Category: Reviews

Annie Oh (Annie Brightstar) dropped me an IM suggesting Caitlyn and I pay a visit to Junbug, home of *{Junbug}* Fantasy and Vintage fashion, as the region had been recently redesigned by Minnie Blanco (Minnie Atlass), whose region designs we’ve always enjoyed (see here, here, here and here for more).  And I have to say that for anyone who loves artist – particularly the French Impressionist movement, this is a must-see location.

[It is] loosely inspired by Monet’s Giverny garden After discussions we agreed upon a garden across from water. All designing / artwork is a process and I take my inspiration from RL photos/art. I wanted to reflect Juno’s fantasy, vintage fashion designs with a romantic feeling water-scape in some way. Hence the romance of impressionism!

– Minnie Blanco on her design for Junbug, December 2018

Anyone who is reasonably familiar with Monet’s work will instantly feel they are inside one of his paintings on arriving in the region. Minnie has, through careful selection of plants (colour), design and windlight, fully captured the look and “feel” of one of Monet’s paintings, particularly, as Minnie notes, those that focus on his great life’s passion: the garden at his home in Giverny.

For example, the first impression (no pun intended) on arriving and looking over the water to the little bridge facing the store from afar was Monet’s 1899 painting, Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies.

As we continued to look around and walk along the path circling the pond at Junbug, further influences  – or perhaps reflections might be a better term – of Monet’s art came to mind. There’s the subtle mix of colour and blending in the blooming of flowers as seen in his 1900 oil on canvas Le Jardin de l’artiste à Giverny, and Garden Path at Giverny (1902), while the pond itself offers echoes of his extensive Water Lilies series.

A small, simple setting, the garden is completed by the presence of waterfowl on or near the water, and birds singing from various points around the path (such as the stone bridge close to the store) or hopping and flitting around the paths or circling overhead. In adding their voices to the scene, they increase the spring / summer feel to the region.

There is also a touch of French flavouring to the garden and store – the latter has the presence of a grand maison, for example. Meanwhile, a number of the selected elements in the region, such as the pavilion and the little rowing boat, have French-leaning names / pose systems.

For those seeking a place to sit and enjoy the setting, the rowing boat offers a mix of individual female and male poses, while the benches along the waterfront near the store offer a mix of individual and couples sits, as does the bench in the pavilion. A further bench can be found close to the little wooden bridge, but using it will require getting past the grass growing around it, which interferes with direct clicking.

Set under a tranquil sky suggestive of a mild spring early evening, this is an utterly delightful setting, a painting made real, if you will, and well worth the time spent appreciating it. And given the inspiration behind it, I hope you’ll forgive my attempt to render it as a painting! Our thanks again to Annie for passing on the details.

SLurl Details

• *{Junbug}* Fantasy – Vintage – Fashion (Junbug, rated: Moderate)

Bay of Dreams is the Full region home of Valor Poses Mainstore and Photo Sim, operated by Keegan Kavenagh (AlexCassidy1). As the name implies, the region offers both a base for the Valor Poses store, and the opportunity to explore a changing environment beyond its doors.

In February 2018 Caitlyn and I visited the region whilst the region offered a summertime look and feel (you can read more about that visit here), so with the end of the year approaching, I thought I’d drop in again to see what had changed.

Now designed by Adalynne Romano (AdalynneReed) working with Keegan and Tessa Kavenagh (TessaGrace51), the region presents something of a mix of seasons, all within walking distance of one another. For the store, which forms the landing point, and its surroundings, there is a decidedly springtime look and feel.

Occupying a table of land in the south-east of the region, the store is surrounded by a garden setting. The trees and flowers are all in bloom, the grass lush and green, visible through the windows of the store, inviting patrons to step outside. Those who do will find a richly mixed setting, one complete with ruins of different ages and pieces of art – notably by Mistero Hifeng – while horses and deer lay dotted across the lawns.

The store looks northwards over a low-lying headland dominated by a broad board walk and pier that stretches out over the water, a narrow ribbon of beach running around the north and east side of the headland adding to the feeling that this is the “summer quarter” of the region. Volleyball can be played on the grass, while the board walk and little pier include places to sit and enjoy refreshments.

Between the footbridge leading back to the store and the board walk, a track runs off to the west, following the bent finger of land, serpent-like in its narrowness. This ends in a bridge leading to a small island that in turns links to the south-western side of the region, a grassy quarter clearly caught in the gentle embrace of autumn. Here the trees are rich in golds, brown, oranges and reds. Pumpkins lie on the ground, while the single large barn offers a greeting of Happy Fall.

The final quarter of the region, reached via “autumn” hosts, appropriately enough, winter. Crowned by a rocky crenelation, this is another plateau within the ring of rock, the land is covered in snow, complete with a frozen pond and with a snow blanketed wooden house of impressive size. This offers plenty of seating inside and out.

Finding your way around the region is simply a matter of following the paths and using the bridges. All four aspects of the setting perfectly present each of the seasons, with a fairly neutral region-wide windlight used for all four. This also works well, but it did have me wondering about how a setting like this, with four different regional settings will look when EEP – the environmental Enhancement Project – has come into common use.

There are one or two little rough edges – path segments not meeting one another or the landscape here or there; some floating trees together with the odd plain prim or semi-floating rock. But, by-and-large, the design comes together to offer a visually interesting setting. Those wishing to rez props for photograph can join the local group.

For those who might be feeling they’ve seen a little too much snow in Second Life, or who wish to revisit their preferred season, or simply want to experience an entire year in a short walk, Bay of Dreams perhaps offers the perfect visit.

SL Details

• Valor Poses Mainstore and Photo Sim (Bay of Dreams, rated: Adult)

There are lots of winter themed regions to visit at this time of year – I’ve already covered a number in these pages for 2018. So many in fact, it’s easy to end up with a mild case of snow blindness :). There is often a tendency to use many of the same elements in such builds – the DRD Polar Express train being one such example. So for this write-up, I thought I’d offer a couple of suggestion that are just that little bit different to the others we’ve visited thus far.

Hollyee is a homestead region designed by Agaras, offering a remote, wild winter setting. Surrounded by tall mountains shrouded in snow and mist, the central feature of the setting is an oval large frozen lake, its surface glittering like a star field and broken by a couple of islands.

The lake is set within a low-lying, wooded landscape, devoid of paths and get trails, but open to wandering under tree and over snow. The entire feeling is that of a remote mountain lake, well away from any major centres of population – but not so far away as to be totally in the wild.

This latter fact can be attested to by the presence of fresh hay that has been left out on the snow, offering horses places to eat, rather than leaving them to  forage under the snow for grass.  Whether the hay has been put out by a local farmer possibly living just beyond the landscape, or by whoever might live in the little A-frame cabin located in the south-east corner of the region, is up to visitors to decide.

The horses aren’t the only animals to be found scattered across the landscape. Wander through the snow as you circle the ice and you’ll find deer, rabbits, wolves and even polar bears – the latter both real and made from snow! Birds circle overhead while a lone owl hunts between the trunks of the trees. All of them serve to give the region a feeling of added depth, as does the local sound scape.

A skate giver is available close to the landing point, although if you have your own, you can obviously wear them. There are also skating poses available for use for singles and couples skating, while scattered across the landscape are a number of places for sitting and cuddling.

The second location I want to mention is Winter Dream. located over the home of Solo Arte, it is once again the work of resident artist there, Terrygold. Like Hollyee, Winter Dream presents a wilderness setting, beautiful in its snowbound, rugged beauty. It’s also another place where having local sounds on is essential to a visit.

Also like Hollyee, central to the design is a frozen lake, a flat expanse of ice from which the occasional hump of rock rises, and towards the middle of which a lone tree stands sentinel, boughs raised as if trying to ward off the steadily falling snow.

Around this lake is a rocky landscape, stepping upwards towards a surround rim of low cliffs. Two structures rise from the snow, the largest a two-storey stone-and-wood cabin, facing the landing point across the lake. Closer to hand, just to one side of the landing point and watched over by two snowmen, sits a wooden pavilion. A fire is blazing in the hearth here, with wooden chairs ranged before it, but the open sides suggest it might not be as warm as the fire might otherwise suggest.

The most direct route to the cabin is across the ice – but it’s also the boring way. It’s more interesting to head either north then east towards the cabin, or go east then north. Both routes will lead you via points of interest: deer at a feeder, outdoor seating areas,  – including an old Ferris Wheel (although it could perhaps benefit from blanket to help keep those sitting in it warm! 🙂 ) and so on.

The eastward route will take visitors over some of the ice, which extends around this side of the landscape. So if you have your own ice skates, you might want to make use of them. It also offers a slight climb up to the cabin – but so does the route running north then east from the landing point. Once inside, the cabin offer a place to dance and a break from the weather by the fire places.

Both Hollyee and Winter Dream are quiet, winter settings waiting to be enjoyed. Both are well presented, although each has its own small niggles. Hollyee has a few floating trees and rocks that can make themselves known when taking photos, while the volume of animated mesh snow in Winter Dream can impact performance (particularly if you run with shadows enabled). So do take note when visiting – but don’t let either put you off.

Really, if the snow hasn’t gotten to you too much, it’s worth grabbing your skates, wrapping up warm and enjoying either of these quiet wintry corners of the grid.

SLurl Details

• Hollyee (Starlight Shores, rated: Moderate)
• Winter Dream (Casavian Caye, rated: Moderate)