Tag: Cica Ghost

It’s October, which means Halloween sits a-waiting at the end of the month. I’ve noted on numerous occasions that I’m not a fan on the modern take on the celebration, but within Second Life I do like to take a look at region settings and installations that offer a take on things that is a little different to the usual. Such is the case with Cica Ghost’s October installation: Happy Halloween, which she invited me to visit as it opened on October 1st, 2025.

Offered largely in monochrome (the pumpkins and stars being the exception here!), Happy Halloween offers much that might be associated with the modern take on Halloween – but also perhaps applies more broadly to generally spookiness and fun. It even carries with it what might be seen as a little nod towards Tim Burton.

The main Landing Point sits in the sky over Cica’s regions of Mysterious Isle, where can be found the usual request about using the local environment settings, a link to Cica’s on-line store and a tombstone teleport down to the installation proper. The latter delivers visitors to a setting caught under the same star-dusted sky as seen from the Landing Point, complete with a crescent Moon low in the sky.

The quote accompanying the build is a popular take on a line made famous by Franklin D. Roosevelt during his first inaugural address. At the time, America we deep into the Depression, and his words in that address were both solemn and intended to give hope and reassurance. He certainly did not originate the phrase in question – various forms of it have been recorded since the 16th century. The version Cica uses gives it a decidedly humorous little twist:

The only thing we have to fear is FEAR itself – and spiders.

And there are certainly spiders to be found here. They grin and bounce among flowers with equally toothy grins, or sit on stalks as if they are themselves flowers. They share the landscape with bat plants and star plants, all growing out of a dusty ground with tall hills all around, their surfaces pockmarked like the surface of a moon. In places the dust gives way to a checkerboard effect, whilst scattered across the entire setting are bare trees, odd little houses and all the local denizens.

The latter come in many forms: monsters who appear to be out for a lark more than to frighten, ghosts who fade in-and-out of view, black cats, giant pumpkins, crows… the list goes on, and I really don’t want to spoil things by saying too much here – other than the little touch of Tim Burton might be seen in the people also scattered across (over over in one case) the setting as they go about their evening’s business.

As always with most of Cica’s builds, there are various opportunities to be found for interaction within Happy Halloween, and plenty of opportunities for photography and smiles.

SLurl Details

• Happy Halloween (Mysterious Isle, rated Moderate)

For August, Cica Ghost presents A – Maze, an interactive setting offering a little fun and turning a quote from author John Green somewhat on its head.

As the name might suggest, the core theme of A -Maze is just that – a maze. Formed by capped brick walls, it covers most of the region. Unlike most mazes, however, this one doesn’t have a centre or destination / goal, nor is it a unicursal; neither is it precisely a branching tour-puzzle (although it does have a form of branching). Rather, it is a means to offer assorted routes of exploration around the setting, with assorted points of exit and re-entry.

While it can be travelled on foot, the maze is can also be explored via the vehicles Cica presents to visitors alongside the Landing Point. As is typical with Cica, there are no ordinary vehicles; instead they add to the region’s whimsy by taking the form of four animals carved from wood – a duck, horse, elephant and giraffe – all set on wooden chassis. Two sizes of vehicle are supplied, the smaller set of four lined up to one side of the Landing Point and potentially offered for Tinies.

By default, the vehicles move at a pedestrian speed. But if you are feeling daring then tap the Page Up key to apply the second gear and and little more speed (Page Down to slow down again). In this respect, the smaller vehicles are possibly more fun, as they are small enough to zip around the maze in comfort.

The maze is not the only feature of the setting. Towards the middle of the region is a little village raised on the back of a steep-sided plateau, with bottle houses and a windmill. It is slightly overgrown by great vines, some with seed-like seats hanging from them. Elsewhere thumb-like hills are topped by trees or have ladders climbing them to individual bottle houses. Also waiting to be found are some of Cica’s little critters, while some of the walls of the maze are painted with more of Cica’s creations, brightening their brickwork.

The quote accompanying the build is from Looking for Alaska, John Gren’s 2005 novel for young adults:

At some point we all look up and realize we are lost in a maze.

In its original form the quote references the central themes of the novel – that of coming of age, the meaning of life and grief. As such, it can be seen as slightly dark in tone and meaning. Here, Cica turns it on its head, offering an underscoring to the idea that mazes can offer journeys into the unknown (as is life itself, really), filled with unexpected delights. In this, if one wanted to be totally analytical, A – Maze echoes the ultimate message from the book, that of hope.

Not that any analysis of quote and setting is required; A – Maze is enjoyable in and of itself.

SLurl Details

• A – Maze (Mysterious Isle, rated Moderate)

Cica Ghost opened her July 2025 installation at the start of the month. Entitled Among the Hills, it is another setting using a fairy tale related quote, in this case one from Hans Christian Andersen:

Life itself is the most wonderful fairy tale.

It’s a quote carrying a number of potential messages. Best known for his fairy tales, Andersen was a prolific author of novels, poems, plays and travelogues who saw life as something to be experienced, offering the most unique of opportunities and experiences, making it as wonderful as anything that might be derived from the imagination by means of a fairy tale. At the same time, the quote reflects Andersen’s belief that fairies weren’t supernatural, but part of daily life, and we’re simply not aware of them – unless we open our eyes and minds.

Then there is the application of the quote to Cica’s builds. It perfectly sums-up her ability to offer environments that offer fun, a sense of wonder and an opportunity for escape. And with its giant turtles, dragons, frogs looking like they might be waiting for a kiss to return them to them princehood and white rabbits, together with teddy bears and walking trees, Among the Hills offers a similar reflection of the wonders of fairy tales and the magic they can weave in the imagination in a world only slightly removed from our own.

Yes, the setting perhaps lacks some of the usual quirks to be found in Cica’s builds: fun little sit-points dances, etc., but there is good reason for this. As aSL22B exhibitor, Cica likely had to balance producing this installation along with preparing for SL22B. Even so, Among the Hills is a fun visit for summer.

SLurl Details

• Among the Hills (Mysterious Isle, rated Moderate)

For June 2025, Cica Ghost brings us Unicorns and Candies; a realm offering a sense of childhood dreams, creatures of wonder and bright, happy colours. It perfectly encapsulates everything found within the accompanying quote from Roald Dahl:

Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.

This is a quote which challenges us to maintain a sense of wonder and to approach life with a childlike curiosity, while expressing the idea that magic is not just about casting spells or supernatural occurrences, but about a sense of wonder, imagination, and the belief that extraordinary things can happen; that magic can come to all of us in many forms – a beautiful moment, a surprising discovery, or the realization of a dream. All we need is to be open to it;  if we allow adult cynicism take over or become too rigid in our thinking, we can so easily miss out on the joy and wonder that life has to offer, in whatever form it might take.

All of the above is perfectly encapsulated in Cica’s build. It is an expression of childhood imaginings and dreams; a place where unicorns can be found, and dinosaurs and snails  converse together and stars fallen from the skies walk hand-in-hand or sit in contentment, where houses are sewn and trees look like strange candy-topped lollypops. It’s a place made for smiling and fun, where you can climb and walk, dance or sit, and which can quite unexpectedly put a bounce in your stride!

Just as Dahl’s words inspire us to keep our imagination alive and to retain that child-like curiosity and wonder, so Cica’s installations constantly offer us the chance to do so. They allow us to escape the demands of the everyday and instead, to explore the extraordinary, have fun, to delight in what we see and experience – and to find the magic of a smile or a laugh. To never lose sight of the doorway to the extraordinary our imaginations offer.

So go see Unicorns and Candies. Dance, sit, find the the magic, the unexpected and enjoy.

SLurl Details

Unicorns and Candies (Mysterious Isle, rated Moderate)

Cica Ghost’s latest turn of whimsy opened in Second Life towards the end of April, bringing with it another opportunity to leave the weight of the world behind and just have a little fun and let a smile or six crease your lips.

Rocks and Drums is another charming setting featuring giants, strange houses, beautiful flowers, vehicles, dancing, and a sense of fun. It comes with a line from  American singer, songwriter, poet, painter, author, and photographer, Patricia Lee “Patti” Smith, If you don’t have what you need, just rock with what you’ve got!

Given the core aspect of this installation is rock, it’s an apt quote. This is a place of rocky hills, rocky cairns, stone of primitively-hewn rock, and most notably rock giants and strange houses hewn from rock. Some are on the ground, other balance precariously on the top of stacks of flat rocks or rocky plinths. Like the stone giants, the houses are topped by tufted grass-like hair.

Across the land, grass and flowers grow tall, and people can wander freely. The stone giants are not the only creatures here, huge friendly treemen can also be found, and can rocks with fair-sized teeth!

While the houses on the ground are easy enough to access, those atop rock piles and plinths present something of a problem.  However, the answer comes in the form of flat rock tablets. Some have balloons attached, others are propellor-driven. Simply step up onto one as it reaches the ground and then allow it to carry you elevator-like up to one of the houses.

Those who fancy a shot of making like Fred and Barney can jump on one of three rock car rezzers and go for a drive around the setting. And of course there are Cica’s familiar dance stations and places to sit. So, go on over and let Cica’s creations raise a smile. Her shop means you can even bring some of them home with you if you like!

SLurl Details

• Rocks and Drums by Cica Ghost (Mysterious Isle, rated Moderate)

Having written the title to this piece, I realised that it could just as easily be “Cica’s Playground IS Second Life”, because for well over a decade now, Cica Ghost has been presenting 3D art installations within Second Life – and has been doing so monthly for the last few years.

As a result she has, and continues to, present a wide range of environments and settings, many of them more-or-less entirely whimsical, some of them wonderfully layered, offering views of folk tales or myths or ideas with a depth of perception and evocation which have never failed to inspire. Throughout much of her work there is a simple statement of joy in life, and it is this, as much as everything else she carefully wraps in her installations which has made me a long-time fan of her work, and why I have always tried to cover her installations in these pages, collecting them under my Cica Ghost tag.

One of the first of Cica’s builds I both saw and wrote about was Ghostville, a 3D village inhabited by Cica’s (already by then) famous animated stick figures (see: A short stay in Ghostville). It was a wonderful experience, and led to further encounters with her little people in installations such as The Visitors, which made marvellous use of the pre-existing (but long since sadly departed from Second Life) art venue of La Città Perduta, aka The Lost City (see Visiting the Visitors).

I mention all of this because within Playground, which opened on March 25th, 2025, there is something of a nod towards those wonderfully animated stick figures, together with a range of other 2D elements offering memories of some of Cica’s past creatures and creations. They sit within a village-like environment which might also be regarded as an avant-garde playground (given everything appears to be made of carboard, adding to the playtime like feel) in which new 3D creatures bot large and small and quite wondrous in their respective forms might be found. I loved them all but the almost Yaphit-like pair brought a particular smile to my face – but that’s purely the sci-fi nerd in me!

Such is the jollity here that even stars appear to have sprung from the ground along with flowers and clover, bopping to an unheard melody (there is an audio stream, but I preferred to keep it turned off) as much as some of the painted creatures and the various Cicas awaiting discovery.

The potential call-outs to many of Cica’s past design might be pointed to by fans of Cica’s work; however, whether they are intentional or not, I’ve no idea. This being the case I’ll leave it to people to decide for themselves, because I don’t want to give the impression this is a place that cannot be enjoyed in its own right or is in any way some form of intentional retrospective – it is not; it is simply that there are a lot of perfect little bells that might chime for some in visiting, but which also do not diminish Playground in any way if they pass unheard.

As is common with Cica’s build, visitors can join in with the fun via dancing, while the particularly energetic can jump up onto one of the local flying saucers and help keep them spinning (and flying?). These are not the only way to get airborne – hidden in plain sight is the means to bring out your inner Supergirl / Superman – but you can find that on your own 😀 . For those seeking a little rest afterwards (or perhaps a mug of 2D coffee!) there are various places to set down and recover.

In all – wonderful!

SLurl Details

• Playground by Cica Ghost (Mysterious Isle, rated Moderate)