Author: John

Kultivate The Edge, August 2019

Now open at Kultivate Magazine’s The Edge Gallery is the August-September exhibition of black-and-white / monochrome art and photography.

The featured artists for the exhibition are Tatjab, MTH63, Wintergeist, Chic Aeon, Belua Broadfoot, Illrya Chardin, Sophie Congrego, Roxaane Fyanucci, Euridice Qork, and someone called Inara Pey, who is really just along for the ride. The artists offer a rich mix of portraiture and landscape images in their selections, as well as a mix of styles that make for an engaging exhibition.

Kultivate The Edge, August 2019 – Tatjab

While the range of images is both deep and broad, I admit to finding myself repeatedly gravitating towards two of the artists in particular. The first is Tatjab – also known as tattoo artist (hence his SL and Twitter handle of “Tatjab”), painter, and pencil portrait artist, Jesse Boren. Located on the upper mezzanine level of…

Totem Beach, August 2019 – click any image for full size

Totem Beach is a Homestead region designed by Tlaloc Beresford designed to give visitors a range of land and water activities for their enjoyment.

Nestled along the Pacific North West, Totem Beach awaits those enjoy the ocean and forests of the region. Surf the waves, dive the canyons, or walk through the forest and lay down some roots of your own in this beautiful region.

– The About Land description for Totem Beach

The ground level of the region is largely given over to water – a rocky bay caught in the arms of tall hills. These lie partially open the sea to the west, but curl around to the east to form a backdrop to the region’s single landmass, a range of high cliffs oriented north-to-south, overlooking a west-facing ribbon of sandy beach.

Totem Beach, August…

Target shooting in Scurry Waters

The following notes were taken from my recording of the August 8th (week #32) Sansar Product Meeting, which has a focus on questing and avatar 2.0. Note that there were questions that had to be referred back to the Lab for answers, or were related to individual issues encountered by creators, and which are not necessarily included in the notes below. Please refer to the meeting video on Twitch.

Quest Update 2 – August 7th

A second Quest update was made on August 7th, 2019, which included both quest and non-quest related improvements.

Quest Updates

• It is now possible to set objectives to address avatars by name, using the new [Player Name] token, which is automatically replaced by the avatar’s name.
  • For example, a quest giver could be set up as “Greetings, [Player Name]! Do you wish to embark on The Magical Mystery Tour?”
  • Then…

Happy Friday everyone! Today’s field trips will provide steady accompaniment throughout the day, from breakfast to dinner time!

8 am Field Trip: Lexus Melodie at Cafè Musique!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sandness/83/225/21

10 am Field Trip: The Vinnie Show at Cafè Musique!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sandness/83/225/21

12 pm Field Trip: Lexus Melodie at End of Time!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Eotia/28/209/25

2 pm Field Trip: Twostep Spiritweaver at Blarney Stone!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Dublin/81/85/25

3 pm Field Trip: Zorch Boomhauer at Blarney Stone!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Dublin/81/85/25

5 pm Field Trip: Senjata Witt at Surfside!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Crystal%20Falls/151/73/32

8 pm Field Trip: Effinjay at Boom Pony!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Amardon/221/205/29

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And as always you can hear all of these talented musicians 24/7 at Radio Grind! http://cp6.digistream.info:20354/

I’m slowly getting back into SL and taking photos. I’m also slowly getting back into Photoshop and editing photos.  Sometimes, though, you get lucky.

Last week I was wandering around Yorkshire, a sim I have visited before.  Changes have been made, of course, so I went back to see what it was like now.

It’s still beautiful, though in a different way than previously.  Before, it was bleak and dark (but not in a depressing way).  Now it’s more light and sun and relaxation.

I do edit my photos, but I play around a lot with windlights and focal lengths and effects in-world as well.  And sometimes, I manage to find a combination that works.

I found this little scene in Yorkshire and was immediately enthralled.  I’m not sure why, because I’m not a pickup truck or outdoorsy girl.  But it spoke to me in some way, so I…

Sisi Biedermann’s Gallery and Garden – Sisi Biedermann

I recently paid a further visit to Sisi Biedermann’s Gallery and Garden, which I last visited in November 2018. Since that time, the gallery has undergone a revamp, so I was curious to see the new look, and also the two exhibitions that opened at the start of August and will remain so through until the latter part of September.

The upper three floors of the gallery continue to present Sisi’s own artwork, which as I’ve noted before is the most extraordinary digital work. Produced in the physical world and then uploaded to Second Life, Sisi’s art is the very definition of crossing and re-crossing the digit divide: a physical world artist who produces the must remarkable digital pieces for upload to a digital world, allowing it to be seen and purchased by a global physical world audience.

Sisi Biedermann’s Gallery…

Drune IV: Aftermath – August 2019 – click any image for full size
In January 2019 we visited 2019-XS by zee9. At the time, I noted:

The region has an adult edge to the role-play, and is intended as an extension to her previous (and now departed) build Drune. I’ve not seen that design, but will say that while compact, 2019-XS has a certain ambience that is hard to define, but has seen me make three visits to it in order to fully appreciate the ambience and setting.

Well, we’ve recently had the opportunity to immerse ourselves in Drune design, as zee9 2019-XS has been remodelled into the fourth chapter in the series, Drune IV: Aftermath.

Drune IV: Aftermath – August 2019

Maintaining much of the look and feel of 2019-XS (and previous Drune builds) in terms of general layout, Drune IV Aftermath presents an environment in which it…

Joanee’s Gallery

Three Questions, an exhibition by Joan Mayflower at her own new gallery space called Joanee’s Gallery, cleverly involves portraits and words in a revealing exhibition.

Set within a floating garden sitting against a backdrop of stars, Three Questions presents a series of eight avatar portraits – presumably of Joan’s friends – but that’s not all, as Joan explains.

Joanee’s Gallery: Three Questions

The exhibit consists of portraits of Second Life avatars that I have done, accompanied by a set of three questions asked of each portrait subject. The questions/answers note cards are accessible by clicking on each portrait.

– Joan Mayflower, describing Three Questions

This makes Three Questions an intriguing exhibition, bringing together as it does two elements within each picture. On the one hand, Joan’s portraits of the avatars, each one of which has been carefully framed, cropped and presented, offer us insight into the subject…

no show – just break ! ! !

and it is that time of year again = we are here but we are also not here. translation? good content will come back, drax is refueling via meditation, solitude, long walks and reading. and possibly making music too.

official

oh and what should YOU listen to and read and “consume” while we are gone?

well we have some ideas:

• our fave radio show / podcast which we can’t live without has been and still is on the media. their recent show on internet toxicity is a must listen:

• xaos princess is roaming the virtual grids = lots of good thoughts from many folks incl yours truly:

Peter Vos in Second Life

Three years ago, in July 2016, I wrote about an exhibition that I found utterly engaging and one of the most captivating exhibitions of physical world art to be reproduced in Second Life – and it remains so today.

That exhibition, Peter Vos in Second Life, celebrates the work of Dutch illustrator, humorist, caricaturist and artist, Peter Vos (Septmber 1935-November 2010). A recent conversation brought the exhibition to mind, do I decided to make a return visit, in part because I wanted to once again immerse myself in the wonderful art of a phenomenally talented artist, and in part to again draw attention to the exhibition through these pages for those who may not yet have visited it – because it remains an absolute must-see.

Peter Vos in Second Life

Put together by Vos’ son, known in-world as Karkassus Jigsaw, Peter Vos in Second…

Happy Wednesday everyone! A great party awaits you at The Dirty Grind IAC, thanks to our incredibly talented musicians! Join us and let’s hop over this Hump day with some awesome tunes 😀

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Fender/47/87/36

5pm Lexie Luan

Lexie has been performing most of her life; her soulful style of singing lends her female energy to each song she sings. She will have you feeling her emotions right down to the core of your being, with a style that has been described as stunning and very much her own; an experience not to be missed!

6pm Winston Ackland – ?

Winston has a gift with connecting with his audiences as they relax in the cozy atmosphere his presence creates and enjoy innovative songs crafted from a blend of rock, bossa nova, folk, blues and jazz.

7pm Twostep Spiritweaver

From Blues to Bluegrass, Beatles to Bach, Grateful Dead to Van Morrison and all…

Blocksworld was a sandbox type game allowing users to create and build from blocks, purchase specialist packs, and even sell their own creations through a marketplace

Linden Lab has confirmed it has “paused” development and promotion of its iOS sandbox app, Blocksworld.

For those unfamiliar with it, Blocksworld has been a part of the Lab’s product stable since 2013. Initially developed by a trio of Swedish guys calling themselves Boldai AB, it was acquired by Linden Lab at the time the company was looking to broaden its product offerings under the stewardship of former CEO Rod Humble. This effort encompassed:

• The in-house development of games like Creatorverse (Android and iOS, 2012-2013 – now defunct) and Dio (browser based, 2013-2014 – now defunct)
• The acquisition of companies and their products (LittleTextPeople  and Versu, 2012 – IP released back to the original developers, 2015; and Boldai AB with Blocksworld).

Isla de Sol, July 2019 – click any image for full size

A little while ago I received an invitation from Noirran Marx to visit Isla de Sol, her Homestead region, which I gather is open to the public. It took a while for us to get there, but we did in July and found it to be a quiet, balmy tropical island that makes for an easy, gentle visit.

At the time we dropped in, the island offered a roughly north-south orientation, with the clearest signs of human habitation at the southern end, most notably in the form of a large house sitting within a low walled garden, with two trailer-style homes sitting close by under the boughs of tree that might be more at home in more northerly latitudes than suggested by the rest of the island’s styling.

Isla de Sol, July 2019

To the…

After spending yesterday recharging at the beach and using Ocean View Motel’s facilities, I was ready to hop in Ferdy and see where the day takes me. With no plans set, anything was possible.

With my accommodation located close to Second Norway Airport, I had a little drive in Ferdy where I hopped on a train for a view of the world around me without needing to concentrate on the road. Along part of the train ride I came across Sophia who traveled a short distance. Always nice to see commuters using public transport but I also enjoy driving.

There are two trains. One which is an express train for airport travelers and the red train which circles Second Norway, the train I traveled which takes you over canals, an extensive bridge crossing system, underwater tunnels as it stops for residents to head into town.

One circumnavigation later and I’m…

Natural Falls, July 2019

DannChris might be a hamster in Second Life (and love the Maverick profile photo, Dann!), but he’s a hamster with a love of water settings. I discovered this when visiting his Natural Falls V in early 2017 (see Navigating Natural Falls in Second Life) and again with a visit to A L T I T U D E earlier in 2019 (see Gaining a little A L T I T U D E in Second Life).

At the start of July 2019, Dann dropped me a note thanking me for writing about A L T I T U D E – which was nice in itself – and to inform me that a new Natural Falls would be coming along soon. More recently, friend and fellow traveller, Miro Collas poked me to let me know it had arrived. So hoping it has retained…

Kultivate 4th Anniversary Art Show

Sunday, July 14th marked the opening of the Kultivate Magazine 4th anniversary art show in Second Life.

Since its inception, the brand has grown to encompass the website, the side-by-side Kultivate AIR and the Windlight galleries, The Edge gallery, specialising in black and white images, and the arts community as a whole through the provisioning of personal art spaces on the Kultiate home region of Water Haven. In addition, Kultivate has provided fund-raising support for Team Diabetes of SL, Rock Your Rack (supporting the National Breast Cancer Foundation – NBCF), and Feed a Smile.

Kultivate 4th Anniversary Art Show: Vee Tamas

For their fourth anniversary, Kultivate presents a 2D and 3D art exhibition in a steampunk-themed setting. Some 27 artists are participating in the event, which also features a week of entertainment as well.

Obviously, with so many artists…