An Interview with soror Nishi

“hihi”, it was a simple introduction that soror Nishi had made in her very first blog post, on the 4th of May in 2007.  Four years and one thousand and eighty five posts later, she’s had plenty to say on a host of topics, from notes on her creations, to what was on her mind on a particular day and seemingly, all points in between. It had only been a few weeks prior to that post, that she’d rezzed in Second Life for the first time. While her introduction was brief it wasn’t long before she began exploring that medium, sharing her insight on topic after topic and … Oh, and lest I forget … her fantastical builds … the colors and forms used to create the most delightful objects. Her trees are easily distinguishable and the hallmark of her landscapes … all of which she combines into scenes that dazzle the eye, defy description and produce an imagery that transports the viewer to places they can only dream about. It is one that cannot be experienced outside of a virtual world.

I’d seen over the course of my travels in Second Life and in InWorldz several of her builds. The most recent opportunity had been “Transubstantiation”, which had exhibited at UWA. We’d been introduced by a mutual friend some time ago and we’d exchanged pleasantries several times as our paths had crossed. It had been shortly after seeing the UWA build that we’d talked about my doing a piece on her. She agreed and we set a date and time.

"Everything is going well in your world I hope?" I asked as soon as she'd arrived at my place on Magna Carta. We stood on the third floor of the structure, it is open to the sky as I'm in process of re-building and hadn't raised the walls of third floor yet.

"Yes, I had a bit of brain lag for a week or two … but it's all cool again." She replied.

"That's good to hear." I said with a smile. "Are you ready to start?"

"Sure."

"How and when did you discover virtual worlds?"

"In April 2007 … I was at a house in Cornwall where two of the guys there were in SL. I was just starting an exhibition of paintings (RL) and they said how I should try and sell them in SL. So ... talking with them I soon realized that actually I could BE the paintings, or be in them anyway. So ... sculpties were just being introduced … it took me ages to unRuth. I had an old Mac lappy ... well ... and so it went ... I sat in this exhibition in RL for 4 weeks with my lappy and tried to get Blender to work, there were no tutorials and I eventually made a prim … sculptie and I painted loads of textures and ... the rest is history." She replied and then added with a smile; "I only sold one painting."

"I saw that you'd started your blog right around then as well. Was that your first experience blogging?" I asked.

"Yes, first it was just a sort of diary … just thoughts and a sort of documenting my time, and then it became more to do with my work and eventually a mix of all sorts of stuff." She said in reply.

"It has a very good following and interaction with your readers. Is that interaction important to you?" I asked her.

"Well ... I think its a pain to send out information to all my friends list all the time, so I wanted it as a place where people could find out what I was up to, but more recently it has been great to exchange ideas with people. It's also corrective, because if I go off at a tangent, my readers will tell me ... I like that."

"Shifting back to virtual worlds ... What is it about them that you find so interesting?" I asked.

"It is pure heaven for a sculptor. I have always been a 3D designer since I was small, but it wasn't called that. I have ... like some people hear music all the time ... I have always seen shapes, form and composition and color. It's a continual experience for me. Everyday I see how things sit in 3D alongside each other. I always have. I think there's a sort of set of rules of harmony … how volumes interact in space. It's like music must be for some people ... there's harmony and disharmony. I was probably around 4 or 5 when I started arranging things." She said in reply and then added; "Soo ... virtual worlds are heaven."

"Has the creativity you've experienced here helped you in your real life?" I asked.

"I think the recognition. The fact that people 'get' what I do, that has helped with my confidence as a creator, but I haven't really turned that into any visible change in my real life … my confidence has increased and my computer skills."

"And that's a good thing." I commented.

"Indeed. I actually have a problem with RL art because it entails manufacturing a product, which I am good at ... but that leads you to a life of sales … I hate sales." She said and then laughed before she added; "And ... then there's storage too … so digital art is perfect for me. I was asked if I have an aim with my art and really, as far as RL goes, the answer is not really".

"Creation for the sake of doing so?" I asked.

"Yes ... and I am really the only person I need to satisfy. I am my strongest critic, so if I am happy ... life is sweet." She said in reply and then added, "Well, it is important as I said above that other people get it."

"A blog post you wrote in June of last year in which you said that 'Art in SL is different … There is no difference between artist and artisan in SL'. Do you still feel the same way?" I asked her.

"Yes, that was inspired a bit by that post by Alpha Auer. She meant that art in previous times had a sort of purpose, a function ... and that losing that had caused art to lose its way a bit. And so now ... these earrings I've been wearing for four years ... that's a very close relationship to one person's creation. That's as important as any painting or other fine art." She replied.

"I would tend to agree with you, seeing how much effort it takes to create a piece of apparel in second life." I commented.

"Yes, I mean really it's the same in RL too, I guess." She said.

"Which of your creations do you think is the most significant to you as an artist and why?" I asked.

"That's a tricky one … my sofa is very good, and mostly unnoticed, but my skin is the one I think affects me most … not this one by the way. When it comes to trees ... it would be quite difficult to pick one … my birch, maybe?" She replied.

"I was thinking that perhaps it might be one that you'd learned the most about yourself." I commented.

"hmmm ...that's a continual process, not sure I could narrow that down to one piece ... though there is a painting which I made before I knew of SL … of soror based on my reading of Jung. That probably led to soror Nishi....so that would be quite important."

"Speaking of soror, how did you come about that name?" I asked.

"It’s from European Alchemical tradition, she is the muse of the alchemist." She replied.

"I couldn't help notice in your picks, second life profile, that most of it seems to have been de-rezzed. “Was that a result of your moving to IWz as a base?" I asked.

"No. Well ... partly … but as you know builds come and go, it's the nature of this medium. The beach, my land on lifstaen I gave up so that I could afford a sim on IWz … the others were just natural wastage."

"Things do change in second life, no doubt there. What are the themes and trends that you think important for the future of your work in virtual worlds?"

"Well, in some ways it's just to continue doing what I do better. I don't have an aim and I'm never really sure what my next build will be. Twisted Isle is quite different because Transubstantiation was a sort of summary of 4 years work … a simplified version of tree of trees. Then Jeri Rahja gave me the opportunity to do something different and it's not got many trees on it at all." She said and then quickly added; "Four trees … one type."

"I'd missed Tree of Trees, but thought transubstantiation was one of the most amazing builds I'd ever seen." I commented.

"Thanks. Well ... in Trans I had started to change direction slightly anyway. I took a bit of a step towards a more abstract version of my previous work and incorporated a slightly urban feel too." She said.

"I'd thought the geometry was different then some of what I'd seen of your work before." I said.

"Yes … well ... I've always had the belief that the geology of virtual worlds is geometrical and it was time to show that. The Lindens wrote the rule book. They decided we would have sea and sun and earth and gravity ... but, really none of those things are a given in virtual worlds. Its possible other grids may arise where these things don't exist, but...the geology will be geometrical there too." She said and then added with a grin; "And the trees will look like mine."

"I saw this in a post that you wrote about a piece that Bettina had written and it caught my attention 'And, so I come back to Bettina’s question ... Why do we have trouble conveying to people what SL has to offer?' You replied 'Well, most of what SL has to offer is a pale imitation of First Life, I can sit by the sea side, I don’t hear the waves or smell the salt. etc.etc. …  All the time we attempt to minimalize the 'derangement of the senses' we lessen the potential impact of Second Life, and lessen its appeal'."

"Yes, I think that's one reason why WoW is so popular. Avatar was a popular movie. We crave fantasy rather than replication in my opinion … replication is simply doubling my life. Why would I need that … but...the opposite is interesting … parallel universes...very appealing."

"Have you been to WoW?"

"No, I am not very competitive … it doesn't appeal."

"One last question, have you been able to increase the sales of your real life work?

"No. Well, I haven't really tried. I don't have a product for sale … my work RL is going fine. I do landscaping and gardening … but I don't sell an art product." She replied

We talked briefly after her reply and then she left to log out for the evening. As she did so,  I made a note to check out her latest build in InWorldz and soon.

A Conversation with Jayjay Zifanwe

I’d logged into Second Life early one morning, as I normally do before I leave for work. Ostensibly, it’s to collect messages along with any group notices all of which provide me a list of places to visit or people I would like to chat with when I return later in the day. While doing so on that particular day, I received an instant message from Jayjay Zifanwe who’d suggested that I relook at one of the entries from the recently concluded UWA III Machinima contest, “Twinkle’s Journey”. He’d simply said, “look for the hidden meaning”. I did and was surprised that I had missed the message. I felt badly that I had and doubly so for the creator Bay Sweetwater as the hidden meaning was a heart wrenching one. Jayjay and I chatted briefly afterward and I thanked him for calling my attention to it and then logged out. The next day, while I read through the blogs that I follow, I came across a post he’d written titled, “The Most Important Thing I Have Done in Second Life”. Early in the post he writes;

“I think these days, it is very hard to get below the surface with anything, to really know something or someone beyond the superficial exterior. News, happenings with acquaintances, friends, relatives sometimes go by in a blizzard of email, facebook and twitter posts. Many times we look, we read, we post, but we do not really see, we do not truly understand, nor do we really communicate. Sometimes though something happens that allows me to break through this fog... ”

I’d been introduced to Jayjay by White Lebed shortly after the University of Western Australia (UWA) formally became a part of the arts and educational community of Second Life in October of 2009. I do try and make frequent visits there to view the art submitted as part of the challenge, cast my vote and chat with friends and colleagues. Jay Jay Jegathesan (SL Name JayJay Zifanwe), is a Manager, School of Physics at the University of Western Australia and a winner of the Google Earth Build your Campus in 3D Competition. In Second Life, he manages the five SIM’s that comprise UWA’s virtual presence and of course which include the site of the UWA 3D Art & Design Challenge. Over time, UWA has hosted many special builds, including the works of artists such as Glyph Graves, Soror Nishi, Silene Christen and most recently Wizard Gynoid. Beside the promotion of UWA, Jayjay also works tirelessly at promoting the arts in Second Life through collaborative efforts with several of the major art houses in Second Life and he is also a member of the Linden Endowment of the Arts (LEA) committee.

A few days later, we exchanged messages once again and made arrangements to meet for this interview. I’d arrived early and ported over to the UWA sandbox. The Winthrop Clock Tower is right next to it and so I arrowed my virtual self in that direction. I checked the map and noted the presence of a dozen or so avatars scattered about the five UWA SIM’. I flew up and hovered near the clock. It all looked very familiar as I had seen it many times when I’d viewed the machinima that had been submitted. I had been asked by Jayjay to be part of the judge’s panel and while it had been a fair amount of work, I enjoyed it immensely. I was about to fly around to other parts of the SIM, when Jayjay had arrived in world. He messaged me and sent a teleport request. We met for this conversation at the platform which serves as the 3D Art Challenge. It was here that we’d often talked on most of my prior visits. We were surrounded by the art on display and it struck me that he stood amongst them much as a shepherd would his flock. We exchanged pleasantries and then began.

Nazz: I’d looked at your profile earlier and saw that you’d passed your second rezz day recently. I’m curious as to what is it that keeps you coming into Second Life every day?

Jayjay: Well, it’s the fact that the presence of the University of Western Australia has succeeded beyond what I had originally envisioned for it. We really wanted to build the campus initially, just a recreation of the plan and that’s what it would have been. But through serendipity, we’ve had successes in teaching with ongoing under grad and post grad programs, art, machinima, architecture, and a little bit of research as well.

Nazz: So it’s been a combination of things, your successes and experiences that have led you to grow the presence and take it forward into areas that maybe you hadn’t thought possible when you first came in to Second Life?

Jayjay: Yes, definitely. I mean like I hadn’t really walked into a an art gallery, well apart from the gallery at UWA itself in ten years or something like that … before agreeing at the drop of a hat to run the art competition, not having any experience at all in SL, not really knowing the art scene … and then deciding to do what has turned out to be the UWA 3D Art Challenge.

Nazz: What was your initial impression of the art scene in Second Life?

Jayjay: I've always had an interest in art because I'm a Pisces … I see in my profile that Pisceans really are supposed to have an affinity for art and I never found it before. So I guess it's finally found its voice. I mean you have a natural liking for art things which are beautiful and are able to capture the imagination. You're able to do that here … it's hard to explain to someone who doesn't kind of feel it … like you know it’s not like I'm an artist myself or feel like I'm a supporter of the arts or a patron of the arts or anything … in a sense though that's what's been happening.

Nazz: In the nearly two years since it began in Second Life, UWA has established itself as one of the premier venues in Second Life for showcasing art and artists. Was that what you were thinking when you first started the art challenges … to create a venue that entices artists to come here to learn, grow and experiment?

Jayjay: I had no idea what I was getting into or what I wanted. The very first event that we had was the launch of an astronomy art gallery in real life and in Second Life actually … of the space photographs of John Goldsmith. It was also the simultaneous launch of the first structure put on UWA land in second life, it was the physics building. We had that launch but two days prior to it, Professor Ted Snell asked what I could do for art to go along with the launch. He said he'd give us a small amount of funding for it … and I just said I could organize a yearlong art competition without thinking about it.

Nazz: I remember coming to one of the first competitions. It was a small space and it seemed like there were only twenty or so entries. What is the average number of entries now? 

Jayjay: At the moment, for the month of May it was seventy-eight. The average for a month is about seventy but it can range from fifty something to seventy something. We've also limited entries to two per artist. When we first started, the very first month I think there were twenty plus entries but one of the participants had eight art works in and another had six … so I think the actual number of artists for that first challenge was about twelve. I was really lucky I had the time and managed to get really prominent artists sending in works … like Alizarin Goldflake, Oberon Onmura  and Soror Nishi. 

Nazz: Where do you see the art challenge going and I'm leading you just a little because I did see where you're now collaborating with several of the leading art houses in Second Life … is that what you see as the evolution of the art challenge?

Jayjay: The collaboration was the evolution of the first year. We had the UWA 3D Art & Design Challenge and it was just UWA and we only had a UWA panel at the time. What I thought was that by the end of the first year we had grown big enough I guess to be noticeable to the art scene overall in SL. I didn't want the situation whereby other art groups were feeling that they were in competition with the UWA. The art groups really to be a force need to collaborate … that’s why the idea for it to be a collaboration came about. We're supposed to be gaining symbiotic energy from all this, as opposed to trying to outdo each other. That’s why this happened for the second year … whereby there are prizes given by these groups for whatever they've selected … and the interesting thing is almost all the time there is a whole range of different things being selected and that's what I saw in the first year as well. Each person … each artist and each judge has a different idea of what's the best and that’s why there are so many prizes as well. I'm going back to the question … what's the evolution. The 3D Open Art Challenge ends this year really. I don't know what I'm going to do beyond it. I don't think I have the capability or capacity to continue indefinitely … it was never the idea to continue the art challenges every month as a monthly challenge in perpetuity so it will end this year. What I do beyond that I'm not sure. We will have a major art event next year, it’s probably not going to be a monthly art challenge … maybe one larger art challenge in the middle of the year … and something like one large machinima challenge. What I do know is, we will definitely have and we've already started is the Machinima IV Challenge which is the Art of the Artists one. It's in a way a companion to 3D Open Art Challenge. There will be a Machinima V somewhere in the middle of next year. Beyond that I don't know. 

Nazz: On the topic of machinima, where did your interest start in that medium as art?

Jayjay: I didn't know anything about machinima except for seeing like one or two. I actually saw one by a UWA student as part of a class project he did for a second year school of business unit. Everyone was supposed to give a presentation at the end of the semester. The whole course was about business in second life. Everyone else was doing a powerpoint presentation … he did his presentation in the form of a machinima. I guess I saw that one and I thought it would be great if it was more focused … it started out really well ... It was just this kid who was doing it with no real experience. It had really great music and it started off showing the ability to learn in a virtual space and then it started to focus on free tee shirts and peacocks. It could have been so much more ... he did show a bit on education and a little about the arts.

Nazz: How did that evolve to become a machinima contest?

Jayjay: I had kept that idea in the back of my head and then White Lebed said I should run a machinima competition. She in fact contributed a small amount ... she didn't want me to tell people about it. But it's been long enough since then that I can actually say that she put in 5000 L$ for it and I added 5000 L$ and that’s how we started … 10000 L$ was the first prize pool for the UWA Machinima Challenge. For me to run it, I had to run it as a way to break through the real life and second life barrier. There is a difficulty with bringing second life to real life in a university setting and making people sit up and take notice and interest. So the first year challenge had the theme of showing off the art, architecture, research and teaching on the UWA SIM’. That sounds like an extremely exciting topic for a machinimatographer and that was the challenge for the 10000 L$ prize pool. I had no idea what it took to make a machinima and I found out through this … to make one minute of machinima takes 10 to 12 hours of work … so I realized the prize pool was completely inadequate … there were people telling me that we were trying to get a free advertisement for the university as opposed to running a machinima competition. I spent a lot of time with each of the machinimatographers for that round and to show them personally all the areas that I knew were important to be filmed and the reason why we were doing it … the background and the future. It was, I explained to them a weapon to actually bring in more funding to the arts in general and machinima ... and that was the hope and vision … the first challenge as a battering ram to break down this wall between RL and SL. Several of the judges … like the vice chancellor for the university … saw the entries by Cisko Vandeverre … ColeMarie Soleil … Chantal Harvey ... Iono Allen. The prize pool jumped up to 230000 L$ and so it succeeded in a spectacular way in breaking down that barrier. After that funding was provided for the second and third round … based on what happened with that first machinima challenge. It’s kind of freed me so we don't have to focus on UWA ... for example the third machinima challenge was journeys and they could do any journey they wanted but they had to incorporate Winthrop Clock Tower as part of the journey. They didn't have to focus a lot on it or didn’t even have to mention that it was part of the university … it just had to be part of the machinima and I think they did a brilliant job in bringing that forward and so the future challenges will have some aspect of UWA in it … but not having to do some song and dance about UWA to get it in.

Nazz: I do want to talk more about the recent contest, when you'd messaged me to have another look at Twinkle's Journey. I did and then a few days later I read your blog post which I thought very moving. One of your key points and one I think we can all relate to is how we don't often get to know each other as we're all so busy in our own lives. When you did recognize the message and in your conversations with Bay Sweetwater what was your reaction to that?

Jayjay: It makes you realize … it makes things real. Sometimes in second life you paper over the real life aspects. You don't really know the people and you don't know peoples motivation and I completely missed it. The first time when I saw that machinima, I didn't think Twinkle's Journey was Twinkle's Journey. It started out with a star, you got beautiful scenery and stuff then you didn’t see the star and I wondered why for a few seconds … why I didn't see the star … but I didn't really relate to it at all. I thought it was okay, but it was like a kids movie. In fact when I commented on the machinima I commented more on the art work within the machinima. Actually I thought the creations were good and that was the thing I could relate to. So when she won a prize for being a participant in the viewer’s event, a four way tie for 3rd place, which was good, I could have decided … should I only give the Lindens or should I give four books ... what would be good to do? I decided I would send the books. So when I said I would send the book, “100 Treasures of UWA”, she said donate it to a primary school. I was half thinking maybe … just in my mind as I was already preparing the packages … that it would have been just as easy to slip it in an envelope and send it off, as opposed to looking at how to donate a book to a primary school. But something in the back of my mind said that I should. I then called the school and I managed to get the principal straight away. I told him that there's been a donation … So I wrote to Bay that I'd organized donating the book to this school and if you'd like to give a message … and there was something strange about the message … it didn't sit right and so I asked if she'd like to give a different message, about why you're donating the book and that's when I went back to have a look at those words … “A childs journey to the stars, told by those of us who are left behind”. That's when the penny dropped, I did a search on Bay Sweetwater and that’s when I found the blog and she'd written on the blog that yes she had lost a child. I felt thankful that I had organized a school to be receiving this and thankful for the message and the way she wrote it and making me realize the background to it … from one of what was fifty machinima and one that in the end didn't win a prize, it became the headline in my mind almost as a post script to the whole challenge.

Nazz: After I viewed the machinima the second time, the thoughts and emotions stayed with me throughout the rest of the day. Then when I saw your post, I thought it was very moving. Thank you again for calling all of our attention to re-look at the machinima and the underlying story. 

Jayjay: Sure, that’s why the title of that post as well was the most important thing I've one in second life. Some people might look at other achievements or something of the overall university and it would be true I guess, but then to me I put this as the most important thing I've done. Because the blog is UWA's in SL, whenever I write for it, I never write like that … that was how I normally write , that’s my style … but I generally suppress it and write in an official kind of tone or official inflection … but for that one I had to drop all of that and write as I naturally would. 

Nazz: It was obvious that it came from your heart. Before I go, I wanted to thank you as well for asking me to be part of the judging panel. It was an enjoyable experience. When I looked at the twenty plus names of the panel members, I felt quite honored to have been included in such a distinguished body.

Jayjay: We’re glad to have you Nazz. It may be curious that there are as many on the panel and people may wonder why I do that. Like I’d discovered from the 3D Art Challenge last year … there is such diversity of opinion in arts … at giving a top ten list, it's really hard to award a winner. However, by doing it as an aggregate of all these judges the winners … the top two or three come out so easily out of the whole mix that its absolutely incredible for me to watch as the one who puts it together. 

Epilogue:

Two days after we’d met, he’d messaged me in world with, “Sharni Azalee has made an artwork in tribute of Twinkle & Bay Sweetwater”. I stopped in the next day to see it. There’s a small plaque on the piece, it says; “Love’s Eternal Inspired by Twinkle and Bay”. Do stop in to see it when you can.

The Not So Secret Life of Gracie Kendal Part Two and 1000 Avatars

Gracie Kendal at the site of 1000 Avatars

This would be my first visit to her new location, the site of Gracie Kendal’s 1000 Avatar project. She’d just moved there recently and I had thought it a good place for us to meet. I’d been to the two prior project sites, first at Artropolis where she’d started the project when I’d volunteered to be one of her early photographic subjects. At that time it was only 100 Avatars. Later as the project grew she’d moved it to a site at one of the New Media Consortium SIM’s (NMC) where I’d popped in few times to view the photographs and get a sense of how the project had progressed. The scope and scale of the site had been large then and the project an ambitious one. How does one explain something as vague as virtual identity? 1000 Avatars is Ms Kendal’s attempt to do so, via the imagery of avatar photographs, and in her words; “specifically the construction of Avatars, our online representations”.

I’d met Gracie nearly two years ago when I’d interviewed her for a piece I’d written for Second Arts. We’d talked about her art and where she might be taking it in the near term. She had told me, “I am working on my MA in studio art right now … going to be finishing in May and my thesis project is going to involve the Life of Gracie Kendal as an artist and a woman.” Well that idea blossomed to become the predecessor project to 1000 Avatars and was called, “My Life as an Avatar: The Gracie Kendal Project.” I’d been to a few of her presentations as she’d held a series of talks at multiple venues in Second Life and also where she’d presented at a collaborative exhibit held at Caerleon called the “Ambiguity of Identity”.

We’d had arranged to meet on the 26th of May. I’d arrived in world earlier then the appointed time and while I waited for her to do so, I read through a release announcement about the book. She had begun the promotional process and it is to be released shortly. As I read through her note, the one aspect I could very much relate to as I’d also attempted to do so through my fiction was, “the relationship between appearance and identity, illusion, belief, and reality”. She logged in shortly after I’d read through the note and sent me a TP request. Second Life had been acting up of late with teleports, but I arrived uneventfully at the site. It took a few minutes for it to rezz fully, and as it did I cam’ed around and uttered an audible “wow”. It had grown substantially from where it had begun at Artropolis. The space is huge and we stood very near to the center of the site, surrounded on four sides by a vast array of avatar photographs. There is a an arranged a seating area with sofas, rugs and other décor. There were several notecard givers nearby along with the globe that she’d used to take the photographs for the project. As I spun my camera around, I noted that Gracie was attired much like she had been when I’d first met her, wearing a black t-shirt and paint splattered jeans, an artist at home in her studio.

“Hey Nazz, it’s good to see you again.” She said as I arrived and then added; “Oh, Nazz I invited Nikki, I hope you don’t mind, she’s the books editor. Nikki this is Nazz.” She said.

“Hello Nazz, nice to meet you.” Nickola Martynov said in chat.

“Hey Gracie, it’s great to see you as well.” I replied with a smile and then added; “It’s nice to meet you as well Nikki”. We three then exchanged pleasantries in open chat, before Gracie asked if I’d like to sit and then suggested the chairs arrayed around a nearby table. I waited until the ladies sat before I took my seat on an open one. Gracie moved the chairs around slightly so our virtual selves faced each other and we began.

“When did the 1000 Avatars project begin?” I asked after we were all comfortably seated.

“In October it started and stemmed from the exhibit of ‘My Life as an Avatar’ I did at Caerleon, the ‘Ambiguity of Identity’ ... not sure what or how it got started, but I began to taking pictures.” She explained.

“I recall we’d chatted briefly there and then again after you’d begun to mail out notices asking for volunteers. It started out as ‘100 Avatars’ and it became ‘1000 Avatars’, how many avatar photos have you taken?” I asked.

“So far I have 1580 portraits and I’m going for 2000. This book will be of the first 1000. I think you’re in it Nazz.” She said and then added; “You were among the first people I shot ... It’s going stop at 2000, but don't know for sure … I’ve been on a little hiatus and it’s been a few a months since I last shot any with my computer issues.”

I was about to ask my next question when a couple of visitors arrived, Maxwell Graf and Lauren Weyland. We all chatted for a bit and then when Gracie mentioned the meeting, Lauren ported out and Maxwell wandered off to view the portraits. While they were there, I’d zoomed around with my camera control and looked for my picture, which given the number there, it would be like finding the proverbial needle. While I did scan around, I was amazed at the diversity of the avatars she’d captured in the photographs. Male, female … furry’s and all taken from behind, I noted. As I thought about that, it made sense as this is how we generally see ourselves in Second Life, from behind and at a slightly elevated view. I asked her about it.

“The portraits from the back side … it is symbolic of their real life ... you don't know who they are on the other side of the screen. Some people have reacted to that, the pictures from behind ... they want to see what the avatar looks like.” She said.

“Beside the Caerleon exhibit and I recall at one of the Pirats shows, you’d appeared in several different venues to talk about your work. How have those talks been received?” I asked her.

“My life as Gracie has had a good reception by people ... I’d received a lot of IM’s and e-mails afterward, telling me how much it’s been an inspiration for them and how much they could relate to it. I think there are a lot of people who’ve come into Second Life and have created an ideal versions of themselves ... they think I’m really brave because I put all of myself out there and they can relate to that.” She said in reply and then added; “You know when I first came into Second Life … when I first started my life as an avatar, I thought I should have all the answers ... friends told me to forget about the answers, just do the art.”

“What sort of questions did you have?” I asked.

“Well the same as when I started with the project, when I was taking pictures of Gracie and Kris. That I should know what it all means … how the two, Gracie and Kris come together. I'm still working on ‘My life as Gracie’ … I’ve paused it though and have been focusing on the 1000 Avatars.” She replied.

After the book release and promotional tours around Second Life, what’s next for Gracie?” I asked.

“Well, first is the book release party on the 31st, it starts at 5 pm (PDT/SLT). Then I have several ideas in the pipeline. There’s ‘The Body Project’, it’s about body image. Then a mixed reality performance called ‘Open House’. I’m working with Nikki … I'll live in the gallery for 2 - 3 days, and it'll be open for people to drop in … in either real life or in Second Life and spend the night or just hang out. We'll stream into Second Life and vice versa. I’ll also be doing performances in real life at galleries where I’ll be interacting with Gracie.” She replied.

As we concluded our meeting, we chatted briefly about our second lives. I thanked her for taking time form her busy schedule to meet with me and congratulated her on the book. I also made a note to make sure I ordered a copy and then ported back to my home before I logged my virtual self out for the evening. The real me then leaned back in his chair, took a sip from a now warm glass of iced tea and then searched in my notes for the information on how to order a copy of the book. 

The Return of CHUCKMATRIX Clip

A surprise awaited my arrival in-world two days ago, it was a friendship offer from CHUCKMATRIX Clip. He'd been away from Second Life for roughly a year now. We'd met in December of 2009 when he'd held a huge celebration at CMC Designs and I'd seen his works on exhibit in several other venues. He is best known for highly detailed sculptures, which can be either static or scripted along with paintings. We chatted briefly in IM and as it turned out, we'd missed connecting at the Pirats – Omega Gallery opening where he is one of the featured artists. He told me that he'd been busily re-connecting with people and he'd passed along a notecard with links to his gallery and to other venues where his works can be seen. 


Here's the list:


Thursday 3/17/11 @ 3 pm SLT - Galeria Mexico

Sunday 3/20/11 @ 4:00pm SLT - The AHO Museum

On Display until April: Gallery of Mystic Dreams

On Display until June: Loveli Art Gallery

Ongoing Exhibition: Esoterica Mills Art District

It does look like he'd hit the ground running upon his return. Good to have you back.

Where Can I Go to See Some Art This Week-end?

I had logged in-world on Saturday morning  only for a few minutes, mostly to clean up messages and check on whether or not I'd gotten behind on my rent. With notices, notecards and IM's answered, I checked the rental boxes and sighed in relief when I noted that both of my booths on Book Island were all paid up for the next few weeks. With that complete  I decided to stay in for a while, find a quiet location to go into busy and work on my inventory. It had grown by leaps and bounds the last six weeks and threatened to become quickly out of control. "Where to go?", I asked aloud while the real me sipped from a fresh cup of coffee on the other side of the screen. While I thought about it  a chat line appeared at the bottom of my screen.

Tommy3333 Resident: Hey Nazz, how's it going?

I camm'ed around to find the source of the chat and spotted Tommy to my left and slightly behind me. With the last name of "Resident" I knew he was fairly new to Second Life.

Me: Mornin' Tommy, doing good here thanks. How are you enjoying SL?

Tommy3333 Resident: Doing good here as well, can I ask you a question?

Me: Sure.

I watched his avatar as he begin to type, stopped and started, then stopped for several seconds before he continued. While he did I remembered my early days in SL and tried to anticipate what sort of question he might ask. His avatar was dressed nice enough I noted, with a decent jeans and shirt combination.

Tommy3333 Resident: I met a lady and wanted to take her to a few nice places. She's into art and talks about it all the time. Where can I go to see some art?

Me: Any idea what she might be interested in seeing?

Tommy3333 Resident: Not a clue.

Me: There are exhibits underway that would make for a pleasant afternoon or evening.

Tommy3333 Resident: Cool.

Me: "Through the Eye of a Woman". This exhibit opened a week ago at PRAKA Fine Arts Gallery and features the work of artists; Callipygian Christensen, Cat Boccaccio, Dantelicia Ethaniel, Del May and Maloe Vansant. The show runs until the 14th of March.

Tommy3333 Resident grins.

Me: Here's another exhibit that's underway. It's at "New Works at Kelly Yap Newcomer's and Friends Gallery".  The artists featured include;  Louly Loon, Corcosman Voom, RAG Randt, Trill Zapatero, Miso Susanowa, Tallulah Winterwolf and soror Nishi. You can, "also take a walk down the Art Walk when you get time … lots of new artists!  The Kelly Yap Art Walk is now hosting Eliza Quinzet, rant Ugajin,  Ally Aeon, Bobbi Laval, Harter Fall, Em Larsson, lala Lightfoot, Callipygian Christensen, Penelope Parx, Peoney Feld, Gallery SYNergy, Sonia Stardust, Nik Gandt and ginou Forcella".

I gave him a some time to read the previous chat which worked out well as I worked on the next one.

Me: A favorite stop of mine, although I didn't get a chance to attend the opening earlier this week is at the "Pirats Omega Art Gallery". The show opened on the 15th of February and features an extensive  list of artists utilizing multiple media. You can see some work by many fine artists there. The exhibit at Omega includes work from; Melina M, ling Serenity in SL, Chapl Paisley , Betty Tureaud, LarZ Rajal, oona Eiren, Chu Ann, daruma Boa in SL, JudiLynn Staples, judiLynn India in SL, Solkide Auer, Fafner Hofmann, Tehos, Tehos Quar in Sl, Typotel, typote Beck  in SL, Lollito Larkham, Nino Vichan and Maryva Mayo.

Tommy3333 Resident: Those are all underway, what about opening events?

Me: Here's one you both might enjoy. Black and White and Red All Over. The exhibit is  at Erato of Caerleon and opens tomorrow at 1 pm PST/SLT.  It's an exhibit curated by Sabrinaa Nighfire, who had sent out an open call to all artists  willing to submit  pieces which could , "only be Black, White or Red". I chatted with her yesterday and she told me the opening event will include live music and dancing.

Me: "The Mysterious Forest," a new immersive art build by Alizarin Goldflake . She is holding an Open Studio for this her newest immersive art build on Sunday, February 20, 2 pm PST at Atelier Alizarin.

Tommy3333 Resident: Anything else?

Me: Here's another one, "Above and Beyond", a photography exhibit by Cala Rossini at Galeria LX. The opening begins at 2 pm PST/SLT.

Tommy3333 Resident: That's really awesome Nazz, thanks a lot man.

Me: Hey no problem Tommy ... Hope you both have a great time.

Chez Ali Grand Opening on 27-November

PRESS RELEASE


From: Alizarin Goldflake

Topic: Chez Ali Grand Opening

Event date: Saturday, November 27, 3 pm SL time


Alizarin Goldflake is pleased to announce the grand opening on Saturday, November 27, at 3 pm SL time, of CHEZ ALI! The shop features an eclectic mix of beautiful garden items, furniture, particle emitters, personal accessories, and more, all of which are derived from her art and studio builds. They retain the unique and deliciously ethereal quality of Ali's artwork but are also practical items that will make any SL home unique.

What's New in the Virtual Art World - It's Happening at Alexanderia's Kingdom

A new artist community has been established in the virtual world. Alexanderia's Kingdom founded by Jeri Rahja has announced the formation of the community in the virtual world of Inworldz.  Ms Rahja, a major supporter of virtual art, is housing the community at her four SIM's, Alexanderia, Angels Loft, Moonglow, and Isle of Skye.  In a statement she explained that Alexanderia's Kingdom "is a unique community of artists enjoying what they do best, creating with little to no restrictions". She also stated that the current residents include; Soror Nishi,  Alizarin Goldflake, Glyph Graves, Miso Susanowa, Ub Yifu, Goose Wycliffe, Feathers Boa, Copan Falta, Caren McCaw, Nyx Breen, Ginger Alsop and CHUCKMATRIX Clip.


I spoke to her recently and she told me of two exciting projects currently underway. The first is that Ub Yifu is doing his entire recreation of Gulliver, his dream build and that it will be a "Beautiful gift to the people of Inworldz. The build is breathtaking and amazing to watch on a daily basis." She said and then added; "We are also building a museum to house most of the artists' works and hope this build by Nyx Breen will show off his architectural achievements  ... and we plan to make that building available to purchase along with many of the other extraordinary buildings of Nyx."

"What do you for see in the immediate future at Alexanderia's Kingdom?" I asked.

"What I would like to happen is for the community to grow so the artist can enjoy their lives here for as little cost as possible and the tier can be paid for by sales in the future. Right now all costs are being absorbed by me so the artists can get established and get their works transferred or rebuild or new projects underway … because at Inworldz, each SIM comes with 45,000 prims." She said and then added; "I am making Inworldz a very art world friendly place, as any artist that comes in can come to me and live free at my SIM's and create as much as they want. We work a very small commission back just to pay for the SIM. I make no profit and take no commission until they are ready and I buy a new SIM as soon as one is needed."

As I had promised her, I went out there to check out Alexanderia's Kingdom and was duly pleased that I did. If you're out in Inworldz, be sure to visit this community. With so many talented artists and creators present it is sure to be a pleasurable experience.

"Dreams and Conjurings" an Exhibition Opens Tonight

On Friday, the 8th of October a new exhibit by artist and designer Gwen Carillon opens at the Tricia Aferdita Gallery. Ms Carillon is known for her sculptures and design work, and "In this exhibit she takes on 2 dimensions instead of 3 with a collection of beautiful and ethereal Illustrations she calls Dreams and Conjurings". The exhibit will be open through the 5th of November.

The opening event begins at 7 pm PDT/SLT.

Tricia Aferdita Gallery http://ping.fm/ZRJ7D

A New Gallery for Shellina Winkler

Luminescence by Shellina Winkler

 

I stopped in to view her new location and to see some of her latest works. I've been a fan of her work for some time now and I was pleased to see her new space. Her piece pictured above, Luminescence, is one of my favorites . She has an extensive color pallet and isn't afraid to apply it to her work. The main floor contains several recently completed pieces, including "Lost in Music" which did transport ones thoughts into a musical realm. The Luminescence piece by the way is located on the roof of the gallery. I also ventured outside into the garden to find many of her sculptures that she had completed over the last few years, along with several immersive pieces. It is well worth the visit when you have the opportunity to stop by.


THE KNOT - Shellina Winkler's Art Gallery

 

AUGUST WINNERS OF THE UWA 3D ART & DESIGN CHALLENGE

Press Release:

103 entries of the highest quality to the final August round of the UWA 3D Art & Design Challenge, and what happens?

Nish Mip's powerful and enveloping piece, THE LAST OCEAN takes the top prize (L$5,000) making it an unprecedented 3rd time she has won First Prize for the IMAGINE Challenge breaking a tie with Bryn Oh & Igor Ballyhoo, both of whom won the Challenge twice. Lee Supermarine and Eliza Wierwight shared honours in taking 2nd Prize. In the FLAGSHIP Challenge, Herick Straaf narrowly beat 5 time champion Nyx Breen to take the top prize for a 2nd time. Jesse Keyes, Alizarin Goldflake & soror Nishi picked up L$6,000 each in winning Legacy Awards for their work across the year for the IMAGINE Challenge, while Nyx Breen took home the Legacy Award for the FLAGSHIP Challenge.

The final month of this year long L$600,000 challenge, August saw a record shattering 103 submissions to the IMAGINE challenge with 6 Flagship Builds pushing the total across the year to 841 entries from more than 300 artists and builders. 6 of the 7 continents of the world are represented as entrants hailed from Venezuela, Belgium, Mexico, Wales, Canada, the USA, the UK, Uruguay, Scotland, England, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, France, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Denmark, Holland, Ireland, Portugal, Austria, Cuba, Serbia, Tunisia, Germany, Japan, New Zealand and Australia.

Commenting on the win, Nish said, "My thanks go to Jayjay and quad for putting so much work in to organising these competitions. They deserve the biggest round of applause for their efforts and to everyone else involved through support and sponsorship in whatever way and that includes the artists, judges, and the people who come along to look and appreciate this great boost for second life art. I really feel proud to have taken part in these competitions. I only came looking for a sandbox to finish my Butterfly house off, but I think everyone in whatever life they have wants to feel that they have a purpose and I'd like to make a special thank you to JJ for spotting something that I hadn't realised I had and am still even now finding hard to believe. I can only put my success down to being a bit of a perfectionist and never being satisfied with what I've done. Perhaps that helps, I don't know, but these competitions have definitely paved a way forward for me that I really appreciate. Thank you everyone who's made that possible. I know with the dedication that the UWA in SL has put in to the virtual art world they will go from strength to strength and I very much look forward to the coming years and to hopefully participating with UWA in making our second lives so much richer. I love you all. "

In acceptance, Legacy Award winner Jesse Keyes said, "I am honored that i managed to hang on long enough to receive the UWA Legacy prize.

It's been a long year and I look forward to making and entering more contest builds in the up and coming year. I would like to thank all the people that have worked on setting up the contest and to Jay Jay Zifanwe for putting bugs in my ears on when the build is due (they were real bugs). Thanks again UWA for hosting such a great event". She emoted, "gets drunk and falls off the podium, waves to everyone, uses trophy to crack walnuts."

soror Nishi, fellow Legacy Award winner, and winner of the Honourable Mention Prize for JOY for August, with 'Dotty the Dragon' chimed in, "It's a great thing to feel that what you try to do as an artist, that what you try to 'say' has been understood. An award is like someone saying 'yes, soror, I agree'..and it makes it possible to go on creating, trying to express difficult 'stuff'."

The biggest winner on the night in terms of the number of awards won was Eliza Wierwight, whose cleverly named entry, THE SATIRICAL POLEMICIST won the 2nd overall IMAGINE prize (L$3,000), 2nd Prize in the People's Choice Award (L$500) as well as the Rain Prize (L$1,000). "What an interesting journey from working in isolation for such a long time, then the genuine feeling that I am a part of the Arts Community family in Second Life as I do now. I'm smitten. While I'll know I will always seek time to get delightfully lost in the process of creation in seclusion, it's a reaffirming joy when I head back to shore to find such warm welcome as has been expressed in these awards I've been honored with today. If I was to say that a position in the People's Choice is like an embrace, then the Imagine Challenge Prize and the Rain Prize on top of that had me floored with delight. My huge and genuine thanks to the SL Community , the University of Western Australia, my precious friends, my muse , the delightful Miss Q (quadrapop Lane) and the genuine and astounding Jayjay Zifanwe whom I am still honing an ever developing artistic temperament on just for the sheer amusement of it. Again, for everything, my sincere thanks."

The Non-Scripted IMAGINE prize was won back to back for the first time every, by prim wizard nessuno Myoo with THE UNICORN WOOD EDITION. "I'm really happy and I want thank all for the great opportunity to show my works alongside all this masterpieces. For me it is a great honor." Only he and soror Nishi have more than one piece in the reckoning for the Non-Scripted Grand Prize.

Corcosman Voom, who won an Honourable Mention for the Legacy Award (L$4,500), also took the Bohemian Ghost Prize (L$1,000 + 600 prims on the Summerland SIM). "I was very pleased to have been awarded an Honourable Mention UWA Legacy prize and The Bohemina Ghost prize in this, the final round, of the UWA 3D Art & Design Challenge. It has been my pleasure to be able to exhibit my art this past year in the company of work by so many talented artists. I am very grateful to UWA and everyone associated with the Challenge for the opportunity it has given to so many people. Most of all, I appreciate the dedication and hard work Jayjay and quadrapop have put into making this project a success. Thank you both for making this a great year."

A paradigm breaking piece called 'ANTARCTICA - AN INDIVIDUAL EXISTENCE' by Glyph Graves won the Honourable Mention Prize for Second Life Wizardry. This must see work, uses real time data from weather stations in Antarctica to create an enchanting symphony of sound and light. The technical expertise required to create such a work is mind-boggling.

Gleman Jun was also a multiple award winner as his 'STOP FEAR' won the People's Choice Award as well as the Honourable Mention (HM) Prize for Emotion. Other award winners included Oberon Onmura (Legacy Award HM), Oldoak Merlin (Casey Prize & FLAGSHIP HM), Blue Tsuki (HM Prize for Immersion), Gingered Alsop (HM Prize for Scripting Magic), Pinkpink Sorbet (Anton Mesmer HM Prize).

Joining the extended judging panel for the Grand Prize are art philanthropist & founding patron of UWA-BOSL Amphitheatre, Phillip Vought, Paisley Beebe, CEO of Perfect World Productions TV and Jopsy Pendragon, creator of the Particle Laboratory Learning Centerhave who have all stepped in to take the place vacated by M Linden. They will have the entire month of September to make their decisions.

UWA is grateful to Bohemian Ghost and the Summerland Estate for raising L$33,000 which was put toward the Legacy Awards. Bohemian Ghost will also be part sponsoring the People's Choice Award for the Grand Finale, along with the Residents of Artemesia who have been sponsoring the monthly People's Choice Awards.

The Grand Prize Round is now open, and there is a People's Choice Vote for this. There has been a beed over the past few weeks to rezz all the past winning flagships across the grid. We would like to acknowledge all those who have given up valuable prims and space to allow UWA to put up these flagships till the end of the voting period which is the 30th of September. They include Caren McCaw & Nyx Breen (of the Annapurna SIM), Dijodi Dubratt (Toor), quadrapop Lane (Poorlatrice), Kip Yellowjacket (Virtlantis), Lilli Field (Mysten), Phillip Vought (Acquitaine), Cuwynne Deerhunter & Eliza Wierwight (Patron) and the Linden Endowment for Arts (LEA).

This is the first time LEA land is being used and opened up to the public. One SIM of the LEA cluster has been opened up for this purpose.

The machinima challenge, MachinimUWA II: Art of the Artists, is ongoing, and closes on the 20th of September. & works have come in thus far from Tutsy Navarathna,spyvspy Aeon, Bryn Oh, Megan Merlin, Missy Restless and Yesikita Coppola. These Machinima feature the works that have been entered across the year to the UWA 3D Art & Design Challenge. They are all linked on the blog http://www.uwainsl.blogspot.com/.

WINNERS OF THE AUGUST ROUND OF THE UWA 3D ART & DESIGN CHALLENGE

IMAGINE CHALLENGE - 3D ART

LEGACY PRIZE (IMAGINE): $L6,000

Alizarin Goldflake

soror Nishi

Jesse Keyes

LEGACY PRIZE (FLAGSHIP): $L6,000

Nyx Breen

LEGACY PRIZE (Hon Mention): L$4,500

Oberon Onmura

Corcosman Voom

Imagine Challenge 1st Prize: ($L5,000 + Custom T-Shirt)

THE LAST OCEAN by Nish Mip

Imagine Challenge 2nd Prize: ($L3,000) JOINT

THE SATIRICAL POLEMICIST by Eliza Wierwight &

WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD by Lea Supermarine

Best Non-Scripted Entry: ($L3,000 + Custom T-Shirt)

THE UNICORN WOOD EDITION by Nessuno Myoo

FLAGSHIP CHALLENGE - BUILDING DESIGN

Flagship Challenge 1st Prize : ($L5,000)

CONCEPT BUILDING FOR AXS LAB by Herick Straaf

Flagship Challenge 2nd Prize: ($L3,000)

UWA AXS LAB by Nyx Breen

Flagship Honourable Mention Prize: (L$1,000)

Oldoak Merlin

Honourable Mention Prize for EMOTION (L$1,000)

STOP FEAR by Gleman Jun

Honourable Mention Prize for SECOND LIFE WIZARDRY (L$1,000)

ANTARCTICA - AN INDIVIDUAL EXISTENCE by Glyph Graves

Honourable Mention Prize for JOY (L$1,000)

DOTTY THE DRAGON by Soror Nishi

Honourable Mention Prize for IMMERSION (L$1,000)

THE DEEP by Blue Tsuki

Honourable Mention Prize for SCRIPTING MAGIC (L$1,000)

QUANTUM MATRIX by Gingered Alsop

THE ANTON MESMER Honourable Mention Prize (L$1,000)

PARTLY ANTSY CHAMBER by Pinkpink Sorbet

The RAIN PRIZE (L$1,000) - Established for one of the Founding Patron of the UWA 3D Art & Design Challenge

THE SATIRICAL POLEMICIST by Eliza Wierwight

CASEY PRIZE - JULY (L$4,000)

BLACK SWAN by Oldoak Merlin

THE BOHEMIAN GHOST PRIZE (L$1,000 + 600 Prims on the Summerland SIMM for at least 3 months)

THE AERIALIST by Corcosman Voom

PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD - 1st prize (L$1,000):

STOP FEAR by Gleman Jun

PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD - 2nd prize (L$500):

THE SATIRICAL POLEMICIST by Eliza Wierwight

FREEWEE WINS IMAGINE, NYX & HERICK SHARE HONOURS: JUNE WINNERS OF THE UWA 3D ART & DESIGN CHALLENGE

A brilliant and mesmerizing piece by FreeWee Ling, VERTICAL SPIRAL KALEIDOSCOPE has taken top art honors (L$5,000) for the JUNE Round of the UWA 3D Art & Design Challenge! The FLAGSHIP (Architecture) Challenge went down to the wire, and in the end, the builds of Nyx Breen and Herick Straaf could not be separated as the judging panel were hopelessly deadlocked, thus resulting in the first ever joint winners for the FLAGSHIP Challenge. Herick a first time winner, and Nyx coming in with an incredible 5 wins across the 10 months of the challenge! Nicci Lane took 2nd Prize in the FLAGSHIP.

Concluding month 10 of this year long L$550,000 challenge, June saw 68 amazing artworks and 7 Flagship Builds submitted by artists hailing from all corners of the globe, including by a number legendary SL builders.

Commenting on the win, FreeWee said, "I am just astounded at this prize. The June round had some of the most amazing work yet seen, including many pieces by some of the true greats of SL. Artists who have truly inspired me for a long time. To win first place in this field of entries is truly humbling.  I was amused to see several kaleidoscopic pieces in this round. The nature of SL prim building lends itself to recursive forms like that. It's not hard to create interesting forms. But I admit my discovery of the effects of gravity on rotating flexible prims was a happy one. There is almost and organic quality to the piece as the parts spin and dance."

South American winner Herick Straaf was left stunned, " First, I have no words to describe my delight at winning this competition. It is an honor, since it's my first participation in the UWA Flagship challenge. I would like to thank everyone who gave me this vote and all of the jury and also to Keystone Bouchard who sent me a notecard about this contest.  As a Brazilian, I have great affection for the people, culture and Australian architecture. The moment I heard about the contest, I became interested in researching more about Western Australia, and one of the first great impressions was the Stirling Park Ranges, which gave me the start to my building, so I made a reduced version with high-technology style of the Bluff Knoll peak. I am very pleased and honored to have had this recognition, and from now on will be tuned to the forthcoming events of UWA. My sincere thanks to everyone who recognized the work."

Another first time entrant Takni Miklos won a host of prizes with her piece, Sierpinsky Sieve, taking the newly established Rain Prize, joint 2nd Prize in the People's Choice Award, and also joint 2nd Prize in the IMAGINE Art Challenge.

MidnightRain Glas, one of the founding patrons of the UWA 3D Art & Design Challenge and after whom the Rain Prize is named, explained, "It's very interactive, it tempts you to disobey the instructions, and you know you will, and so the artist.... is very clever and takes advantage of human weakness"

Takni herself was thrilled at the outcome, "I came to SL to chat and I didn't discover that you can build things here until a  year later. Now I'm discovering that other people like my things, and I'm VERY surprised. Thanks to all."

The exquisite MEDUSA'S GAZE, masterfully crafted by pravda Core took the prize for Best Non-Scripted entry, and will prove very hard to dislodge in coming rounds. He's thrown down the gauntlet, and submitted his pieces for July already (The Vampire Heritage & The Minotaur's Wrath).  A believer in the wonders SL can offer, pravda said, "nothing is impossible, dream, believe, be inspired and make it happen."

It was truly a month for joint awards, as EINSTEIN'S UNFINISHED SYMPHONY (Gleman Jun) and A BEAUTIFUL SOUL PASSES (Jeri Rahja) were joint 2nd Prize winners in the IMAGINE & PEOPLE'S CHOICE Awards respectively.

MUSIC OF THE SPHERES by Lea Supermarine & Jarapanda Snook also won a couple of awards taking first Prize in the People's Choice as well as the "Honorable Mention Prize for A BRIEF HISTORY OF EVERYTHING".

There were 5 Honorable Mention Prizes in all, with the others being won by Madcow Cosmos, Abstract Baroque, Silene Christen and Theoretical Afterthought.

Theoretical Afterthought put it very nicely when she said, "Recognition of someone's creative attempt to describe a feeling or emotion through the use of uncomplicated building blocks signals some degree of success, albeit temporary, for its creator.  Being at the receiving end of that recognition for creation of The Panopticon is very cool, indeed.  This being a build based on surveillance, on watching, on gazing, of one's physical  depiction or that of others, I have to wonder what it signals to the spectator.  It is that connection, that relationship that develops between the idea of the creator, and how the spectator receives it, that intrigues and challenges me. As a lifelong student of identity, introspection /self-reflection is always at the forefront of all my work."

Some other exciting developments with the UWA presence were announced at the awards ceremony.

First of all  the Residents of Artemesia, through FreeWee Ling,  have stepped in to help run a UWA 3D Art & Design Challenge Trophy Contest, to create a Trophy that will be given to all winners of the UWA Challenges. The creator of the best trophy, that we select to use, will win a  L$3,000 prize. The closing date for submissions of the trophy design is the 31st July 2010. Basically no scripts are allowed for the trophy, and the limit is 10 prims. There are notecards available here ( http://slurl.com/secondlife/UWA/64/136/250 ) for anyone who might want to help design a trophy.

The Rain Prize was also established. This is a special prize of L$1,000 offered by one of the founding patrons of the UWA 3D Art & Design challenge. This Rain Prize winner will be selected by the patron and provided for the June, July & August rounds.

We also had the Second Life Birthday #7 (sl7B) happen and UWA were represented by a lovely build by quadrapop Lane which was dedicated to the 180++ SL residents who have taken part in UWA events.  There was a talk at sl7b which described all the "Unexpected Collaborations" that have driven the growth of the UWA presence. (http://uwainsl.blogspot.com/2010/06/unexpected-collaborations-uwainsl-and.html)

Thanks was given to the master machinimatographer Iono Allen who created the Machinima of the May winners ( http://vimeo.com/12891162 ). His works have been much sought after, and his amazing interpretation of the winners will be sorely missed for the June round winners as Iono goes away holiday. We are lucky however to have another very accomplished machinimatographer Suzy Yue, to pick up the reins for the June winners! Big boots to fill. But if anyone can fill them, Suzy can.

WINNERS OF THE JUNE ROUND OF THE UWA 3D ART & DESIGN CHALLENGE
IMAGINE CHALLENGE - 3D ART

Imagine Challenge 1st Prize: ($L5,000 + Custom T-Shirt) VERTICAL SPIRAL KALEIDOSCOPE by FreeWee Ling

Imagine Challenge 2nd Prize: ($L3,000)  JOINT EINSTEIN'S UNFINISHED SYMPHONY by Gleman Jun & SIERPINSKY SIEVE by Takni Miklos

Best Non-Scripted Entry: ($L3,000 + Custom T-Shirt) MEDUSA'S GAZE by pravda Core

FLAGSHIP CHALLENGE - BUILDING DESIGN

Flagship Challenge 1st Prize :  ($L5,000) JOINT CONCEPT BUILDING FOR AXS LAB by Herick Straaf & UWA AXS LAB  by Nyx Breen

Flagship Challenge  2nd Prize: ($L3,000) JUNE UWA FLAGSHIP by Nicci Lane

Honorable Mention Prize for PHILOSOPHY (L$1,000) TA PANOPTICON  by Theoretical Afterthought

Honorable Mention Prize for SOUL (L$1,000) THE LAND OF FORGOTTEN THINGS by Selene Christen

Honorable Mention Prize for A BEAUTIFUL MIND (L$1,000) IMAGINE by Abstract Baroque

Honorable Mention Prize for ELEGANCE (L$1,000) THE FORGE OF DREAMS by  Madcow Cosmos

Honorable Mention Prize for A BRIEF HISTORY OF EVERYTHING (L$1,000) MUSIC OF THE SPHERES by Lea Supermarine and Jarapanda Snook

The RAIN PRIZE (L$1,000) - Established for one of the Founding Patron of the UWA 3D Art & Design Challenge SIERPINSKY SIEVE by Takni Miklos

PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD - 1st prize (L$1,000): Lea Supermarine & Jarapanda Snook - Music of the Spheres

PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD - 2nd prize (L$500): Joint Prize Takni Miklos - sierpinsky sieve jeri Rahja - A beautiful Soul Passes

"Lunamaruna" an Exhibition by Scottius Polk at Project Z

"Lunamaruna" Opens March 28, 1 PM PDT/SLT at project Z with music by Skye Galaxy at 2 PM

What happens when you mix Dr. Seuss, Van Gogh, and Antoni Gaudi? You might get a taste of Scottius Polke! But don’t let the influences fool you -- Scottius definitely projects a unique voice.

From the initial landing point of Scottius’ latest work, Lunamaruna, his personality immediately emerges through the fantastical landscape: the hand-illustrated and highly stylized textures, the curvaceous structures, the sense of humor in details, and a joy in the discovery of the unexpected.

If you are familiar with Scottius Polke’s art, then you might recognize similarities from his previous installation, mushROOM. In both works his colors are rich and saturated, and the textures are all hand-stylized with a kind of comic aesthetic. Where Lunamaruna differs is in the overall scale and artistic vision – this is not a room, but a whole village - and the details tell an intriguing, perhaps even ominous story.

Whether Lunamaruna is a manufactured tale, or a transcendent vision from a tuned-in artist, it's certainly good fun to explore!

From Scottius:

The process of creating Lunamaruna has spanned several months, and could not have been completed without the help of the following people:

Zachh Cale: For curating and generously lending art space for this build, as well as being Sounding Board and Gentle Critic.

Kimba Sideways: Prim and Texture Aligner Extraordinaire, and Idea Maven like none otter, er other.

Alexx Fenstalker: Bringing the island to life with Amazing Animations

Desdemona Enfield: Most Ingenious in all things scriptly

Alizarin Goldflake's New Sky Studio Opening Party

Ali's Sky Studio

PRESS RELEASE

From: Alizarin Goldflake

Topic: Alizarin Goldflake's New Sky Studio Opening Party

Event date: Saturday, March 20, 3 pm PDT

Alizarin Goldflake will host a party celebrating her new sky studio on Saturday, March 20, 3 pm PST/SLT. The studio features 6 square galleries for Immersive Art best suited to midnight and two oblong galleries for work best seen in daylight. Each major build has its own dedicated space, but because of the way the doorways between galleries are offset from each other, glimpses of other art invite exploration. Although the studio is now consolidated on one floor, it actually consists of many more square meters.

Immersive Art is the featured genre, but many builds are flanked by the RL drawings that were their inspiration (available in RL at http://www.marthavista.com). A case in point," Acquarella" is surrounded by The Big Pixels drawings recently shown at PiRats.

In the center of the new sky studio is an atrium with an elaborate grillwork dome. The visitor area, with seating, champagne, candles, flowers, and teleporters, is situated below. The gorgeous tropical plantings are courtesy of Juanita DeHaro's WATER,PONDS, RIVERS, WATERFALLS in Svidler.

The land music, classical guitar and flamenco as always, is provided by an iRadio Tunie HUD, available from Zenvendof Zeno, and goes really well with the salsa animation in the dance HUD.

FREE bouquet of lupines to celebrate the first day of spring!
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Alizarin Goldflake ARTIST'S STATEMENT Studio: Atelier Alizarin

Links:
http://www.marthavista.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alizaringoldflake
http://alizaringoldflake.blogspot.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyK90WywARM

I make several different kinds of art in SL. My main form is Immersive Art, so-called because the viewer is meant to enter the work either by avatar or camera. The art is made of nested prims, digital textures, and scripts. Many of the builds have poses and sounds in them. The point of the art is the kaleidoscopic interaction of the textures, as well as the different moods expressed in the pieces. Some of the sculptures emit extra-large particles, which are actually highly-detailed digital drawings.

The RL Digital Drawings are done just like traditional drawings except that I use digital tools, including a software program called Corel Painter 11 and a pressure-sensitive digitizing tablet and stylus. As I draw, the tablet and stylus electronically translate the motions of my hand into strokes that look as though they were made with the drawing tool I have selected (charcoal pencil or pastel, for example). I see these strokes occurring real-time on my monitor. Jpgs of the very large drawings are imported at 1024x1024 into SL.

2-D Digital Collages are made in RL based on a creative approach I discovered making art in SL. The approach is called process art, and the main characteristic of it is the fact that the end result is not envisioned at the beginning but arises spontaneously from the process of combining and composing visual elements.

Musical Kinetics are a collaboration between artist Alizarin Goldflake and musician Flivelwitz Alsop. The series was inspired by the art and music of five Asian countries: China, Japan, India, Tibet, and Mongolia. Amazingly, the complex compositions were all created with the little 10 second sound loops that SL allows. Walk up close to each piece to activate the music. These pieces are essentially 3-D collages using textures, scripts, and particles.

Kinetic Sculpty Art is 3-D art made from sculpty line drawings embellished with particles and scripted textures.

Regardless of the form. each piece of my art comes from and is intended to share an experience of visual , emotional, and spiritual intensity.

Winners Announced at Imagine Create No Texture Challenge

Crowd Awaits Announcement of Winners

With a drum roll, Sabrinaa Nightfire announced the winners of the "Imagine Create No Texture Challenge" to the plus forty avatars who attended the opening.

1st Place - triflangatide by Physeter Nicholls $1000L

2nd Place  - Antientropic.particles by Oberon Onmura $700L

3rd Place - Lady With A Fan by Miso Susanowa $500L
 
The contest judges were:
 
Artistide Despres, Gracie Kendal, Jayjay Zifanwe, Sasun Steinbeck, Scottius Polke and Steele Darkfold.
 
The exhibition will be viewable until March 15th.

CW Aigner Photographic Exhibition Opens in Second Life

Poster CW Aigner Photographic Exhibition

On Wednesday the 10th of February, the photographic exhibition of CW Aigner ((Christoph Wilhelm Aigner) makes its debut in Second Life. Presented by the 431art Gallery, the exhibition entitled, "Everything unknown comes out of the sea" will open with an event at 1:00 pm PST/SLT. This is a first for the renowned Austrian Poet and for gallery owner Myth Guyot. Born in Salzburg Austria, Mr. Aigner currently resides in both Salzburg and Italy. He was cited by "World Literature Today"as one of the world's most distinguished poets. He has received high honors in literature including the German Else-Lasker-Schüler prize and the Austrian National prize. The photographs were originally in the PolColl Series and titled "The curious every day events in Italy" or "All strange things come from the ocean" and originated in the winter months of 1992/93 in the Italian villages Marina di Cecina and Rieti. Subsequently, in the years 2008/09 the Polaroid collages were captured as large pictures, 60x60 cm and printed in a single edition collection. The pictures are mounted onto Finart Baryt paper and 4mm thick aluminum. They were manufactured in Salzburg by Ulrich Ghezzi. Mr. Aigner worked with the original medium of a Polaroid camera from Edwin Land for 25 years. Production of the Polaroid camera has since been halted.

Shortly before the scheduled opening, I spoke to gallery owner and artist Myth Guyot who had invited me over for a brief preview. After we exchange pleasantries and a few remembrances we talked about the exhibit and the gallery.

Nazz: Thank you for the heads up about the exhibit. When will it open?

Myth: I'm still planning for the opening on the 10^th of February and I need some text from the artist first.

Nazz: Is he in Second Life?

Myth: He's never been yet … I'm trying to convince him.

Nazz: You've bought his work in then for display?

Myth: He's a friend of mine and I support him to show it here.

Nazz: I'm scanning around with my camera. The gallery is a nice build … yours?

Myth: Yes, it's brand new. On this floor is the exhibit. Below us is the video room to see the "Walk to Elea" … and on the TP board is a link to take you to see the maze.

Nazz: I recall both, seeing and writing about them. The very first article I did for the SL Newspaper was about the Maze. There are quite a few pieces in the exhibit … I'm reminded of post cards when looking at them. Are they paintings and is the text, his poetry?

Myth: A photographic collage … a mixture of Polaroid's and painting and collage. In a way, yes his poems. In German the exhibit is "Alles unbekannte kommt aus dem meer" which means, "Everything unknown comes out of the sea". He'd taken the pictures while in Italy.