Category: Reviews

Enjoying a tropical Smile in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

It All Starts With A Smile; Inara Pey, June 2016, on Flickr It All Starts With A Smile – click any image for full size

I’ve long enjoyed visiting It All Starts With A Smile, the photogenic Homestead region by Kaelyn Alecto and Maxx (Maxxster). I first dropped in far back in May 2013, and have since blogged about it several times in these pages. However, over the course of the last year, I’d actually lost track of the region, and so was delighted to receive news the latest iteration would be opening in mid-June, and made a point to put time aside to visit as soon as I could.

In this new design, It All Starts With A Smile has become a tropical paradise of five islands. Four of these are little more than idyllic stretches of sand rising out of the water, offering banyan shaded escape from the worries of the world; places where visitors can simply relax under an early morning default windlight. Standing over them like a mother guarding her brood, sits the largest island, offering tiered opportunities for exploration which reach from beach to  grassy plateau, where gazebo and ancient castle await discovery.

It All Starts With A Smile; Inara Pey, June 2016, on Flickr It All Starts With A Smile

Nor does it end there. Tiki huts vie with cabins, pergolas, and shacks in tempting visitors to tarry within their comforts, the waters idling gently between the islands further inviting wanders to take a dip or rest on a raft or snuggle on a rowing boat; the latter also form one of the means by which visitors can move between the islands, while bridges also connect four out of the five for those who prefer exploring on foot, with smooth stepping stone crossing the water to the fifth.

The landing point is located on the largest island, offering visitors the opportunity to make their way through lush foliage, over sand and beach and up stone stair to the plateaus and tiers above, where sit the castle and gazebo. Continue northwards, and the first of the wooden bridges will carry you over the water to the first of the smaller islands, where sits a bar offering the chance to quench any budding thirst, the opportunity to dance, or the restful retreat of Tiki huts reach by wooden stair.

It All Starts With A Smile; Inara Pey, June 2016, on Flickr It All Starts With A Smile

Continue onwards north and east across the region, and more beaches will offer themselves to you, one with a seaplane drawn up onto the sand, newly offloaded luggage alongside, perhaps destined for the cabins just across the water. Then there is the hulk of an old man-o-war, raised upon rocks, her broken hull offering more shelter from the sun and a place to rest and snuggle.

It All starts With A Smile has always offered consistently delightful designs, guaranteed to please every SL traveller and visitor. But I have to confess, there is something especially delightful about this tropical world Kaelyn and Maxx have created. There is a very natural beauty about it which is wonderfully enhanced by both the wildlife found scattered across the islands and waters, and in the marvellous ambient sound scape.

It All Starts With A Smile; Inara Pey, June 2016, on Flickr It All Starts With A Smile

Should you enjoy your visit – and I have absolutely no doubt you will – please consider a donation towards the upkeep of the region so other might enjoy it as well. You can also join the  IASWAS (it all starts with a smile) group for a modest L$250, which gives you rezzing rights for photography props, your payment also going towards the cost of the region. Visitors are also welcome to post their snaps and images to the It All Starts With A Smile Flickr group.

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Organic Geometry in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Organic Geometry - Morlita Quan
Organic Geometry – Morlita Quan

Now open at the Art Gallery the Eye is an exhibition of physical world art by Morlita Quan, entitled Organic Geometry. Presented under her physical world artistic name of MorlitaM, the exhibition presents some 22 images, and is presented with a number of  and several pieces of 3D digital art by Morlita within the exhibition and the gallery entry foyer.

“Inspired by nature,” Morlita says of the exhibit, “This collection tries to show an abstract concept about the beautiful nature’s shapes with a strong touch of the geometry, always guided by the feelings.” Abstract the images may be, but the influence and inspiration of nature is evident within each piece presented here, the majority of which lean towards monochrome, while those incorporating colour do so in a soft, subtle and – dare I say – organic manner.

Organic Geometry - Morlita Quan
Organic Geometry – Morlita Quan

The geometry within the images seems to exist on two levels. On the one, we have very clear geometric inferences: the use of grid lines, the balance of shapes within the images,  division of elements within each image; all of which are immediately apparent. Then there is a more subtle geometry of form and shape, gentle sweeps of line and form, repeated over an over, much like the gentle, organic geometry of the petals on a plant. All of this adds to the depth and captivating beauty of the images.

There are two additional dimensions to this exhibition as well, the first of which is sound.  Morlita is a musician as well as an artist, and is working on the final elements of a noise experiment album. Organic Geometry presents a sound scape through local sounds (not the music stream) which adds further texture to the exhibition. The other element is poetry, a piece, My Gaia, Gaia of My, written by Morlita to accompany the exhibit can be found in the note card introducing it,  which can be received along with Morlita’s biography via the board at the entrance to the gallery.

Organic Geometry - Morlita Quan
Organic Geometry – Morlita Quan

I admit to being a newcomer to Morlita’s work, despite her having exhibited widely in Second Life. I will, however, be keeping an eye out for future exhibitions she mounts.

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UWA: call for Immaterial entries in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Via UWA
Via UWA

While the Grand challenges came to an end in December 2015, with the awards for Pursue Impossible, the University of Western Australia is still involved in supporting the arts in Second Life, both through the UWA Gallery and through various exhibitions.

Launching the latter, and announced on Friday, June 24th, is IMMATERIAL, with an open invitation for 2D, 3D and machinima artists to enter.

The theme for the exhibition is “Immaterial”, and is described as being about light, shadows, textures, motion, and ideas. The announcement states the theme is intended to::

Highlight the technologies of SL as a medium for creative expression. We especially want work that uses advanced techniques, in addition to objects per se, including but not limited to:

  • Mesh
  • Materials
  • Projected light and shadows
  • Avatar and object motion/animation
  • Advanced scripting/interaction
  • Particles
  • Pathfinding

As this is an exhibition and not a challenge or competition, there is no judging panel and no cash prizes. Instead, all entries will be documented, and an exhibition catalogue will be published on-line as part of the UWA Studies in Virtual Arts (UWA SiVA) journal series.

The deadline for submissions is 23:59 on July 31st 2016 at 11:59 PM SLT, and entries will be displayed in the UWA Gallery as they are received. The exhibition will be on display for at least two months, but calls for entries for subsequent shows may overlap.

General guidelines for entries are:

  • Artists may submit up to one entry each in 3D, 2D, and/or machinima. Collaborations are encouraged, so if you participate as a named collaborator on any entry, you may also submit a separate entry as an individual.
  • Land Impact limit for 3D work is 200. Sound and light emitting objects should be carefully crafted in consideration of other nearby entries. Objects that might impact other nearby entries may have to be placed on a platform to isolate it. In such cases a poster and TP device will be placed in the gallery. Any entry with excessive script lag may be refused or returned for revision.
  • 2D entries should reflect the theme and must be images substantially created in SL. Post-processing (e.g., Photoshop effects) should be kept to a minimum.
  • Machinima entries can be of any length or subject matter as long a they are substantially produced using SL as the primary medium and conform to other criteria listed here. A poster and/or screen shot will be placed in the gallery and in the exhibition catalogue along with a link to the machinima.

For the full entry guidelines, including how to submit your entry, please refer to the UWA Immaterial call for entries.

Good luck to all who enter!

Additional links

A call to Community Gateways

Posted on by Inara Pey
The Lab have been re-working their own new user experience with new Social Islands - but there is also the new Community Gateway programme - and I'd like to offer more reports on what groups and communities involved in it are doing
The Lab have been re-working their own new user experience with new Social Islands – but there is also the new Community Gateway programme – and I’d like to offer more reports on what groups and communities involved in it are doing

As some residents are aware, Linden Lab has been working on a new pilot programme for Community Gateways – see my original article from September 2015 for background on this, and I’ve reported on some of the issues which have delayed a formal announcement of the programme.

In doing so, I have reported on the work of the Firestorm team with their Gateway, and in October 2015, I offered to report on the efforts of other groups and communities involved in the programme. However, as that call was buried at the foot of an article, it may not have been seen, so I’d like to repeat it here, and ask that people spread the word.

I've previously covered the Firestorm Community Gateway, and continue to do so - why not yours as well?
I’ve been covering the Firestorm Gateway since my original article on the new Gateway Programme previously covered the Firestorm Community Gateway, and continue to do so – why not yours as well?

If you are a part of a group, or know of a group actively engaged in running a community gateway which would like to gain further promotion to Second Life residents about what you’re doing, your thoughts on the programme, how you’ve approached things, and so on, please get in contact with me, I’d be happy to cover your work.

You can do so via IM or (preferably) note card in-world, or via the Contact Form on this blog. Just include a brief outline of the gateway, its name and location and details of some of the coordinators behind it (if you’re not one yourself), together with preferred contact details, and I will get back to you.

Related Links

Terrygold’s Windows in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Windows
Windows

Windows is the title of a new exhibition by Italian artist Terrygold, which opens at 13:00 SLT on Monday, June 20th. Located high above the Solo Donna club, home to the Art on Roofs exhibitions (use the teleport board from here to reach the exhibition proper), Windows is another series of Terrygold’s compelling avatar studies, some of which are set within sash window frames, indicating one aspect of the exhibition’s title.

To enjoy the exhibit the most, it is advisable to set your viewer to Ambient Dark (or a similar windlight) on arrival, and also make sure ALM is enabled so you get the full benefit of the projected lights. Instructions on how to do this are provided for Firestorm users at the arrival point, which also contains the first three images in the display.

Windows
Windows

Once your viewer is set, Step on to the brick path. Bordered on either side by hedges, this takes you past four further nude images of the artist. The two on the left feature her standing behind an open window and on a window ledge; both are intimate portraits, casting the onlooker into the role of photographer or lover. The two images on the right present her standing before part of a much larger set – one which the brick path directs you towards.

Here street lamps light the way to the façade of a gaily painted town house, sitting at the end of a “street” whilst window-fronted boxes hand in the dark sky around and over you as you make your way to the entrance to the house, within which sit 17 further new works.

Windows
Windows

The Windows theme takes a slight different here; the images are absent any sign of sash windows, being instead transformed into windows in their own right, each one providing us with just a glimpse of a story within it, or framing a moment in time. Throughout all of them is Terrygold’s trademark use of black and white with just a hint of colour – noticeably red – to capture our attention.

The stories offer here are many in form. Some of this images suggest purely artistic nuances, other sway towards the sensual, while some are openly erotic. Tacchi Cherry (literally “Cherry Heels”, seen above, left) is actually quite startling in the charged eroticism it carries; while alongside of it, Orologio (Clock) is equally startling in its layered meaning of our relationship with time – and its mastery over us.

Windows
Windows

Available to buy, each of the images here is bound to catch your attention, marking this as another superb exhibit  by and outstanding photographer. Windows formally opens at 13:00 SLT, as noted above, and will remain open through until Sunday, July 10th. Recommended.

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A new take on free-form Role-play in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

Hell's Crossing; Inara Pey, June 2016, on Flickr Hell’s Crossing – click any image for full size

Lυcy (LucyDiam0nd) dropped me a line about a new project she and her partner, Max Butoh have launched in Second Life – Hell’s Crossing, a homestead region they’ve opened to the public.

Max explains it thus:  “It’s for exploration, light role-playing and photography. Periodically the sim will be updated to a new theme, all [of them] based on the common thread of a crossing. Danger may lurk at any turn for the hope of a breath-taking discovery.”

Hell's Crossing; Inara Pey, June 2016, on Flickr Hell’s Crossing – click any image for full size

Intrigued by the idea I hopped over to join Lucy (Max was at work at the time) to take a look around. “We were talking about Game of Thrones,” she explained. “And he mentioned it would be nice to have a Winterfell inspired place, but not exactly that; just inspired by. The next day he had the builds and the sim, and everything set! He just made it happen!”

The result is – right now – a rugged place called Saltcliffe, a place which might easily be one of the Iron Islands, were we to continue the Game of Thrones analogy. A tall table of rock thrusts upwards from the surrounding sea, flat face turned towards a tan sky. It is home to a stone fortress facing a line of knobble topped cliffs beyond which, on slightly higher ground, sits a small wood, a sturdy tavern lifting its roof on the far side of the trees. Small tongues of mossy rock thrust outwards on the west and east sides of the island, whilst a slender wood and rope bridge links it to a smaller pillar of rock as it also rises, flat-topped, from the sea, crowned by a single wood and stone tower.

Hell's Crossing; Inara Pey, June 2016, on Flickr Hell’s Crossing – click any image for full size

But to think this is all there is to the island would be a mistake. Scattered around the island are several statues, all of which carry a slightly sinister air about them, suggesting there’s more here than meets the eye. When exploring the keen-eyed may spot further clues in the form of  cavern entrances, stairs which descend behind closed door, or ladders vanishing into the darkness beneath the rocks.

“We’ve no set rules for role-play,” Lucy said as we wandered. “It’s all very free-form and open to whatever mood you’re in. The sim is very serene and peaceful above, but below the castle there’s dungeons and caves with a couple of ‘creepy’ things so you could go either way.”

The dungeons certainly offer hints for some directions role-play can go; do keep in mind this is an Adult rated region. While the ‘creepy’ elements in the caverns and tunnels offer their own ideas for stories and role-play.

Hell's Crossing; Inara Pey, June 2016, on Flickr Hell’s Crossing – click any image for full size

But it’s not all about role-play; as we chatted, Lucy echoed Max’s sentiments in his description of the region. “We  thought it would be nice to have a place people could enjoy and take photos,” she said.

Max isn’t sure how often Hell’s Crossing will change in look or theme; it’ll very much be on the basis of as and when the mood takes him. It’ll certainly be interesting to see what else takes form here over time, and I’ll very much be keeping an eye on the region in the future!

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