A Carnival of the Arts in Second Life

The Dirty Grind Independent Artist community is celebrating its fifth anniversary over the weekend of Friday, September 7th through Sunday, September 9th, 2018 with a Carnival of the Arts. The weekend will be marked by live music sets throughout the three days, and also art displays by Enola Vaher, Toysoldier Thor and Silas Merlin, who appears at the Dirty Grind as the celebration’s featured artist.

The focal point for the event is a newly revamped venue building, where the artists can be found, and a stage area has been established in the back lot area. Inside the building, 2D and 3D art Enola and Toysoldier is located on two floors to one side of the building, with Silas’ 2D pastel art from the physical world and his 3D mesh sculptures created for Second Life can be found at the back of the building, again on two floors, facing the stage area.

The music event kicks-off from 15:00 SLT on Friday, September 7th, and at the time from writing, the schedule looked as follows:

Time	Friday 7th	Saturday 8th	Sunday 9th
14:00	—	Shannon Oherlihy	Wald Schridde
15:00	Davis Cisiszer	Thunderfoot Lorefield	Lexie Smith
16:00	Strum Diesel	Phime Alcott	Winston Ackland
17:00	The Matthew Show	Senjata Witt	DimiVan Ludwig
18:00	Jamba Losangelas	Grace McDunnough	The Vinnie Show
19:00	Twostep Spiritweaver	Bearsheart	Effinjay
20:00	Benski Korhonen	Suzen Juel	Ethan Kamaboko

However, given that events can always undergo last-minute changes, be sure to check the Dirty Grind website for updates or changes to the schedule.

The art displays are compact, but deliver a good sense of the work of the three artists. Enola’s 2D art – featuring both SL photographs and also drawings – is displayed on the upper floor of the gallery space she shares with Toysoldier Thor, and is an evocative mix of images. On the ground floor, Toysoldier presents a mix of his 2D paintings and 3D art, which is always captivating to see.

Silas Merlin remains one of the artists I deeply admire. His work in pastels is extraordinary, and while perhaps a little on the small side, the pieces presented at the Dirty Grind serve as a welcome introduction to his 2D work for those unfamiliar with it – and I do recommend seeking his art out whenever you have the opportunity to do so. His 3D work is perhaps more familiar to people in Second Life, being very popular among collectors, and the pieces he’s selected for this exhibition again present a good cross-section of his sculptures for those wishing to familiarise themselves with his 3D work.

So, do make a point of hopping along to the Dirty Grind over the weekend and wishing them a happy anniversary.

SLurl Details

• The Dirty Grind (Fender, rated: Moderate)