Sessy’s Grassland of Contemplation ~ Fox Paradise

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Fox Paradise, Sessy's Grassland of Contemplation

My first visit to Sessy’s Grassland of Contemplation was prompted by seeing photos such as the one above, which was taken near the landing. It’s a beautiful setting, with tai chi and meditation activities near the tree.

I was content to spend quite some time exploring, and a few days later returned with a friend to collect some photos. The lighting in the water was gorgeous too, and I found a nearby cave that I was too tall to walk into.

I don’t recall enjoying the look of red mushrooms anywhere else as much as I did here.

From the land description: “Fox Sanctuary: Welcome to fox sanctuary, part of the fox sims! everyone is welcome here, furs, humans, whatever you like to be in sl, it’s the home of Daesa’s fine art studio, none better anywhere.”

I never did find the fine art studio, but I saw what looked to be a glass walled media room perched on the side of a mountain. Crossing over this bridge, I wandered uphill on a path that led to a sunlit area.

There were ruins, floating trees, and crystals over a pool of water. When I cammed down, I could see a club underneath the area, but couldn’t find a way to enter from this location.

The five different sims have different names, with different land descriptions.  “Fox Grove a place of ruins, a place of mountains and caves, for some a place to relax, for others a place of exploration, for a few a place of spiritual commune, but in any case a lovely place to be and come to; all are welcome!”

I found the cave entrance to the club, “In Heat”. There are signs outside so it isn’t really hidden. “A club for everyone! Furs, humans and anything in between! Unity is the name of the game here, good music, good friends and good fun, all night!”

There’s a music/party room behind the area with the game tables.

Higher up, there are autumn trees, and views from the mountains. I fell through some of the areas, but my friend teleported me out. It isn’t a problem really, and these sims are way less laggy for me than I find many to be.

The sims are created by Victor Kenzo and Sessy Karu. There were a few other avatars around during the times I visited, but I had plenty of space and peace.

Fortunately, flying is allowed. There was someone inside the mountain cabin both times I visited, so I haven’t been inside yet.

“Bridge of Sighs, Fox Landing ahh fox landing, a place of heights and valleys, a place to take in the mountain air and relax with a loved one or climb the ancient hills.”

“Fox Hollow Welcome to fox hollow the volcanic tropical zone of the fox sims; there are a few caves and other things to explore here as well as the other five sims.”

Sessy’s Grassland of Contemplation and the adjoining Fox Paradise sims were a pleasure to explore and photograph.

 

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Wanderlust Bench Art Park ~ May & June 2019

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Sansara, virtual art, Wanderlust Bench Art Park, Wanderlust Cafe

Serra Qendra, Elle Thorkveld, Kate Silver

The late spring, early summer exhibit is open until June 30 in the park, and Wanderlust Cafe and Art Park Expansion next door.

Wheedle, Klaus, Lil Mint

The art changes every two months, often new works, and some of it is available for purchase.

Pearl Grey, Art Oluja

Ranging from virtual photography to rl watercolor, as usual there was no hard theme or guidelines.

For those participants who like prompts, a poem entitled A Charm Against the Language of Politics by Veronica Patterson was offered.

Veyot

Several of the artists chose to respond to the prompt.

Wheedle

Nothing was harsh. The above poster is free.

Amy Inawe, Klaus

An essay called Grounding, written by Klaus, is available on a notecard; just click on the art photo.

Seraphim Placebo

Virtual photography taken at Mophire.

Lil Mint

Digital art on the  top floor of the gallery at the Art Park Expansion.

Serra Quendra

Serra has an installation in Wanderlust Cafe. There’s still plenty of seating outdoors.

There are 3D sculptures from a private collection scattered about, as well as posters with landmarks for current exhibits and destinations.

We’d love to have you visit.

 

 

“Inspired by……”

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EU Copyright Directive, Klaus Bereznyak, Mona Eberhardt, public domain, Quelques Choses

WordPress has just wished me a happy anniversary; I registered here seven years ago. In all that time, I’ve never once re-blogged. But today’s thoughts on the EU Copyright Directive were not written by me. I have not been following the issue.

The photos and words in the main body of this post were written by my friend and creative colleague, Klaus Bereznyak. He and I collaborate on projects inworld, and share publishing on several blogs. One of the blogs is private, for notes, ideas, communication, and such. The following is one of his posts, and I have his permission to share. It was originally created for our eyes only.  Rather than attempting to figure out how to reblog from a Private post, if it can be done at all, I am copy/pasting and using the media here.

Inspired by…..

I’ve read recently about the debates stirred up by the EU Copyright Directive that ostensibly protects the intellectual property of creators and artists but really just hands more power to, and lines the pockets of, the huge corporations that ‘own’ the artists. It is supposed to affect Second Life creations, according to Mona Eberhardt’s blog. In brief the problem arises when a creator makes derivative works using legitimate sources they have paid for, but these can be blocked if LL itself does not own those rights.

The tendrils of the debate reach into questions of whether it’s possible at all to make truly ‘original’ work if it borrows anything from existing popular culture. Apart from sparking lots of fantasy arguments in my head, some things clarified for me going forward:

1. Don’t stop making things
2. Keep being inspired by what you see and reusing it
3. Artists need and deserve to keep 100% rights to their work and not hand that to middlemen
4. The sharing economy of creative commons might be the only way we can thrive and, if we proceed with generosity and respect, these parasitic, fat corporations will hopefully just become a pathetic noisy sideshow.   

Most of what I have created here is sourced from the public domain. It is so rich. And since I have no interest in replicating the trashy trappings of branded and trademarked modern culture, I don’t expect to run out of options or fall foul of the directives.

The products we sell at Quelques Choses draw exclusively on public-domain materials that sometimes take meticulous hours of preparation to fit for inworld purposes; so I’m not at all embarassed to charge for what we make.

~ by Klaus Bereznyak May 13, 2019

I enjoy our shop!

edit ~ June 4, 2019; comments closed for this post 

Quelques Choses in New Toulouse

Quelques Choses at Studio Lot Be

Quelques Choses at Gate 51

Visual Poems at The Edge Gallery

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Ladmilla, The Edge Gallery, Visual Poems

Ladmilla and Eli Medier

Visual Poems ~ The Magic of Images and Words opened May 4th at The Edge Gallery, and remains open until June 4th. The exhibit is located in the cathedral, and on the parapets and adjoining room of the castle. One of the artist/poets has works outside next to the cathedral, and there are also other installations on the grounds and in the castle.

Shown above, images by Ladmilla and words by Eli Medier.

Thomas Crown (thomascrown11)

The Edge Gallery is owned by Ladmilla. I participated in this exhibit, and found it to be a very positive experience. Everyone else involved, except for my poet collaborator, was previously unknown to me, and everyone I encountered was welcoming and friendly.

Aysegul Kruzic (aysegul destiny) & Angel Penelope Valentino (angelique eilde)

An opening party was held on Saturday, May 4th.

Patrick Ireland (patrickofireland)

Upstairs in the cathedral, Patrick Ireland has a restful and green, Asian inspired installation, which has a different ambiance than the portion I photographed above.

Kapaan

Also upstairs in the cathedral were words and images by Kapaan. The images have animated elements, and appear to be visible through a crumbling wall. The poems are rotating on the image. The castle is visible through the window shown on the left.

Jaz (Jessamine2108)

Jaz created both the poems and images for her part in the exhibit.

Over in the castle, the ground floor has a permanent exhibit of Ladmilla’s work. Climbing up ladders, you’ll find more of the exhibit on the parapets and connecting rooms.

Pearl Grey ~ images; Klaus ~ poetry

The process that Klaus and I used flowed smoothly. I made a collection of a few virtual photos, and more of digital art, then gave Klaus a choice for writing poetry. My work is not prescriptive, and I found the words complementary to the images. The poetry pieces are in the contents of the art.

Other artists and poets are Alena Pit & Viktor Savior, Mirbelle Biederman (mirabelle sweetwater), Venicio Armin, and TaraAers & Olean (oleanhorok) whose works are shown in a post by Inara Pey.

The Gallery is also hosting photography by Ani (anibrm jung) and 3D art by YANN Gyro (sempiternel) and Melodie Heart (mariemadeleine38).  There’s much to see so best to allow plenty of time to take in the poetry and images.

 

 

 

 

 

Toasted ~ Serra Qendra at Artlot Gallery, Rivulet

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Elle's Art Lot, Heterocera, Rivulet, serra Qendra, Toasted

Toasted, a 2D art exhibit by Serra Qendra, is on display in the intimate artist loft gallery at Artlot in Rivulet.

The original installation was exhibited at Burn 2 Equinox 2019. This 2D installation attempts to further abstract and distill the concepts as indicated in the artist statement.

The artist bio is in the sandwich board outside the gallery, and is one of the most interesting bios I’ve read inworld.

Artlot is owned and maintained by Elle Thorkveld and exhibits work by her and other artists in a peaceful nature setting. It changes seasonally.

 

The Spirit Blooms Timidly at Ribong Gallery

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Art Oluja, cylent, Lenticular Motion, Ribong Gallery, Santoshima, The Spirit Blooms Timidly, virtual art

The Spirit Blooms Timidly opened three weeks ago at Ribong Gallery in Mieum. It’s a creative and unique exhibit that is well worth a long visit, or several visits to take it all in. 

“THE SPIRIT BLOOMS TIMIDLY is Art Oluja’s latest collection of artwork. This exhibition merges several personally inspiring concepts, beginning with a passage by George Santayana: ‘the world is not respectable; it is mortal, tormented, confused, deluded forever; but it is shot through with beauty, with love, with glints of courage and laughter; and in these, the spirit blooms timidly, and struggles to the light amid the thorns’.”

At the landing, there’s notecarded information about the artist, and the exhibit. There’s also a gift of art. Turning around, you’ll see you’re encouraged to jump into the multi-level gallery space.

“Light-hearted optical illusions, hypnotic mandalas, and vibrant dandelions are some of the elements that blossom within this collection. The show reflects the artist’s perception that ‘nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect’.”

Photographs don’t do justice to the exhibit, and I’ve been having quite a bit of challenges with my viewer and internet connection lately. The pieces are of a large scale and many can be entered by avatars; they are all visually stunning.

Fortunately, flying is enabled. This allows viewing of the art from different angles. There are stairs and seating available, and you can dance inside some of the large, floating pieces.

“To view and listen to the media in the exhibit, please make sure you have your viewer set to allow automatically playing media, and toggle your play media button ON when you arrive. Media is embedded in some wall panels and in some of the artworks.”

I enjoyed finding a coherent, narrative journey for myself in this exhibit, and I shared it with the artist, who’s approachable, and also a friend. The exhibit is in no way prescriptive; enjoy it as you will.

Some of the Cylents are shown above. “A ‘Cylent’ [Cyber + Lenticular = Cylent] is a technique that Art Oluja developed in-world. It is a hand-made process that merges virtual photography with Lenticular Motion printing, and she describes them as being ‘like those fun little animated cards I got in cereal boxes as a kid :)’ They are non scripted objects so you can enjoy them lag-free.”

The above photo gives a suggestion of the scale of the pieces, and you can get a glimpse of the 3D art underneath.

Ribong Gallery is curated by Santoshima. I first discovered it earlier this year while visiting the neighboring Art of Being Gallery, and very much enjoyed immersing in the exhibit at that time.

“ABOUT THE GALLERY: Ribong Gallery is a flexible space within the meta-world of Second Life, whose intention is to host a rolling series of thought-provoking contemporary arts exhibitions featuring the artworks of SL artists. The name Ribong is derived from the Ladakhi name for the Tibetan Woolly Hare, and is a reminder of impermanence, flux, and bounding joy within a world of endless forms most beautiful. We hope you will subscribe for future exhibits (the subscription panel in the lobby entrance), and we are grateful for your support of this gallery and of SL artists.”
 

 

Dragonfly Sanctuary ~ Neumoegen

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Dragonfly Sanctuary, Heterocera, Neumoegen, The Atoll, Thea Donovan

“The dragonfly symbolizes transformation in the direction of self-realization and living for the moment. Dragonflies flit across the surface of the water, bringing awareness to what lies in its depths. Enjoy watching the dragonflies at our sanctuary pond.”

First, the pavilion appeared in Neumoegen at the former location of Wrong Way Books. Wrong Way Books, owned by Thea Donovan, has moved on to it’s third home, I believe.

The pavilion has a formal, yet welcoming feel. You can leave by the door shown in the left of the photo, and take a very short walk up to Neumoegen Station to catch a train, or a pod on Robin Loop. Or you can walk down the hill a very short way, and catch a pod on Route 1.

About a month ago, the formerly abandoned land next to the pavilion had a pond dug as the beginning of the lovely sanctuary. The trees and wildflowers surrounding the parcel are effective in giving a sense of retreat from the nearby parcels.

The benches and blankets around the pond offer pleasant views and nature sounds.

A cottage that complements the nature area is also on the grounds.

The Dragonfly Sanctuary

Knitland

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Cica Ghost, Knitland

“Sometimes I get sad… but then I think about yarn and everything is fine :)” ~ Cica Ghost.

Knitland opened Sunday, April 14 at Dragonash. Near the arrival, instructions for best viewing are posted. I use the LL viewer, and these photos were snapped without the Sun + Moon Projectors.

Also near the arrival is a gift of yarn ball avatars in five different colors.

The knit creatures are delightful. During my visit, uplifting mambo was on the music stream.

Cica’s installations are usually around for about a month.

Wanderlust Art Park Third Anniversary

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Quentin, Sansara, Wanderlust Bench Art Park

It was during mid-April three years ago that I was offered the opportunity to care for a small parcel in Quentin, on Sansara, where avatars of all levels of experience could show their work. When I was asking around to learn who might enjoy participating, Lil Mint offered to purchase the adjoining parcel; Wanderlust Cafe and Art Park Expansion has been around for the almost three years as well.

The digital art above is by Klaus Bereznyak, and contains a timely, written piece on a notecard.

There is a collection of destination posters with landmarks, most are places located on the mainland. The projected was curated two years ago, so the posters have dwindled; an updated set is under consideration. The art photo is by Veyot.

The pieces above, from left to right are by Pearl Grey, Wheedle, and Klaus. The exhibits change every two months, and several of the artists change every month. Wheedle rezzed his poster the beginning of March, and I asked him to leave it through April too, to allow more people to pick up a free copy if they so wish. It is a full perm poster.

From left to right, by Lil Mint, and serra Qendra. Both are active with other SL projects, as are most of the creatives participating.

The digital art on the left is by Elle Thorkveld, and the photo is by Kate Silver.

Wheedle’s new piece for April.

This exhibit is running until the end of the month, and we’d enjoy having you visit.

The decorative screen is by Lynette Trinity, and the digital art by Amy Inawe.

There are several 3D pieces on the way to the Cafe. The two-sided one above is by me, the others are new from private collections.

Photography by Seraphim.

Vase by Lynette Trinity.

Serra Qendra has a photography exhibit in Wanderlust Cafe.

A colorful exhibit of digital painting by Giselle Seeker is located at the ground level of the building on the Wanderlust Cafe parcel.

And upstairs, new graphic art by Lil Mint.

Bench Art Park 

 

 

 

 

Handwood Aquarium ~ Taeniatum

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Handwood Aquarium, Taeniatum

The Handwood Aquarium is located near the SLRR in Taeniatum. For those who haven’t been in the area for awhile, it’s located across from I J Designs Depot, a unique gothic build that has been there for years.

There’s an area displaying fossils. I really like the ones on the wall and spent time looking to see if they are for sale anywhere, and it appears that they are not.

The building takes up most of the 6320 sq m parcel. Behind the coffee shop is a wooded area, and there’s a small park next to the aquarium on one side.

I’ve not seen a building like this before, but I can’t imagine it being modded to hold the elaborate aquarium. It was created in 2013 by Doctor Zimberman.

There are pixel fish swimming in the tanks, with information plaques nearby. Benches are conveniently located, and there’s a selfie opportunity area.

The land description: “Come see fish and marine life as well as some reptiles. Come explore and enjoy”  The parcel is owned by M & G Land Holdings.

The stairways into other areas aren’t obviously apparent. Walking through the aquarium is a subtle immersive experience; I could easily imagine the slightly chilly, damp air.

The gift shop appears to be a work in progress. At my most recent visit, there was 136 Li left to work with.

Attached to the aquarium is a reptile conservatory, with crocodiles in the water.

Walking under this creature isn’t so unnerving in a virtual world.

Outside the conservatory is a small park with a bench to watch the koi and ducks. It’s nice to be “outdoors” again after the enclosed spaces of the building.

Coffee, tea and desert are available in the shop next to the park. There’s another building next to this that looks to be empty at first, but it connects to the aquarium and I soon got my bearings inside the building.

I enjoyed my visits and consider this a fine addition to the region.