Day: February 5, 2017

Mice, men, monsters, heroes, gods – and Wodehouse

Posted on by Inara Pey

It’s time to kick-off another week of storytelling in Voice 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,February 5th, 11:00: Of Mice and Men – Part 3

Caledonia Skytower, Shandon Loring, Corwyn Allen, Kayden Oconnell continue a reading of John Steinbeck’s classic 1937 novella at Seanchai’s Explore the World of John Steinbeck in Kitely (grid.kitely.com:8002:EXPLORESeanchai).

The World of John Steinbeck - the Steinbeck Gallery, Kitely (grid.kitely.com:8002:EXPLORESeanchai)
The World of John Steinbeck – the Steinbeck Gallery, Kitely (grid.kitely.com:8002:EXPLORESeanchai)

From January 20th through February 5th, Tacoma Little Theatre, Tacoma Washington State, presents Of Mice and Men directed by Niclas Olson. The production is being supported by Senchai Library as a part of their Explore the Arts series, hosted on Kitely, where a special World of John Steinbeck has been created and is open to exploration by virtual world users and to members of the audience attending performances of the play at Tacoma Little Theatre, where a PC has been set up to provide access to Explore the World of John Steinbeck.

Within the virtual space, visitors can explore more of Steinbeck’s life and work, and experience the history of the times about which he wrote. If they wish, they can also visit the other Explore environments established by Seanchai in support for Tacoma Little Theatre’s production.

Monday, February 6th 19:00: Lisa and David

Gyro Muggins reads renowned psychiatrist Theodore Isaac Rubin’s book on the complex struggles of children with severe mental illness. Lisa and David are two troubled teens whose growing friendship breaks communication barriers.

Tuesday, February 7th 19:00:  A Monstrous Regiment of Women

Continues with Caledonia Skytower.

Wednesday, February 8th 19:00: The Winter of Our Wodehouse

Trolley Trollop reads selections from P.G. Wodehouse.

Thursday, February 9th 19:00:

19:00:  Monsters and Myth – The  Hydra: A Winter’s Love Story, Part 2

Shandon Loring continues reading a rich mixture of the legend of Hercules, laced with and a spin of the tale of Boreas, the purple-winged god of the north wind and his love for Oreithyia (in this tale, replaced by the goddess Iris), deceitful deities and a cunning young girl.

21:00: Seanchai Late Night

Science fiction with Finn Zeddmore.

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

The featured charity for January / February is Heifer International, working with communities to end world hunger and poverty and to care for the Earth.

Artful Expressions in Second Life: Blip and Nekonuko

Posted on by Inara Pey
Artful Expressions: Blip Mumfizz
Artful Expressions: Blip Mumfizz

Sorcha Tyles opened the next exhibit at Artful Expressions, her boutique gallery, on Saturday, February 4th, and it  not only includes two guest artists, but also presents a new design for the gallery itself.

Now occupying a two-storey structure, a teleport board linking the ground floor with the upper, the gallery has twice the floor space of the previous unit. The lower floor is devoted to Sorcha’s own photography  – which is more than worth a visit in and of itself; she has a marvellous eye for subject, mood and setting, and her studies are entrancing.

Artful Expressions: Socrha Tyles
Artful Expressions: Socrha Tyles

The upper floor is given over to Sorcha’s invited guest artists, and in this lies another of the attractions of Artful Expressions: Sorcha actively seeks out those who may not have exhibited widely in Second Life in the past, or have perhaps been overlooked by other galleries. Thus, her gallery is an ideal location for discovering the work of artists and photographers you may not have previously come across in-world.

“I am an improviser by nature…in life and in my art,” Blip Mumfuzz says of herself and her work. “My images are typically the result of an unplanned, spontaneous interaction with my environment.”  She goes on to state that she became interested in SL photography as a means of recording her travels across the grid. But then, “I noticed that I started seeing differently … I found that once I found saw something interesting I’d start moving the camera around.  Looking over and under, behind and between.  I began looking less at the things themselves…and more at visual and spatial relationships things.”

Artful Expressions: Blip Mumfizz
Artful Expressions: Blip Mumfuzz

The result is a set of studies offering  a unique perspective on the virtual world in which we roam and which utilise a refined use of line, form and use of colour to create images which are deceptive in their elegant simplicity, inviting us to look into them and discover the story each contains.  You can see more of her work on Flickr.

Nekonuko Nakamori, the second artist Sorcha is exhibiting through February, is a physical world artist with a grounded in Japanese art and who specialises in conceptual / abstract art in oil.

Artful Expressions: nekonuko Nakamori
Artful Expressions: nekonuko Nakamori

Within Second Life, and as Blip started out, she uses photograph as a visual journal of her travels within the grid. Each piece, a precise 1:1 ratio image, presents a location she has visited, usually with nekonuko herself somewhere within it – sometimes prominently, other times distantly. Carefully post-processed they are offered not only as a record for her wanderings, but as a painting, almost of a waif at large in the world.

Both Nekonuko and Blip will remain on display at Artful Expressions through until the end of the month.

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