The I Don’t Know Who I Am Gallery, Metis

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Earl Dinkin, Emily Dickinson, Epic Dewfall, Metis, Second Life, The I Don't Know Who I Am Gallery

Earl Dinkin, prolific artist and writer of quatrains, has an eleventh gallery in Metis, The I Don’t Know Who I Am Gallery. It appears to be the most recent, about three months old.  Anyone who travels the mainland widely and often, has likely seen one of the galleries, all unique but with his recognizable work. The galleries are usually spacious, running out of land impact availability before room to display art. I’ve never seen Earl Dinkin on my map yet he apparently maintains his spaces well. I wouldn’t even dream of trying to interview him; his Second Life RL bio and his website both state that he doesn’t like to talk. The land description states that he’ll have about 90 paintings at this location eventually, adding them as he makes them.  This Canadian poet/artist’s work can easily be found online by searching the name Epic Dewfall.A few of the pieces in this gallery are framed and large; much of the art here and in his other galleries are displayed in smaller form as shown two photos above.

I’ve looked at many of them and collected a couple, one for the image and one for the words.Most of the work comes from lucid dreaming. I’ve gathered that the dreams have ceased for quite a while, yet he continues to work.There are what appears to be catalog pages of stamp sized pieces here and in some of the other galleries. At first they look to be numbered by years; the numbers go to 2034. Art is displayed on trees at this location but they can more easily be seen elsewhere.Many of the galleries, including this one, are near water. I intend to post about more of them in the weeks and months ahead. The white pillars seen above have changing quatrains floating above them.

In the upper right of the above photo is the POST/Skyline Drive – Retro Cantilever House by Van Auster, one of the few times I’ve seen it in use in the places accessible to me. Here, it’s part of the gallery and open to the public.It’s been made into a flat for the ghost of Emily Dickinson to live in.The LM for the gallery, as shared in Mr Dinkin’s profile feed, will have you arriving here in the flat. It’s a pleasant place to sit and do some work, such as blogging.  

Venta Silurum

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Second Life, Venta Silurum

I’d intended to have a quick look around Venta Silurum and instead found myself lingering, looking at the variety of areas.

“Venta Silurum was a town in the Roman province of Britannia or Britain. Today it consists of remains in the village of Caerwent in South east Wales.”There were several info boards at the landing, a couple appeared to be links to a store or event; the third was in regard to a photo contest with linden prizes, ending the 30th of September. Signposts offer the group joiner and the guidelines to the sim.

I was encouraged to move along by the boisterous sounds of farm animals.Given a choice of directions to explore, I went to the beach first and then climbed up to the ruins. I kept the region light setting but lightened the exposure on these photos. There are no teleport helpers to the various areas because the sim creators want avatars to wander on foot. Fortunately flying is allowed which I often find necessary for photography. After enjoying the ruins, I walked through the cave shown in the first photo here. There are indeed a variety of areas to explore and with the high traffic the sim is experiencing it didn’t feel crowded at all. The guidelines state there are estate managers to assist with any problems and they were in attendance the several times I’ve visited.

Past the traveler caravans I arrived at another area of ruins which looked lovely in this setting. This is the sort of landscape my physical alt enjoys being in, in her world.

The flying helped again when I got stuck under some rocks attempting to navigate the steps above the statue in the waterfall. I found a camping area amidst the remains of an old, downed plane.   

“Venta Silurum, is an open sim created for adventure and photography. We hope you enjoy your time here.”

There is a Flickr group and there may be events held from time to time to help fund any slight alterations to the landscape or adventures the sim creators would like to make.

Unwriting 1: The Twig Oracle

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Klaus Bereznyak, Quentin, Sansara, Second Life, The Twig Oracle, Wanderlust Cafe

The Twig Oracle, by Klaus Bereznyak, is currently on exhibition at Wanderlust Cafe in Quentin.  From the notecard obtained by clicking on the white info piece:

The series currently holds 8 naturally-occurring glyphs, taken from the forest floor and scanned on a flatbed scanner to create the image.

1. Divided Way
2. The Bow
3. The Sickle
4. The Third Way
5. Tau
6. Fe
7. Waw
8. Dancing Figure

Clicking on each photo delivers a notecarded oracle. My personal favorite is The Sickle. One approach could be to first select the image most compelling and then to read the others for their added wisdom.

The images are available for a modest price that makes collecting the set very affordable.“Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth. They do not teach learning and precepts, they teach, undeterred by precepts, the ancient laws of life.” ~ Herman Hesse

 

Art in Virtual Worlds Exhibit ~ Metaphor Reflections

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Bradley University, Community Virtual Library, Metaphor Reflections, Second Life, virtual art

The Community Virtual Library in Second Life presents an exhibit of art work in virtual worlds during the fall of 2016.

The Grand Opening of the exhibit is Monday, September 12th from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. SLT, when some of the artists will share about virtual world art in either text or voice. It will be held at the CVL Exhibit Space, Bradley University.

The photo above shows art by Eleseren Brianna.

Some photographs by Alex Avion are show above with an animated piece by Elle Thorkveld to the right.

On Saturday, October 8th at 9:00 a.m. SLT a second presentation by some of the participants will be given.  The exhibit runs from September 12th through November 15th.There are two levels of the exhibit space with navigation between the levels via rope climbing.

Wearable Art Celebration Party
Wednesday October 12th 6pm SLT
“Wear something artistic and join us for a celebration of virtual world art. Network with other artists, educators, librarians, and friends to connect and share art with virtual world communities.”

Art by Indea Vaher shown above.

Participants include: Eleseren Brianna, Alex Avion, Derry McMahon, Lucia Tophat, Sheba Blitz, Camellia (captainofmysoul), Aradia Aridian, Capcat Ragu, Bryn Oh, Uleria Caramel, JolieElle, Johannes1977, Sparky Mandelbrot, ZeniaBastet, Ceakay Ballyhoo, Hana Hoo, Marly Milena, Pearl Grey, Indea Vaher, Asmita Duran Jaya, Professor Bimbogami and Dancoyote Antonellie.

There are links to galleries, websites, LEA installations, Flickr accounts and other trails to follow.

Valibrarian Gregg is the President of Community Virtual Library.

Arranmore

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Arranmore, Lauren Bentham, Second Life

Recently I made a second, more thorough visit to Arranmore. At the entrance landing I was offered a rules and info notecard and an Arranmore flashlight. There were the usual avatars standing in place and some running around but it wasn’t as crowded as my first visit. After first noticing it’s a kind of sim I like to explore and photograph, I noted that I experienced less lag than I usually do on mesh-heavy designer sims. Some things in the house did become blurry and distorted but came back into focus when I moved around.The info notecard gives some tips for settings on the Lab viewer and Firestorm and also for use of the flashlight. The flashlight is one of the best this avatar has received in a while.

There is a group that can be joined for a reasonable fee to temporarily rez objects and also a Flickr group to share photos of the sim. It’s recommended to turn the sound up, which I did, and that adds greatly to the experience, especially the sounds of someone running rapidly up behind me.Newbies are finding their way here and look quite effective in the new fantasy starter avatars. I got a little startle when some of them moved or started running after seeing some of the rezzed characters such as the man by the carriage in one of the above photos.There’s a great backstory included on the info card. This is a place which sparks the imagination to create one’s own story. There are sheep and several fires on the island showing evidence of life.

From the land description: “Photogenic coastal island, Lovecraft, creepy, vintage horror, haunted house, halloween, Silent Hill, Fallout ,urban decay, abandoned, carnival, kids, neko, romantic public hangout, popular, photography, photos, roleplay”. 

I’m going to guess that machinima is allowed, although according to the ToS it isn’t automatically allowed everywhere as is photography.There are several buildings outlying the mansion to explore. I climbed the stairs of the lighthouse to enjoy the view and it’s a great photo set for the selfie takers.The sim creator is Lauren Bentham, who also created Baja Norte, Everwinter and Netherwood.Some of my favorite touches were the flashes of lightening and the sounds of an impending storm outdoors and the old phone ringing in the mansion.

Alchemy Inspiration Exhibition by Elle Thorkveld

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Alchemy Inspiration, Alchemy software, Elle Thorkveld, Generative Art, Glitch Art, Montara Bridgeworks Gallery, Second Life

Cordial invitation to visit the exhibition of artist Elle Thorkveld titled “Alchemy Inspiration” featuring generative and glitch art derived from sketches created using Alchemy software.

Informal artist chat Sunday September 4th @ 1 pm SLT. All welcome!

Exhibit open September/October 2016 at Montara Bridgeworks Gallery.

“‘Alchemy Inspiration’ is an exhibit of generative and glitch art derived from sketches created using the Alchemy open drawing project software. Generative art is a form of creative coding, using software to develop art. I use the Processing language in my work. Randomness plays a large part in my arts development, as I enjoy the play of unexpected shape and color.” ~ Elle Thorkveld