Musical Sculpture Gallery

By Gemma Cleanslate

What a wonderful find this gallery is! Musical Sculpture Gallery is small but a place to spend quality time if you enjoy interactive exhibits with no work involved by you. Just walk to the nearest sculpt and listen .

The piece begins tantalizing meditative music ... some call new age. Each sculpture has its own sound or music by Claus Gahrn (Nicolaus Skytower). The pieces are by some of the famous artists of Second Life. I saw several by Ub Yifi and Treacle Darlandes, B1nary (Binary Quandry), White Lebed and others . What a wonderful collaboration!

When I stood next to the “man with a horn" (in my mind) I enjoyed my shadow with the art in the window behind and the haunting call of the horn.. This will put you right next to the first sculpture. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hermione/133/53/305

While I was at the Music Sculpture Gallery I im’d Treacle Darlandes to tell her how lovely her pieces there were .

 When she answered she assumed that I was visiting her Walk of Art at the Lawst Paradise Gallery.
I had not been over there yet so took the landmark and off I went. Near the entrance there is a list of credits to those who inspired the work or helped with the installation.  What a spectacular exhibit I experienced. This is a combination of words .. music.. and art.

Move up the stairs to each level where there are exquisite pieces to view.

The stairs in the walk lead to very different words about life and love and enchanting art pieces that express the words . It is mystical experience , making your way to the top level .At each level I thought this one must be the apex... but no there was more..

Treacle had told me , “no camming!” . I promised , only to take a picture . I did the walk the way it should be done, reading, pausing to reflect and admiring it all and listen to the music. Don’t miss this one.!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lawst%20Paradise/200/234/2001

Gemma Cleanslate

Paula Cloudpainter: New Works at Visions of Beauty

By Klaus Bereznyak

Paula Cloudpainter is an avatar most well known for ... well ... painting clouds. And she does it very well. We covered her last exhibition in January. This month, Paula unveiled a whole new series of works in her space at the Visions of Beauty galleries.

In this inspiring exhibition, Paula continues to demonstrate that there is no end to the fascination and beauty of clouds. While her previous collection was themed around the meeting point of clouds and water, here she takes to the skies with her artists brush and her camera to show "The Meaning of Clouds", with all their moods and charm. The open-air space holds a series of ten art works in various media, and the interior gallery hosts eighteen real-life photographs.

What is the meaning of clouds? Who has not looked up at the sky and seen all kinds of familiar shapes and meanings sculpted in water vapor high above the earth? Being in this exhibition, the same kind of reverie sweeps over us as we are tempted indulge our imagination and seek meaning in the clouds. Paula's own words give a clue to her intentions in presenting this work but leave it open for us to discover something that speaks to us uniquely:

"My new work looks at how clouds can be a guide to our connection with the universe by encouraging us to live in the moment, embrace change and be as unique as each cloud is in the sky."

"The Meaning of Clouds" by Paula Cloudpainter is open over the coming months at Visions of Beauty and is well worth taking the time to visit. The Gallery complex holds rolling exhibitions by SL artists old and new so it's a great place to embark on a virtual art world tour and see what else is on display.

SLURL: https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Whinlatter/137/49/79 

Klaus Bereznyak

The Tarot Garden

By Gemma Cleanslate

The visiting artists are opening their sims at LEA for the season. I took a trip to visit the Tarot Garden installation of Secondhandtutti. What an amazing creation! Working with her team the land has been transformed to echo “  Niki de Saint Phalle’s esoteric sculpture garden based on the Tarot cards, located in Tuscany, Italy. This project started in the late seventies and ended when Niki passed away in 2002. “

 There is a long walk in the region to visit all the figures and structures made in mosaic form. This is very different art, transformative, and lots of fun. If you use or know Tarot this will be of great interest to you . I went to the web to read about the original artist Niki who seems to have had a very tortured life from her earliest childhood years but was very beautiful and very talented.

The Grand Opening of the sim was held on August 11. I missed the opening sorry to say but did get over to talk with tutti at the end. She was thanking Venus Adored for the particle display that brought her to tears with the beauty.

She spoke about her fascination with Niki and her art and her attachment to it all. “As an artist who does original and also transformative art, I found this project to be a walk on the mystical, for you see, I found myself talking to Niki as I made each build. No no not "talking" to her, but communing with her in the sense of, 'Why did you put that there Niki?'   'Why did you use that symbol Niki?'   'What did that mean to you Niki?' Niki said two invaluable things that I have held close to me as an artist.  The first was about her Tarot Garden. She said that it was her 'destiny to make a place where people can come and be happy: a garden of joy.' This motivated me to manifest her garden of joy into our virtual worlds on my own, while acknowledging the source but also putting it into a new dimension. “

 There will be events all month and on into the fall . Join the group to receive notice of events . One can go for a lecture, or a walking guided tour that will be held each Monday at 11:30 am SL time during August. There is a mini hunt going on to find Nomi and take a picture with her. Begin your visit here. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LEA17/13/244/21 


Gemma Cleanslate

Fractal Insanity and Rose Theater

By Gemma Cleanslate

I received a new Art Gallery Hud the other day and since I have not been to many galleries lately decided to take a look at some of those I have not visited before, or lately. My first visit was the Fractal Insanity where Millie Sharple has her works on display. Many love fractal art. I like it very much and you can certainly get your fill of it in this gallery.

Millie says of her art, “Although I have stretched myself and moved away from fractals somewhat, they are always an integral part of my art, along with my real-life photography.  In my new gallery, fractals are used in a totally different way and some of them are hardly recognisable.  Life is too short to stagnate in shallow waters, using the same tools repeatedly - we need to grow and develop! I love to experiment and the results bring me much pleasure and peace.”

 There are gorgeous pieces , rich and vibrant, both static and moving here. As soon as you land on at the entrance you feel the movement under you and all around. Walking through the extensive exhibit it is amazing to see all the varied patterns , especially the kalideiscope pieces that are almost mesmerizing. Pick up a gallery hud at the entrance.

 http://maps.secondlifecom/secondlife/Serena%20Montecito/220/162/30

I took a random TP off the art hud and went to an old favorite of mine, The Rose Theater Gallery. Here many Second Life artists are displayed in a magnificent setting. In the first room I admired the art of Sisi Biedermann whose works I have seen displayed in other galleries and is quite lovely and eclectic.

There are so many massive gallery rooms displaying beautiful art by many artists. The gallery has been chosen as the best gallery in Second Life for several years .

Upstairs in Gallery 7 I found the splashes of color art by Matt Thomson .

One can easily get lost in this extensive venue of halls and galleries and dining rooms. Have fun!

The decor everywhere is outstanding!  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Angel%20Manor/123/138/29

That gives you too very different types of galleries to visit among all the others offered on your hud.!

 Gemma Cleanslate