Month: August 2016

2016 SL project updates 33 (2): server, viewer, Bento update 23

Posted on by Inara Pey

West of the Rain; Inara Pey, August 2016, on Flickr West Of The Rain – blog post

My apologies for the latest of this update. Working on my recent Sansar Summary pushed this update completely out of my mind!

Server Deployments – Recap

There were no deployments to the Main (SLS) channel or the RC channels this week. It is currently “doubtful” there will be an RC deployment next week – although this may change. A contributing reason for the slowdown is that the Lab is currently focused on server-side operating system upgrades.

SL Viewer

The Visual Outfits Browser RC viewer updated on August 17th. Version 4.0.8.318686 sees the viewer merged to the current release viewer code, and the following additional updates:

  • A fix for Outfit Gallery failing to use local files Select Photo Picker
  • A fix for Snapshot preview being corrupted
  • A fix for a crash in the viewer when using the snapshot preview.

All other official viewers remain as per my Current Viewer Release List.

Project Bento

The following notes were taken from the weekly Bento User Group meeting, held on Thursday, August 18th at 13:00 SLT at the the Hippotropolis Campfire Circle. For details on the meeting agenda, please refer to the Bento User Group wiki page. No audio is supplied, as the meeting was fairly short and sharp, without a major amount of discussion.

SLM Files

SLM files are produced alongside of the Mesh .DAE files. They can be a problem as by default, the official viewer is set to check for any existing SLM file when uploading a mesh model, and this can lead to confusion when trying to fix issues by overwriting the original .DAE, only to have the viewer reference the existing SLM file, either causing problems on upload or giving the impression the issues in the model haven’t actually been fixed.

Firestorm has always avoided this by having the debug setting MeshImportUseSLM set to FALSE by default, and the suggestion going forward is for the official viewer to do them same.

Mesh Distortions with Altitude

The issue of facial distortions with altitude when software skinning is used continues to prove difficult to resolve. The general recommendation is to use hardware skinning (my Bento Update #19). The root cause of the problem appears to be a floating point error which can affect any mesh. The Lab is still looking at it, but given there is a workaround by using hardware skinning, the problem is not seen as a major blocker.

The issue of facial distortions at altitude when using software skinning in Bento has yet to be fully resolved (images courtesy of Cathy Foil)
The issue of facial distortions at altitude when using software skinning in Bento has yet to be fully resolved (images courtesy of Cathy Foil)

Proposals for NOT Having Mesh Influenced by Sliders

There have been requests to not have the avatar bones influenced by the shape sliders (i.e. by a creator optionally locking both the scale and position of a joint). The Lab is looking at this, but if any work is done, it will not be prior to the Bento viewer reaching release candidate status. Whether anything may be done was the RC version of the viewer progresses towards release (the work is not seen as a huge amount of effort), or whether it is a piece of “post-Bento” work is still to be decided.

Avatar Test Files

Cathy foil has now updated the Maya male and female avatar models on the Bento Test wiki page so they match the latest Bento skeleton updates (as of August 17th, 2016). Then both utilise the same (female) skeleton, the male version have a male mesh / morphs applied. Cathy has used the Avatar Bento angel weights and apply them to the models, so the faces and fingers are all fully rigged, although both are sans wings and tails.

Cathy will be making a set of .FBX files of the models, which will also be placed on the Bento Test page when available, for those who are not using tools such as 3D Studio Max for their work.

Elizabeth Jarvinen (polysail) is also working on a tool for 3D Studio. Max which is intended to provide a second means of producing animations / meshes etc that isn’t reliant upon Blender / Avastar. However, this requires a considerable amount of work, not least in providing slider support, and Elizabeth has received offers of assistance from Vir and Cathy, who will also see about having the AvaStar team lend assistance.

Rigs Modifying Collision Volumes

As noted in my Bento update #22, recent reports of people encountering problems with Bento rigs which modify collision volumes (see here for details). As noted in that  update, this was not something that the Lab planned on supporting, particularly as it did not come up during the initial Bento development meetings with creators.

However, and as further indicated in my update #22 (with thanks to Whirly Fizzle), an update will be included in the next project viewer release for Bento which should hopefully fix the issues being encountered.

Release Progress

There has been a lot of questioning over the Bento release time frames recently, both within the Bento user group meetings and elsewhere (e.g. at TPVD meetings). Currently the plan is to get a further project viewer released in the near-term (possibly before the end of August), and then progress to release candidate status from there.

However, time frames beyond that become nebulous, because the Bento viewer, as a release candidate, will be vying for release alongside other RC viewers, some of which may have a higher priority, some of which may need to be issued in sequence, or have other pressures, and so predicting a date when Bento will be the de facto release viewer is difficult to predict.

This is further exacerbated by the fact the recent changes and requirements have required extensive updates to  AvaStar, much of which is still work-in-progress (see my Bento updates #22 and #21 for more). Once completed, this work will require further testing in order to confirm any problems within AvaStar are resolved, and any remaining issues (if uncovered) are viewer related, rather than external tools related. Then over and above this, there is the list of existing Bento issues which needs to be worked through, depending on the severity of the problems reported.

That said, it would appear the overall hope is to get Bento formally released before the end of 2016.

Sleuths, Tudors, Norwegian-Americans and Jedis

Posted on by Inara Pey

It’s time to kick-off a week of story-telling in voice, brought to our virtual lives by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library. As always, all times SLT, and events are held at the Library’s Second Life home at Bradley University, unless otherwise indicated.

Sunday, August 21st, 13:30: Tea Time at Baker Street

Tea-time at Baker Street returns for the summer, featuring a new location – 221B Baker Street at the University of Washington iSchool in Second Life, and a return to His Last Bow.

A 1917 anthology of previously published Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the volume originally comprised seven stories published by The Strand Magazine between 1908 and 1917. However, later editions of the book saw an eighth story included, The Adventure of the Cardboard Box, originally published in 1892.

But this week, we come to Holmes’ final adventure before retirement proper and bee keeping beckon, in the titular story of this volume of Doyle’s works.

The year is 1914, and Britain stands on the brink of war. In England, Von Bork, a German agent, has been gathering a vast amount of military intelligence over a period of four years. With his family already safely returned to Germany, he is now awaiting the arrival of his star agent with one more piece of information prior to making his own return home where he is assured he will be greeted as a hero.

His informant, an Irish-American by the name of Altamont who has been working for Von Bork for two years, duly arrives at his home that night, bearing the precious information. With their agreed exchange made, Von Bork takes the package Altamont present to him, the final piece of military intelligence Von Bork desires: the Admiralty’s latest signal codes. Could it be that all of Britain’s military secrets are about to be laid bare to a country that will likely be her greatest enemy come the outbreak of war in Europe?

Monday August 22nd:  The Lost Tudor Princess

Caledonia Skytower reads selections from Alison Weir ‘s biography of Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox, favourite niece of Henry VIII of England, and the daughter of Margaret Tudor, Dowager Queen of Scotland through her second marriage to the 6th Earl of Angus.

Lost PrincessBorn in October 1515, Margaret grew up in exceptional circumstances to become an exceptional woman. She joined the household of her Godfather, Cardinal Wolsey, grew up with Mary Tudor (who became Mary 1st of England after Henry’s death), joined Anne Boleyn’s court as a lady-in-waiting. At one point, she was next in line of succession to the throne upon Henry’s death, the king having declared both his daughters, Mary and Elizabeth, as bastards.

Margaret herself was often at the centre of intrigue and plotting – her skill for politics doubtless inherited from her mother, who was well-versed in the art of intrigue. Like her mother, Margaret was also subject to the demands of her heart, and this, together with her head for intrigue, landed her in the Tower of London no fewer than three times.

The first of these occurred under Henry VIII’s rule of England, and resulted from Margaret following her heart and seeking betrothal without royal permission. Her second and third visits to the Tower came under Elizabeth I’s reign, when Margaret’s intrigues, each involving her sons, Henry, Lord Darnley Stuart, and Charles, 1st Earl of Lennox, would be seen as a threat to the English throne. Nevertheless she survived all three incarcerations, and  her diplomatic abilities did much to pave the way for her grandson, James VI of Scotland, to ascend to the English throne as James I, twenty-five years after her death.

Want to know more? Then join Caledonia for a dip into Margaret’s world! Note that there will also be a discussion on this book at the Community Virtual Library on Wednesday, August 24th at 17:30 SLT. You do not have to have read the entire book to attend and participate.

Tuesday August 23rd, 19:00: Blueberry Summers: Growing Up at the Lake

Kayden Oconnell reads from Curtiss Anderson’s classic coming of age memoirs.

BlueberryBorn in 1928 in Minneapolis, Curtiss Anderson grew up in an extended family of Norwegian-Americans, among whom the highlight of the year was time spent among the lakes of northern Minnesota.

For young Curtiss, growing up in the 1930s and 1940s, these were especially idyllic years. Time spent in the farmhouse among this extended family presented an opportunity for him to escape the strained and troubled relationship he had with his parents and enjoy the company of others, aunts and uncles, the loving care offered by family friends Leigh and Clara, the companionship of the family dogs – and the chances to experience young love of his own.

Through the tales he relates of these summers, so Anderson also explores the notes and letters he wrote as a boy, carefully produced on a hand-me-down typewriter. Missives and notes which, although he never realised it at the time, were in fact his first forays into what would blossom in his adult life into a distinguished career as a writer, editor and publisher.

Wednesday August 24th: A Monstrous Regiment of Women (Mary Russell #2)

MonstrousReturn to 221B Baker Street at the University of Washington’s iSchool, Second Life, for the latter-day adventures of Mr. Sherlock Holmes (retired) and his young orphaned protégé, Mary Russell, originally from the United States, as written by Laurie R. King.

Taking a trip to London, Mary encounters Veronica Beaconsfield, a friend from Oxford, who in turn introduces her to the charismatic and enigmatic Margery Childe, leader of something called “The New Temple of God.” Sect-like, and seemingly involved with the suffrage movement, the New Temple and its leader offer both curiosity and intrigue for Mary, who is not convinced either are entirely aboard board.

Her suspicions appear to be correct when several of the Temple’s wealthy young female volunteers and financial contributors are murdered. With Holmes keeping a watchful eye in the background, Mary turns her curiosity into an investigation; in doing so, she faces her greatest danger yet.

Thursday, August 25th

19:00:  Rey’s Story from Star Wars the Force Awakens

With Shandon Loring (In Second Life and Kitely. Check Kitely event announcements for specific grid location).

21:00: Seanchai Late Night

With Finn Zeddmore.

Saturday, August 27th

11:00:  Seanchai Kitely – Welcome to Gatsby

Seanchai Library is pleased to contribute to Kitely History Month with readings from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.  Join Caledonia and Shandon on the drive of Gatsby’s mansion in Seanchai’s EXPLORE region, as they whisk you back to 1922.

(grid.kitely.com:8002:EXPLORESeanchai)

Jay Gatsby's estate as produced for Seanchai Library's Explore the Great Gatsby season in 2015
Jay Gatsby’s mansion as produced for Seanchai Library’s Explore the Great Gatsby season in 2015

15:00 Second Life: Lost in Austen

Jane Austen’s English Countryside on LEA 8 invites all Austen Lovers at the Riverside Reading Stage as Seanchai Library’s Caledonia Skytower presents selections from Miss Austen’s Mansfield Park.

Please check with the Seanchai Library SL’s blog for updates and for additions or changes to the week’s schedule.

The featured charity for July-August is WildAid: seeking to end the illegal wildlife trade in our lifetimes by reducing demand through public awareness campaigns and providing comprehensive marine protection.

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Byrd Island in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

Byrd Island, Oyster Bay; Inara Pey, August 2016, on Flickr Byrd Island, Oyster Bay – click any image for full size

The homestead region of Oyster Bay is a regular stopping-off point on my rounds of Second Life. This is because Sera Bellic, the region holder, uses it to demonstrate her region design skills, changing the layout several times a year, thus periodically offering all of us something to new visit. This is currently the case with the regions latest iteration as  Byrd Island, which Caitlyn and hopped over to explore as the start of our weekend.

Visitors arrive at the island’s ferry pier, located on the island’s north-west side, where birds circle overhead, the first indications of how – spelling allowing – the island may have come by its name. Herons patrol the sandy tongue of land on which it sits, the only low-lying point of the entire island, which otherwise stands as a 30-metre high tower of rock rising from the surrounding mist-laden sea.

Byrd Island, Oyster Bay; Inara Pey, August 2016, on Flickr Byrd Island, Oyster Bay

Two routes to this high plateau are offered: a wooden elevator occupying a steel girder tower, or a rope ladder. The former gives visitors the option to stop off at a rocky observation shelf on their way to the top of the island, whilst for the adventurous, the rope ladder presents a climb directly to the platform at the top of the cliffs serving both it and the elevator.

From the platform, an arched hedge sitting between tall firs presents itself as a gateway to a gently undulating, and in place rugged, plateau with rolling grass, rocky outcrops and a mix of tress and bushes offering scattered places to sit and paths to wander. It all makes for a pleasing landscape well-suited to soft sunlight settings.

Byrd Island, Oyster Bay; Inara Pey, August 2016, on Flickr Byrd Island, Oyster Bay

The paths, cut from the trunks of fallen trees, wind across the landscape, point the way towards the three buildings occupying the island: the tall lighthouse with attached lodgings; an expansive house to the south-east and a small stone-built lodge to the east. Across the landscape birds wheel and caw, sing and sit … and watch.

“The lighthouse keeper and his family abruptly left the island never to return.” Sera states in the land description. “Could it have been the birds, or something else?” Whatever might have caused the departure, the birds weren’t telling, but had one of the raven keeping an eye on things spoken up with, “Nevermore!” as Caitlyn and I passed, I really wouldn’t have been surprised; there is a faintly Hitchcockian edge to the island under its default windlight which naturally gives rise to thoughts of certain films, or of Poe on spotting the ravens.

Byrd Island, Oyster Bay; Inara Pey, August 2016, on Flickr Byrd Island, Oyster Bay

Which is not to say that just because the island has this slightly mysterious edge to it, it is deeply sinister. Take away the misty look with an alternative windlight – I found Annan Adored’s Morning Dream worked really well (among several others!) – and Byrd Island becomes the kind of place where get-away-from-it-all weekends should be spent. A place where late breakfasts in bed are the only way to start the day, followed by leisurely strolls across the island and afternoons lazing in the shade of trees, before seeing out the evening quietly, watching the sun set over the rippling ocean.

In all my visits to Oyster Bay, I’ve rarely been disappointed in the designs Sera has offered us; each one has been special, from the Adirondacks, back through the likes of Bellack House and The McFly Project and beyond. However, I admit to finding Byrd Island perhaps her best yet. It has an elegance and openness about it which makes exploration a pleasure, and is presented in a way not often seen in island design in-world, complete with a sprinkling of atmosphere and back story to add further flavour.

Byrd Island, Oyster Bay; Inara Pey, August 2016, on Flickr Byrd Island, Oyster Bay

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The Sansar Summary – August 2016

Posted on by Inara Pey
Project Sansar image via Linden Lab
Project Sansar image via Linden Lab

In July 2015, I produced the first in a (possibly) semi-regular series intended to summarise what has actually been stated / revealed about Linden Lab’s next generation virtual experiences platform, Project Sansar.

Since then, more information has been released, both to the press and more particularly via in-world sessions such as the annual VWBPE conference (April 2016), the Lab Chat meetings (November 2015, January 2016, May 2016)  and the recent SL13B celebration Ebbe linden Q&A (June 2016).

This article is an attempt to pull relevant core information from those sessions and assorted press / media reports into a summary of what has been said thus far about Project Sansar, citing references for anyone wishing to follow-up. I don’t claim to have covered everything that has been said, but I have attempted to include the most relevant points of interest.

Citations are given in the format [number (article / publisher, month year)] where “number” indicates it is a unique reference (citations to the same reference use the same number); “article / publisher£ indicates if it is a transcript (e.g. LC1 = Lab chat 1) or a media publication (e.g. “Wareable” = Wareable on-line) and “month year” is self-explanatory. Thus, for example:

  • [1 (LL Apr 16)] = 1st citation, a statement from Linden Lab, April 2016
  • [36 (LC2, Jan 16)] = 36th citation, from Lab Chat 2, January 2016.

Citations to Lab Chat, etc., transcripts provided in this blog reference the relevant part of the transcript; podcast /video citations include a time stamp, if relevant; external media citations are to the article.

Time Frames: Creator Preview and Extending Access

  • The Lab launched the “Creator Preview” application process on April 26th 2016 [1 ( LL  Apr 16)]. The application form is still available at the time of writing
  • Access is limited to content creators willing to work with the Lab, provide feedback, etc., [2 (VWBPE  Apr 16)], and accept the risk that changes to the platform may break their content [3 (LC2 Jan 16)]
  • This followed closed alpha testing which commenced in August 2015 [4 (LL Aug 15)], which included invitations to those in markets which the Lab are targeting for Sansar [5 (Wareable Jan 16)]
  • Further creators are to start gaining access from August 2016 [6 (Podcast  Aug 16 – 37:19)]
  • Those simply wanting to look around Sansar will not be accepted [7 (LC3 May 16)]
  • Around Q3 2016 they hope to start publicly revealing more about the platform, more images, possibly videos, possibly information on specifications, etc [8  (VWBPE Apr 16)]
  • It is hoped that full public access is expected to commence in January 2017 [6 (Podcast, Aug 16 – 38:09)]
  • When first opened to the public, Sansar will not be as feature-rich as Second Life, and will take time to mature [9 (VWBPE Apr 16)].

Content Creation Tools /  Capabilities

  • As the year progresses, the Lab will expand Sansar support to other content creation tools beyond Maya  (e.g. to include Sketch-up, Blender, 3D Max, etc) [10  (VWBPE Apr 16)]
  • Notably, Sansar will offer .FBX file import capabilities to support a broader range of content creation tools [11 (LC2 May 16)]
  • There will be built-in tools for terrain building and layout management, which have been focus for the Lab [12 (LC2 May 16)]. These land tools should allow for creating caves, overhangs, etc., and offer some means of auto-generation of some vegetation and present more in the way of volumetric liquids (so you will eventually be able to eventually fill a beaker with liquid). HOWEVER – these are not all “Day 1” capabilities  [13 (Drax Files, Apr 16 ]
  • Internal tools for original content creation (e,g, using prims or voxels), together with mesh editing capabilities, may come in time, but these are not currently a priority focus [10 (VWBPE Apr 16)], [11 (LC2, May 16]], [13 (Drax Files, Apr 16 05:32)]
  • Scripting will be C# and over time capabilities to better support external tools, IDEs, etc., will be added [14 (LC2 Jan 16)]
  • Sansar is being built more a “design-centric” view, focusing on ease-of use to present a virtual environment for people to access and use [6 (Podcast, Aug 16 (24:24)]
  • The term “creator” in Sansar is not restricted to those who build actual mesh models, accessories, etc., it applies equally to those who design spaces inside the platform using items purchased from others [6 (Podcast, Aug 16 (26:32)]

Separate Editing and Runtime Environments

  • Sansar will have separate editing and run-time environments, which is not the case with Second Life (where you can walk down the street as see someone manipulating prims to build a house, for example). This is necessary to ensure Sansar can support the required frame rates for VR  [15 (VWBPE, Apr 16)]
  • Experiences will be built and content added / positioned within the editing environment and then “published” via optimisation (aka baking)  to the runtime environment where it is accessed by users – hence the comparisons between Sansar and platform like YouTube and WordPress [16 (Fortune, Nov 15)]
Sansar's separate editing mode helps ensure that the runtime system isn't impacted by real-time editing of content, thus helping to optimise performance. However, it does create issues in providing users with the means to customise personal spaces when those spaces are part of a larger scene used by multiple users
Sansar’s separate editing mode helps ensure that the runtime system isn’t impacted by real-time editing of content, thus helping to optimise performance. However, it does create issues in providing users with the means to customise personal spaces when those spaces are part of a larger scene used by multiple users. Images via the Linden Lab Sansar preview video
  • This editing environment is currently single user only, but the Lab hope that by the end of 2016, it will support multiple people editing / creating collaboratively on a single project [13 Drax Files, Apr 16 04:30)].

Avatars, Personas, Avatar Inventory

  • People will be able to create their own avatar identities, with existing user names for Second Life residents already reserved [17 (LC3, May 16]
  • Rather than running multiple accounts, users will be able to have multiple “personas” under a single account. However, it is not clear if a user will be able to have multiple “personas” logged-in to the platform simultaneously [18 (LC1, Nov 15)]
  • User will be able to customise their avatar look and appearance in time. However, experience creators will have more power to dictate the appearance of visitors to their environments if they so wish, in order to preserve any required immersiveness. This may even include forcing visitors into a first-person view during a visit [19 (LC2, Jan 16)]
  • Avatar editing will initially be limited when Sansar first opens (be will improve over time). It may be limited to “skin tone, maybe a couple of hairstyles, a couple of pre-defined outfits”; however, the overall aim as Sansar develops is to present a fair easier means to manage an avatar’s appearance than is the case with SL [20 (SL13B, Jun 16)]
  • Overall, clothing should be easier to manage and fit, but inventory may be dependent upon experience, rather than being central to the avatar (e.g. if you only need gun Y for Experience Y, it will only be available to you whilst in that experience [21, (LC1, Nov 15)]
  • Avatar controls / use will be different in Sansar, due to the added dimension of VR support (controller, need to see hands, etc [22, (SL13B, Jun 16)].

Continue reading “The Sansar Summary – August 2016” →

Bay City: Hot City Nights in Second Life, 2016

Posted on by Inara Pey
Hot City Nights 2016 - the best in vintage and classic cars, 1940-1965, and all in support of Child's Play
Hot City Nights 2016 – the best in vintage and classic cars, 1940-1965, and all in support of Child’s Play

Marianne McCann brings word of the 2016 Hot Bay City Nights event which will take place at the Bay City Fairgrounds, North Channel, from Saturday, August 20th through until Saturday  August 27th, 2016.

Celebrating Bay City’s mid-Twentieth Century theme, as well as the city’s extensive road network, Hot Bay City Nights focuses on top Second Life vintage and classic car makers, showcasing vehicles representing the era between 1940 and 1965.

First held in August 2012, the event was an instant success with Bay City residents and auto makers alike. This year, as with previous years, the week is aimed at raising funds to support Child’s Play, a charity providing toys and games for children in hospitals around the world.

Alongside the auto show there will be various other activities taking place, including charity car washes, the first of which will commence on Sunday, August 21st at 13:00 SLT, and the crowning of Miss Bay City 2016 on Saturday, August 27th. So make sure you get along to Bay City during the week and join in the fun!

About Bay City

Bay City is a mainland community, developed by Linden Lab and home to the Bay City Alliance. The Bay City Alliance was founded in 2008 to promote the Bay City regions of Second Life™ and provide a venue for Bay City Residents and other interested parties to socialize and network. It is now the largest Bay city group, and home to most Residents of Bay City.

With thanks to Marianne McCann

A New Fractal Insanity in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
New Fractal Insanity
New Fractal Insanity

I’ve long been a fan of the work of artist Milly Sharple – particularly her fractal art (see my article on her Fractal Insanity exhibit at Timamoon Arts) – as well as her flair for region design, which I’ve blogged about twice in relation to her homestead region of Isles of Lyonesse when it given winter makeovers for public enjoyment in 2014/15 and 2015/16.

It is to Isles of Lyonesse that I recently returned, as it is now the home for an an extensive exibition of Milly arts in a gallery complex she has collectively called New Fractal Insanity, a reference to her small gallery space, Fractal Insanity, at Timamoon Arts.

New Fractal Insanity
New Fractal Insanity

Housed within three buildings arranged to form a peaceful central quadrangle between them, New Fractal Insanity offers plenty of space for Milly to showcase her work, which encompasses both fractal and abstract art, the latter of which also incorporates both expressionist and  surrealist leanings,  many of which utilise her photography as their point of origin.

Milly’s fractal art is almost instantly recognisable wherever it is displayed; there is a beautifully organic feel to it which demonstrates just why fractal pieces are so captivating. Generated by  algorithms they might be, but Milly work offers stunning images which between them ideas such as capture the vibrant pulse and flicker of a flame caught in a faint draught of air, the sweep and flow of coloured oils on water and the texture and look of flower heads, petals and leaves. Even within the more abstract pieces, which may more prominently feature “traditional” Mandelbrot and Julia Sets, this organic sweep and turn is retained.

New Fractal Insanity
New Fractal Insanity

Offered in the second of the two larger gallery buildings, Milly’s abstract art continues this theme of organic origins, whether the art is founded on fractal work or Milly’s photography.  Some of this is very obvious (but no less eye-catching), such as the series of (fractal-based?) studies of flowers, while others may be more subtle in their organic lines and flow.

It is in this wing that the rich mix of abstract, impressionism and surrealism intertwine across two floors of art. Here visitors can find images strong in modern abstract expressionism with bold colours and sweeping or angular lines, whilst others a present a surrealist abstract view of the digital world. These latter are, for me, most beautifully offered through a series of paintings based on Mistero Hifeng’s sculptures (two of which are shown below). Elsewhere there are images strong suggestive of art generally produced through other mediums, such as oil on glass, all of which adds up to a thoroughly engrossing exhibition.

New Fractal Insanity
New Fractal Insanity

The third building bordering the quadrangle has a more industrial look to it. While open to exploration, the doors carry the warning Caution! Woman at Work!, suggesting this is perhaps intended to be more a workspace / studio more than “purely” a gallery space. Within it can be found more of Milly’s abstract pieces, some of which can be seen in the “main” gallery spaces, together  with a examples of her landscape art.

New Fractal Insanity is a place in which one can easily lose oneself; I wandered back and forth through the galleries for over two hours, examining and re-examining the art on display, finding myself lost in the rich depth of Milly’s fractal work or admiring her ability to encompass so much within her abstract pieces, or simply mesmerized by her animated works, several of which are soothingly hypnotic in their effect.

New Fractal Insanity
New Fractal Insanity

All of the pieces on exhibition are available for purchase, and with comfortable seating throughout, as well as a coffee shop, the galleries offer lots of space to sit and consider purchases or to just admire the art to a select of chill-out tunes over the audio stream. Even if you don’t make a purchase during a visit, do consider offering a donation towards the region’s upkeep via Milly’s tip kitties – one of whom seem to be particularly enjoying the audio stream!

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