Mindscape

By Gemma Cleanslate

One of the offshoots from the VWBPE that I finally got to see will still be in the world of Second Life so you will be able to take a look at this marvelous display of the creative mind of artists at work.

Asmita Duranjaya, a well known artist and owner of InterstellART  put out a call to artists to create  for  a collaboration to be called, “ 'MindScape', and it will be related to brain research and to all, what can refer to the human mind, how to develop, inspire and care for or manipulate it. 15 artists will create either a 2D or a 3D work referring to the topic by adding his or her idea, be it more realistic-physical or more mental or philosophical abstract. I provide on my sim the environment for presenting the artwork and am also one of the active artists. The 3D area is a moon landscape, where the 50-prim-installations are presented."

Fifteen artists answered the call with both 3d and 2d displaying their own inner vision of the brain activity and care. At the entrance to the 3d part of the installation one can pick up a notecard that introduces all the artists and their biographies . You can also find a tp to the 2d gallery there and when you arrive tour the 2d exhibit and also take a look at all the past works of Asmita which are on that level .

I toured the entire 3d exhibition at her InterstellART  with Asmita and several other visitors on the day for VWBPE members and friends . It is so eclectic in the expressions represented, but so interesting to see the brain research and care that each could see as necessary to brain health and happiness. 

I had to go back to take a second and third look at each to try to discover what they see. It is like poetry , so individual in thought. These pieces are not static but most of them moving .

Up at the 2d art gallery  on another visit I toured the lovely display of the many artists who participated in that part of the exhibit . Memories , dreams , thoughts, good and perhaps bad are depicted in the portraits there.

 Stories may be congured up  in one’s own mind when viewing all the exhibits . It is definitely worth several visits to experience what each artist may have been thinking when working on their own part of it all. Asmita told me that the exhibit will remain in place for several more months so take your time there. It may be good therapy in these days to meditate on the pieces . I am not an artist, but am an audience of appreciation of  the creativity of those who are. That is why I love to visit installations such as this.  To begin the tour enter here . 

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Nice%20Atoll/185/142/3685

Gemma Cleanslate

Interview with Nams of Static and the Gacha Guild

By Cyfir (Cyfiremmerich)

Nams (Nama Gearz) is the owner of Static and the Gacha Guild. Just before the Gacha Guild started, I had a chance to send them a few interview questions. Unfortunately, they were so (understandably) busy that they just got back to me with the answers recently. Fortunately, it’s still a good interview and they were able to send answers that were pertinent to the upcoming Halloween event this Fall as well as some new information about her store.

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Cyfir: What inspired you and the other founders to start the Gacha Guild?

Nams: In the very beginning the main founders got together and started this event because there were all these great events centered around human avatars and there were basically none at all for the furry community. Since there were none, we made one! .GG. has blossomed so much in the past few years, more than we'd ever expected! We're not JUST a furry event though, even though we have our roots in that community.

Cyfir: What’s new at Gacha Guild this time around?

Nams: Unfortunately since I just now had time to respond because of all the craziness in the world lately, the spring round of .GG. is basically over. BUT I can say the next event will be a spoooky carnival theme and will be just as awesome as last year's Halloween event!

Cyfir: It must be challenging to put on such a big event with so many avatars trying to get in on opening day.

How do you and your team meet those challenges and what makes it worth it to you?

Nams: Oh man, it's a lagfest if you don't do things just right, but we're so thankful that the event is popular enough to have this problem. lol The off-sim shopping area helps a whole lot, so we're trying new ways to make that convenient for everyone. We try our best to make script time on the event sim as low as possible too and remind visitors to wear event friendly avatars. But honestly, what makes it worth it is seeing all those crazy avatars and people enjoying themselves.

Cyfir: Who all is involved in making the Gacha Guild happen?

Nams: It's definitely a group effort to get these events rolling, especially for Hallows. Much of the building and advertisement I'm in charge of, and Xuxu (Xulael Resident) helps out with a lot of the building as well. Scripting makes the magic happen, so Argon (Lazer Frog) and Skyler (firefox22771 Resident) get a lot of the credit for making the event function, and making all of my crazy build ideas work out. And the true heroines are Catloaf (Katyjlol Resident) and Sunny (Usada Izumi), the blogger / creator recruiting dream team! Bringing in the talented creators and bloggers that make this event truly special~

Cyfir: Being a fan of Hayao Miyazaki, I’m digging the theme for this Spring’s event. What are your favorite Studio Ghibli movies?

Nams: Spirited Away is at the top! But my second would totally have to be Howl's Moving Castle.

Cyfir: What Gacha Guild products are you personally excited about this year?

Nams: Before .GG. Spirited Festival started up, I was totally stoked to see what cool avatar accessories we'd see around. Clothing is also a thing I like to look around for. Since you said "this year" I'm gonna go ahead and say, I'm looking forward to absolutely everything in Hallows. I can't wait to see those Halloween horrors!

Cyfir: What’s new from Static?

Nams: I am in the midst of a rebranding of sorts. Re-working my logo, working on a new in-world shop design and overhauling my advertisements. It's a huge job to get all these things updated, but it's gonna be totally worth it.

Cyfir: What would you say inspires your products the most?

Nams: Honestly, I only make things that I'd personally like to wear. If I wouldn't wear it, why should anyone else? And if I'm totally into the project, the heart I put into it shows.

Cyfir: Can you describe your creative process when working on things for your store?

Nams: Sometimes an idea just pops into my head and I can just go crazy on it. When I'm a little stuck and searching for ideas, I hit up pinterest pretty hard for inspiration. It's an amazing resource. Once I'm totally stoked on an idea I have, I'll just jump into modeling it and not really stop until it's done. I really try to consider the user most though during the creation process and how I can make it the most convenient and easy to use, so a lot of thinking goes into some of these projects before I even hop into a 3D program.

Cyfir: Anything else you would like to add or plug?

Nams: I normally wouldn't plug events that aren't my own in something like this BUT I'd like to get Fantasy Faire as much attention as it can. I'm in this event coming up on April 23rd, and proceeds for some of the items I'm selling are going directly to Relay for Life! Fantasy Faire is also huge, with nearly a dozen sims (or maybe more than that!), each decorated differently. It's really a sight to behold. It's a great time just roaming around and I hope people check it out. Here's their site to stay updated! https://fantasyfairesl.wordfress.com.

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Nams’ store can be found in Second Life at Caisteal (221/85/32) and on MarketPlace here. Information about the Gacha Guild can be found at https://gachaguild.com . Nams Tumblr, Flickr, and Ko-fi can be accessed at https://telepotato.cat, https://www.flickr.com/photos/namacat, and https://ko-fi.com/telepotato .


Cyfir