is huge. On the ground floor Ambre Singh’s pictures are often extended with 3D objects fitting to the according picture. Every picture has funny and fitting title. There is a sandbank with beach pictures.

Impressions of “Mishaps by Ambre Singh” (1)

Where the heck did Ambre get these ideas, this wit and this irony? The pictures are really funny and made me smile. In some pictures Ambre picks up on current topics like covid or King Charles III. And it’s no surprise that Ambre also added some explicit pictures, as I did expect it. The gorund floor packed with pictures and ideas.

Impressions of “Mishaps by Ambre Singh” (2)

On the stairs to the second floor sits a man with a bouquet of flowers, but take a closer look, it is ot a bouquet of flowers, it is a bouquet of coloured dildos *winks*. The pictures on the second floor are also witful, but most are with a serious background. At the entrance of the second floor Ambre added a text:
“A good way to get into trouble is to show your political views.I personally feel that seriousness is suffocating the planet and making people amorphous. We need joy, disobedience, courage and love. So here is my little contribution, my call for a joyful, libertarian and libertine awakeing. The beginning is near!”

Impressions of “Mishaps by Ambre Singh” (3)

Ambre Singh is in Second Life for over 15 years. She writes about herself:
“‘It is your mind that creates this world’, said Buddha.
All you do in SL will subtlely change you and others in all worlds. So in my life and art, I thrive to add my spice, beauty and love.
I photograph people of character in beautiful places of SL or in studio. Sometimes, I create thematic images in SL, or I mix worlds… If the harvest is good, I make an exhibition.
Colorful or discrete, tender or erotic, my photos try to express the life and the soul of the people and places.“

Impressions of “Mishaps by Ambre Singh” (4)

I had fun visiting “MISHAPS – The daily life of Ambre Singh” at NovaOwl Sky Gallery. Thank you Owl (Owl Dragonash) and Uli Jansma for providing the space for Ambre Singh’s “Mishaps”. Ambre also mentioned Kika Yongho for her precious help in decorating the space.

The exhibition is open until 27 November 2022 – enjoy your visit, like I did.

Landmark to MISHAPS – The daily life of Ambre Singh
at NovaOwl Sky Gallery
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Novatron/129/46/2001
Landmark to Ambre Singh town gallery Noir’Wen
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Noir%20Wen/205/237/32
Landmark to Ambre Singh Main Gallery
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Noir%20Wen/47/126/3522
Ambre Singh’s flckr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ambre-singh/
Ambre Singh Marketplace
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/217888
Ambre Singh website
https://ambresingh.ch/

Diary 2020 (5) January 5th/6th – A bondage night and the belated Christmas tree

15 Jan 2020 Leave a comment

by diomitamaurer in Diary Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sunday, January 5th, I met with Mistress in the afternoon and we went to Heavy Bondage Club. But quite soon later we both had an crash. Obviously the whole sim crashed and returning back hom we found ourselves at our skybox. As Angelique was at home we went down and played a round of skipee until Mistress Jenny had to leave for RL.

Sunday night we had an entertaining bondage night at Sarah’s patio. It had been a while that we have used it. We had slave Luci, slave gwendi, slave Flo, slave slut cecy and Angelique …. a real full house and we had the fun that comes with that. Time went by really quickly *sighs*

January 5th – a bondage night at Sarah’s patio: Mistress Jenny, Diomita, slave Luci, slave gwendi, slave Flo, slave slut cecy and Angelique

What a full night and it was crowned with time together at our new loft.

Monday, January 6th, I had again a quiet and relaxing hour with Mistress in the afternoon. We caught up with our mutual news, we chatted, we made plans and we visited club Domme a Domme and Heavy Bondage Club getting some eye candy.

January 6th: Mistress Jenny and Diomita at club Domme a Domme and at Heavy Bondage Club

At night we went to Strict Venus Femdom SSC. That was the place Mistress had seen the bumper boats. I had been there almost one year ago, got a tour by ally (ally259) and wrote a simploring report about it (read Simploring 2019 (18) Strict Venus Femdom SSC). Mistress Jenny, Angelique, slave Gwendi and I had fun speeding around the sim with the jumper boats. Angelique can handle them very well. And after this fun we went to the Longue where we met Kika Yongho, the owner, and a few of her stuff and subs. We chatted and Kika remembered about the post in this blog. She told us that there’s a new dungeon. We might have a look at that another time. Kika offered us a belated Christmas present – then we moved on to Mesmerize Dungeon

January 6th: Mistress Jenny, Angelique and Diomita with slave Gwendi at Strict Venus Femdom SSC

slave slut cecy had come inworld in the meanwhile and Mistress summoned her to us. And Ann joined us. We had quite a good time at Mesmerize Dungeon, maybe also because we had a colourful attraction. Mistress Jenny had unwrapped the above mentioned Christmas present and it turned out being a living tree …. a slave slut cecy Christmas tree … absolutely easy-care and self watering.

January 6th: Mistress Jenny, Angelique and Diomita with Ann and slave Gwendi and slave slut cecy, the Christmas tree

These two days have been varied and entertaining.

Simploring 2019 (18) Strict Venus Femdom SSC

17 Feb 2019 1 Comment

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

On Tuesday, January 29th, I got an invitation from Ally (ally259) for a guided tour to Strict Venus Femdom SSC, the sim she’s currently living in. Ally gave Angelique and me a comprehensive tour of 30 minutes, quite quick as there’s a lot to see! Upon landing you may join the Strict Venus group and you can grab a folder with rules, the landmark and a notecard with details about Strict Venus Femdom SSC. I used most of the provided text for my short teaser sim report.

Strict Venus Femdom SSC – overview

Strict Venus is a safe, sane and consensual Femdom sim, still going strong since 2011 and dedicated to being the friendly face of Female Domination. The land underwent an extensive rebuild in 2019 which was strongly inspired by Italian architecture to offer some truly stunning, picturesque views.

The heart of the land is the “Lounge” where Ladies and subs can sit/kneel (delete as applicable) and enjoy intelligent conversation and amusing banter that’s kept on the right side of respectful with light moderation from a dedicated staff. Close to the lounge is the Strict Venus “Bar” where visitors can enjoy a few drinks, some raucous behaviour and maybe even a lap dance.

Strict Venus Femdom SSC – owls and blimp (left pictures) / Longue (upper right) and Event area (lower right)

In the South West corner there is an intimate “Restaurant” where couples can enjoy some quiet time together.
Toward the North West of the land is a dedicated “Games” area. Many different games are available where Ladies can attempt to beat the subs, and, should a sub win, many areas where Ladies can actually beat the subs as a reminder to be more careful in future.

The land includes many attractive, secluded “Terraces” for Ladies and subs to spend some private time together and there is also an upper level featuring three beautiful, well equipped cabins where couples can enjoy each others intimate… company (select “Dungeon” in the sun & moon disc teleporters on the ground).
And as you are on the sun & moon teleporter why not enjoy a visit the amazing “Planetarium” couples dance area in the sky…and outer space!

Strict Venus Femdom SSC – Solarium (upper left), Games (upper Right), Gazebo (lower left) and Restaurant (lower right)

Canoes, carts or two-seater flying owls are available for Ladies who would like an effortless tour of the land, just ask a passing sub or call up a volunteer from the sub board.
On the middle Thursday of each month there is a sponsored party on the large dance terrace to the South of the land with an xploder giving out great prizes for all the participants. Also there will be surprise events like: auctions, photo contests and such.

Check our blog: http://strictvenus.blogspot.com/ and read and follow the rules.
Kika Yongho & the Strict Venus Staff

Strict Venus Femdom SSC – Impression of the Grotto

As mentioned in the text, there’s a teleporter net that is useful to travel quickly around. You also need it to get to the “Dungeon” cabins and to the Planetarium. Ally’s favourite is the underwater grotto, that you can see using a canoe. It is really outstanding and a more rare feature. Strict Venus Femdom SSC offers an enjoyable environment for people who are into female domination, it’s sunny and romantic, a place to enjoy. Fitting to this concept the “Dungeon” is not in a dark cellar but in open cabin – and black is not the predomination colour.

Strict Venus Femdom SSC – Dungeon cabins (left), Planetarium (upper right), Landing area (lower right)

Thank you, Kika Yongho for providing this sim to the interested public. I know the effort behind such sims to keep them running and to maintain an active community. I hope you and the staff can enjoy it for many more years to come.

Landmark to Strict Venus Femdom SSC
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Strict%20Venus/147/166/32
Landmark to Strict Venus Femdom SSC blog
http://strictvenus.blogspot.com/