Day: April 27, 2017

Isla Pey: happiness is getting things *just* so …

Posted on by Inara Pey
The cottage and gardens on the plateau

We’re into another quarter, so it must be time for me to fiddle with the island home 🙂 .

In January, we reverted back to using the Fanatik Rocky Island to give a little elevation to our island home, and while happy with the results, I couldn’t help but feel tweaks were necessary. For one thing, the rotation of that huge rock made the walk from house to boat house something of a trek. It had ended up this way because I thought that was the only way the Rocky island would decently fit the north end of the parcel, where we wanted it. Turned out, I’d measured things a little inaccurately, so if we sacrificed the ‘plane docks, it would actually just fit.

So, around went the 118 LI slab of land by 90-degrees, moving the footpath winding down the side so that it descends directly to the “field” at the foot of the cliffs. So far, so good, other than the loss of the ‘plane docks – and the burying of half the duck pond (which was not looked upon too kindly by our TLC ducks!). Cue a reshuffle of the landscape 🙂 .

The Botanical Enchanted Forest Tower and MSD Among the ruins – Isolde tower can be nicely merged to form a single ruin, and as both are mod, the stonework can be textured to they match. The upper platform on the Enchanted Forest Tower makes for a perfect setting for our MSD Dragon Garden piece.

I won’t bore you with a huge delve into things. Suffice it to say that the reshuffle actually improved things no end. For one thing, moving the pond helped me realise that with a little bit of re-texturing of the stonework, Kriss Lehmann’s Botanical Forest Ruins Tower could be combined with the MSD Among the Ruins – Isolde tower to produce a nicely expanded ruin on the west side of the island. This in turn provided a new home for our MSD Dragon Garden  (which is (reviewed here alongside the Among The Ruins Tower), with a cosy little snuggle beneath it, overlooking the relocated pond.

Looking across the pond from the sitting nook under one of the ruined towers

Moving the Rocky Island around also presented a much more flexible space in which to set the house and  gardens, with a little bit of terracing to break things up a bit. Everything is now much more conveniently located, and finally provided just the right post for out old well (a genuine steal from DIVAs Design at L$25), accessed via a gate (from Cube Republic’s Meadow Farm Fence kit, another recommendation) opening off the back of the garden.

And the ‘planes? Well, moving the pond made room for a smaller set of moorings, and a quick raid of my inventory produced an old Smith Fizz scene rezzing system. Nicely customisable, this now lets us rez whichever float ‘plane or helicopter we fancy using, whilst keeping the dock otherwise clear for friends to use when visiting, whether they come by air or water.

The towers lit at night, and the cottage in its new cliff-top location

So, are we happy with things – finally? Believe it or not, we both are. Will there be more changes in the future? Obviously, as there will always be nips and tucks, tweaks and additions. But unless we decide on a total make-over of the island for something completely new, I think that this time Isla Pey with its walks, ruins and house, is exactly how we both like it.

Enchanted Art in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Enchanted Art

Enchanted Art, operated by Oema Resdient and Magda Schmditzau, is based on Oema’s homestead region, Astralia, which I last blogged about in August 2016. The idea is to present artists with the opportunity to display a selection of their work on a monthly basis, with those who apply and are accepted being promoted through the Enchanted Art web pages on Oema’s blog and through the usual in-world channels for art.

The current exhibition features Bamboo Barnes,  Jarla Capalini, Clary Congrejo, Paola Mills, Antarctica Slade, Toysoldier Thor, Lissa, Terrygold, with Oema and Madga rounding-out the numbers. Each artist is provided with space to display two 2D pieces of art, with Toy also supplying one of his 3D masterpieces.

Enchanted Art

The region offers a marvellously enchanted aspect for exhibitions, being decorated using Elicio Ember’s wonderful plants and  creations, which have been brought together under a suitably atmospheric windlight to  present an ethereal, otherworldy setting visitors are encouraged to explore. Within this, there are two areas in which art is displayed: an open-air setting and a separate gallery building.

The landing point delivers visitors at the foot of the outdoor exhibition area, caught in the light of a setting sun, which is periodically eclipsed by the presence of another body in the sky – one big enough to suggest is it a planet, and the gallery and its surrounds are perhaps on a moon of that world. This outdoor space makes for a pleasant walk, platforms for the artists to either side of the path, each clearly labelled and with a Flickr link to the artist’s photo stream. The offer of biographical notes would have been appreciated, but this is a minor point.

Enchanted Art

Close to the landing point sits a teleport disc, part of a network that connecs the major features of the region, including the aforementioned gallery building. However, there is also a set of footpaths winding their way around and through the landscape, and these offer an opportunity to see more than the teleports might suggest is to be found. So an exploration by foot is recommended.

Artists wishing to join an exhibition at Enchanted Art can click on the application boards in-world, which will provide a link to an application form. Successful applicants are selected by Magda Schmdtzau. Criteria / focus for exhibitions aren’t given, suggesting that applications are open to artists from all fields (although the April exhibition does show a strong bias towards avatar studies).

Enchanted Art

Enchanted Art is an eye-catching way of presenting art exhibitions. The use of the entire region to create an environment – and in this case and ambience – is something I enjoy seeing (and something we’ve striven to achieve, environment-wise with Holly Kai Park). Ergo, I have no hesitation in recommending a visit.

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Patankar’s peace in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

Patankar – click on any image for full size

Patankar is one of those places to which we all want to escape every once in a while. A corner of the world where worries and needs can be forgotten, and you can lose yourself in the landscape, wandering where you will, or idle on a sandy beach, or sit and watch the local wildlife and livestock while your mind wanders wherever it likes.

Designed by  Dama (Damatjo Magic) and Alex Broxy (FullD2), Patankar is a beautifully conceived homestead region, the majority of which is open to the public to explore and appreciate. The only exception is a private home in then north-west corner of the region which is off-limits to causal visitors.

Patankar

There doesn’t appear to be a set landing point (although the pier has a welcome mat / group joiner), and the landmark I’d been passed dropped Caitlyn and I neatly towards the south-east corner of the region, where a board walk snakes its way from dusty track and along the edge of a beach to where a small stream tumbles over rocks the reach the open sea. Curving around the south-western sides of the island, the beach offers little places to sit, both out in the sun and under canvas shade, separated from the rest of the land by two scrawny hillocks.

A little further northwards, between the beach and the private residence, there sits the long finger of the aforementioned pier, pointing out to sea and reached by a broad set of wooden steps. Not far away, the island’s dusty track meanders past before turning sharply inland. Follow it, and you’ll quickly reach a T-junction – one of several which split the track as it weaves across the island. The left fork of this particular junction points the way to a Tuscan-style farmhouse, while to the right, a wooden bridge spans the stream before the track forks again.

Patankar

A second small farmstead sits near one arm of the track as it curls back to the stream and another bridge. Horses graze in a small paddock next to the tin-roofed farmhouse, a tractor parked and waiting close by. Behind the farmhouse the land rises sharply into a rugged hill, the abode of goats but with a path winding up through it. Those willing to take the hike along it can be rewarded with time in a hot air balloon; those less inclined to make their way to the peak will find several places to sit down and take in the scenery along the way – although the view from the peak really is worth the effort!

Sitting in the lee of the hill stands a wooded copse, blankets spread on the ground or on tree stump, awaiting those seeking rest. Not too far away, a little dock offers a view eastwards out over the sea, and more places to sit.

Patankar

And even with all this, the region still has more to offer – such as the little island to the north-east, or the stepping-stones criss-crossing the small lake to the south, where an upturned rowing boat leans on its prop to offer a secluded snuggle spot beside the water. In fact, wherever you roam, you’re bound to find places to sit and relax, and cuddle or chat, such is the welcome to be found throughout the region.

Complete with an appropriate sound scape, Patankar is a genuine delight – yes, there is the odd tree and bank levitating very slightly above the ground, but these don’t change the fact that the region has been put together with a considerable amount of love; nor do they make it any the less photogenic. This is very much a place to be visited, savoured, and enjoyed.

Patankar

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  • Patankar (Family Dreams, rated: Moderate)