The Shui Mo Gallery

 

By Gemma Cleanslate

 

Last week Andee Cooper’s  VAI tour group visited two galleries lead by Isa (Isalia Michalak) who is an aficionado of art. Our first visit was to the Shui Mo Gallery which is the installation of Fionafei. I am familiar with Fionafei’s art from Burn2 and various exhibits in Second Life. Her art is, “ Chinese ink brush painting, depicting a common theme or landscape seen in many traditional Chinese paintings.” At first glance on arrival it looks like a simple gallery of brush art on the wall. Take a close look. In almost every piece there is movement. At the end of the gallery is a red door and here is the real beginning .Enter and behold! Become part of the art.

Now you are facing a huge hall filled with black and white moving or still. This is the Dreams Garden Plot where one can float or pose on the umbrellas scattered around or dance while you admire the stunning garden and reflection under the floor . Koi swim gracefully around under the floor. There are four doors above on the bridge, two to the left and two to the right. One however shows an under construction sign.

Fionafei graciously stopped by to thank us for visiting her gallery and presented us all with a personal Koi like the ones swimming in the Garden Plot. She informed us she is creating a new exhibit that will fill the room behind the construction sign and invited us all to return to see it and I certainly will. I want to spend more time in the rooms examining all the stunning figures in each.We entered the first door. What a surprise. It is a full village of homes. Walk among them to see how they are “built”. This is where Fionafei is such an expert in her distinctive style. She is a Chinese American and loves to be in touch through her art with her ancestors and celebrate the “old masters who painted in this beautiful art style” she says. Fionafei told us she was inspired to create the village from her visits to Shanghai.

The third room holds Dragons intertwining and moving . Walk around so you can experience the dragons from different angles so you are viewing the art in 3d. Try another door. Inside the you will find a huge room full of windows from all over the world just hanging in the air and below the floor. This is a visit not to be missed. 

Here is the entrance to Shui Mo.  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Dreams/149/34/2554

Some background on the region appears on the notecard available at the gallery.

“About the Dreams Sim

************************

Shui Mo hovers over Dreams, a sim dedicated to helping and supporting stroke survivors and people with autism by means of regular group meetings, classes, games, and creative building contests. The goal of the Shui Mo Gallery is to give the visitors and the Dreams community the feel of being fully immersed inside a 2D drawing as well as an escape from even 'virtual' reality, where the 3D space melts away into the mind of the artist. Initially designed as a stand-alone art installation is now also used to house many of my other Second Life sculptures and installations. “


I will tell you about the other fantastic gallery another day. 

Gemma Cleanslate

 

Design

Interview With Bryn Oh

 *
By Anita Kimono

Bryn Oh is an artist who uses the virtual world of Second Life to create what she calls Immersivist art. The viewers not only see her art but participates and travels through her spaces that she creates. Visiting one of Bryn Oh’s exhibits is like walking through a virtual book, sometimes I pass a few “pages” but realized I have to turn back to see what I had missed or I had to “reread a couple of paragraphs” to get what was being said.

Bryn Oh has been in Second Life for 14 years and yet is able to retain her Second Life identity even in real life virtual exhibits internationally. Her virtual art has appeared in museums, movies, TV and Vogue Magazine twice (Italy and India). She was awarded several grants from the Ontario Arts Council in Canada to produce virtual reality exhibitions.

The following is an interview with Bryn Oh as she describes her concepts and thoughts of combining real life art with virtual world to create a new expression.

1.  What kind of artist are you? And what medium do you work in? How would you describe your art?

I began as an oil painter and moved into virtual art such as I create in Second Life and other virtual spaces.  My virtual art is what I call Immersivist art, meaning that its focus is on creating an experience whereby the viewer forgets the real world around them for a period as they become immersed in my artwork.  The techniques and tools used in a virtual space, especially one with VR, allow for a very powerful experience where the viewer is an active participant to the artwork rather than a passive observer.  The use of ambient sound, identity, colour theory, composition, interaction, narrative and other elements all combine to create an Immersivist artwork.

2.  What is your process? Do you work from photos? Do you work from life? How do you approach your art?

All my art in Second Life is a continuous story which began in 2008 with a build called Condo's in Heaven.   That work got me thinking of the idea of immersion as a type of movement or school of thought.  There were the Impressionists, Cubists, Surrealists, Modernists and so on... and I daydreamed of being an Immersivist.  Each new work is a chapter in the ongoing story and they are based on my life almost like a diary.  I take things I see in society or technology and combine it with parts of my life and then shape it into a story. 

Each virtual artwork takes about six months to create beginning with the writing of the story, then sketches in pen and ink or oil paintings, combined with building models in Zbrush (a digital tool to create high resolution models for animation.)Slowly I will plan out the composition of the virtual space so that the visitor will have freedom to explore but also naturally will follow the narrative.  I will add elements that help shape the mood subconsciously such as colour and ambient sound, shapes and so forth.   For example,a rounded shape is comforting to the eye whereby a shape with edges and angles like a triangle can subconsciously create anxiety or discomfort. Colour and sound naturally work the same.  

3.  Did you have any formal training in art? If so, what university? If not did you take workshops or learned from books?

Yes, I attended the Ontario College of Art and Design also known as OCAD university and focused on fine art drawing and painting.  After that I went to Seneca College for Softimage XSIComputer Animation then the Toronto School of Art for Zbrush.

4.  What is your earliest experience with art that you remembered that mark your path into becoming an artist? Who influenced you to be an artist? A family member, a teacher?  

Coming from Canada my first medium was building in snow. Watching my mom paint as a child got me interested in art as I loved the smell of oils and turpentine in her studio and seeing her canvas slowly emerge into places. My first experience with art was when I was just a child in school.  I did a drawing in class one day not knowing it was part of a large art competition across many schools in Canada.  Somehow my drawing was picked as the winner for my school which was shocking to me as I didn't know I had entered in a competition.  I was then informed that I would be taking a long bus trip to a location where all the winners of each school would attend a day of art training. It was my first experience of realizing I had some artistic talent.  

The event that encouraged me to become an artist was when I was at Carleton University studying Psychology and a friend asked me one day, “Why do you come home from classes every day and go in your room and paint?  You love painting more than your classes! Why didn't you go to art school?” I thought about it and decided they were right. My passion was art and not psychology. So,I decided to apply to Canada’s top art school and if I was accepted then I would drop out of university and go there. I was accepted.

5.  What artists in real-life and Second Life have affected you?

Early on I was very interested in the pen and ink drawings of John Tenniel and George Cruikshank as well as the shadowy paintings of Georges de La Tour.  Later it was Gustav Klimtfor his beauty, Van Gogh for the brush strokes and colour, Edvard Munch for his ability to paint mood and feeling, and Swoon and Banksy for expanding the way I saw art and concepts/messages. 

In Second Life, Light Waves/Starax showed me a new way to see the second life space with his work,“Greenies”(which was a comical giant room where avatars ended up being the size of a mouse). I liked the traditional artistic look of AM Radio’s works as well as the experimental minimal artwork of Selavy Oh. Also,the work, “Petrovsky Flux” by BlottoEpsilon and Cutea Benelli, used the unique traits of the virtual space.  I look at Second Life as a medium for art and I try to determine what makes it unique over other art mediums like painting, sculpture or cinema.  I enjoy artwork that sees the virtual space as a unique medium and does not attempt to make things that mimic "real life" art from galleries and museums.  I like to see things that can exist here but could not in real life where we are hampered by weather, gravity etc.

6.  What is your reason to exhibit in Second Life? and what is your experience had been? Any positive or negative. And has exhibiting in SL affected your real-life art?

When I was in art school,we would learn the history of art.  We would read about art movements like Cubism or Surrealism, Impressionism etc.   Often with a movement they are named years later and the very first artists working in the concepts are remembered and shape it.  For me, while painting, I thought to myself that my paintings were not doing anything new in art, but I possibly had the chance to be a part of something new and very rare in second life or virtual spaces.  I daydreamed of what I daydreamed of what we do here as being a new movement and I took the chance to try to be one of the first to focus on it as a medium.  Time will tell if I made the right decision but chances are rare in life and I wanted to make sure I didn't let it pass.

There is always positive and negative, sometimes there is drama with Second Life artists, but I do my best to ignore it and focus on what I want to achieve in a positive way.  And yes,exhibiting in Second Lifehas affected my real-life art.Originally when I came to Second Life,I would bring my painting ideas to the virtual space, and now I bring my virtual space ideas to painting and drawing sometimes.

7.  Do you have your own galleries? Do you exhibit in other galleries? What art related projects do you usually do in SL?

I don't tend to exhibit in traditional Second Life gallery spaces very often anymore unless it’s for a cause like Relay for Life, Missing Children, Toys for Hospital Children, etc.  On very rare occasions a curator will convince me to exhibit but generally that is due to their enthusiasm which rubs off on me :). My work is not about standalone single sculptures. They are just components to larger conceptual artworks.   What my focus is on in art is not really shown by placing individual sculptures around a room that resembles a real-life gallery space.  My machinima do a better job showing what I do but again they are a rigid artwork which doesn't allow the viewer to walk around a virtual space with freedom of choice.  My machinima force the viewer to follow the path of my camera and each time they watch it it is the same, the viewer is a passive observer to what I show them but my artwork is about being an active participant to the artwork, where the viewer is not separate to the art but in it and part of it.  Where they decide which way to walk or if they want to peek under a desk to find ahidden message.

8.  What advice would you give to artists who is interested in exhibiting in Second Life?

I would say to think about what you are most passionate about and focus on that.  Create a body of work on that topic and be patient.  

9. Do you have links that you would like to provide for people to view your works?

https://www.patreon.com/brynoh https://www.youtube.com/c/BrynOh/featured

https://www.instagram.com/bryn_oh/?hl=en

https://www.facebook.com/BrynOhh/  https://www.flickr.com/photos/bryn_oh/

Bryn Oh’s Second Life exhibits and store:

Hand by Bryn Oh - http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Bryn%20Oh/44/211/22

Singularity of Kumiko - http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Immersivist/16/100/21

Immersiva by Bryn Oh and Store - https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Immersiva/18/111/24

Photos from Bryn Oh

Anita Kimono
 

Aneli Abeyante And Maison d’ Aneli

 
By Kayly Iali

Originally from Cote d’Azur, France and now in Strasbourg, Aneli Abeyante is an artist and a gallery owner in Second Life. As an artist she paints in either acrylic or oils to create different textures on canvas. Her love for geometry and mathematics can be seen in her works. With scripts she brings together structures and shapes in a harmonious form and rhythm. Some of her works can be seen at the VeGeTaL PLaNeT (http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Oreo/39/38/522). It’s worth making the trip there to see her works in person. The symmetric forms and structures, rectangles, circles ... becomes dynamic when an asymmetrical element is added to them. It is hypnotical and meditative to view.

Aneli has been exhibiting in Second Life for many years. She first exhibited at Pirats, a large multi-levels gallery that held many exhibits for new and existing artists at the time. There she met many artists such as nessuno Myoo, GiovannaCerise, Solkide Auer, Cherry Manga, JadeYu Fhangto name a few. She has also exhibited at Asmita Duranjaya’s InterstellArt.

Aneli’s first gallery, Aneli’s Gallery, began on her homestead. She originally exhibited her own works but soon started to invite other artists to exhibit. A move to a different sim evolved her gallery to exhibit only other artists other than her own. She finds new artists by exploring different galleries but also through her connections at other galleries where she had once exhibited. Her current gallery is now named La Maison d’ Aneli at Virtual Holland (http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Virtual%20Holland/27/48/21).

The purpose of Maison d’Aneli is to expose all forms of art created in real life and in Second Life.  She feels that art is essential for the world to progress. Her gallery becomes the way to exhibits all these forms –traditional and digital arts and to provide a wider viewing audience for international artists that real life galleries cannot provide. In real life galleries, real life artists often find it hard to get in and also expensive at times. Thus, Maisond’Aneli is a common ground for all artists around the world meet and exchange ideas to make the world a better place.

At Maison d’ Aneli, Aneltakes great care on how the artists are exhibited.Sometimes she would ask artists to create a piece specifically for her gallery.Her current exhibit consists of nine artists of an array of many mediums: Kuervo, GlitterPrincess Destiny, Nicolex Moonwall, Zia Branner, Talixa, Neobookie, Sasha Arivalhagan, Shoshisn Shilova and Francoise Waroux. Each artist has their own skybox where the visitors can teleport easily from the ground floor.The artist is then having the freedom to set the mood of their exhibits. The exhibits are thought provoking.

Website: https://www.facebook.com/aneliabeyante

Kayly Iali

Interview With Xirana Oximoxi

 
By Kayly Iali

Xirana Oximoxi (Nuria Vives)is a mixed media artist though trained in classical realism, she explores all mediums; constantly learning new ways to express herself in different ways. She is one of many real life artists who brings her art into second life. Her work is exhibited in various venues in major galleries throughout Second Life. Exhibited are series of Xirana’s portraits, children’s books, and mixed media works that were produced.

Xirana works from photos as well as on location...it depends on the subject matter. With landscapes she would start sketching outside, then take a photo and finish the work in the studio. With abstracts, she allows the painting inspire her.

Xirana is inspired by the old masters, Munch, Pollock, Soutine, Picasso and especially Goya as well as Monet and Turner. Her greatest influence would be her grandfather who also was a painter and a photographer but had died when she was very young. Also, Xirana gets help from going to exhibits and reading art books.In Second Life her favorite artists are actually 3D artists such as Meilo Minotaur, Mistero Hifeng, and Rose Borchovski.

Xirana started to exhibit in Second Life just for fun by renting a small gallery. Then as she found herself exhibiting in more galleries it became a way to create more art. Some galleries have a policy to change exhibits every three months more or less.So,in Xirana’s own words, “... so, it was kind of a way to think, what can I exhibit next! (smile).... and it is a way to share what you do ... sometimes more people will visit your exhibit here than in real life.” She had found the pressure to change exhibits affected her real life art, too.Some of the galleries that are exhibiting Xirana’s art are The Galleries, La Maison D’Aneli, InterstellART and Artists United Gallery.More collections of her works can be found at Time Lost Art.

One of Xirana’s projects in Second Life as well as in real life are her children's books; she writes and illustrates them. A friend suggested that some of her drawings would be perfect for children's books. She researched in public domain for stories but ended up writing her own. A course in illustrated children’s book was a great help in getting started in writing and illustrating children’s books.

Aimed toward ages 5 to 7 years old, Xirana’s first story was about a little mouse and his adventures. One of the adventures was Minu exploring a river but accidentally falls in. To rescue himself he grabs a chair as it flowed down the river. Minu encounters an old man who takes Minu in to live with him.

Xirana has since then written 10 other stories including a family of hippos and a girl named Amanda. Xirana describes Amanda as a curious character, open to learn and willing to help friends. She had written and illustrated five other stories relating to her adventures.

In Second Life Xirana’s children’s books are in exhibit at The Galleries and her gallery in Jubata. At The Galleries, Georgiana (180, 109, 48), a 3D setup of her book “The Heroes in Face Masks” can be viewed. Delightful paper sculptures and collages of animals and little children dancing on papered ground. At her gallery at Jubata (131, 245, 99), there is a slideshow of “Amanda and the Ladybug.”

Xirana’s children books are available on Amazon (link) and her own website, http://mynicebooks.com (in which a donation can be made for a free downloadable book). Lots of her books are in some educational platforms in schools.

Xirana’s advice to new artists who wants to exhibit in Second Life is “My advice is that here all is possible...No worries about galleries, to create your own is very easy...”

To see more of Xirana Oximoxi’s art visit her website at http://nuriavives.com/. Xirana sells her works in her Etsy shop at https://www.etsy.com/shop/NuriaVivesArt. In real life Xirana’s artworks can be found in Spain and France. Also noted is her fundraiser, “A Pencil for Ghana” at her blog (link).

Kayly Iali

Interview with Judilynn India

by Kayly Iali

Judilynn India is an abstract artist in real life who brings her works into Second Life for exhibits. I have known Judilynn for many years and come to be one of the many admirers and collectors of her works. We recently sat and had a little chat about her artist life here in real-life and in Second Life.

(Kayly) What kind of artist are you? and what medium do you work in? How would you describe your art?

(Judilynn) I am an abstract painter working in acrylic and mixed media.  Mixed media for me includes paint, ink, and pixels. I like painting intuitively, but also include graphic elements at times. I was trained as a graphic artist and fell in love with painting later in life.

(Kayly) What is your process? Do you work from photos? Do you work from life? How do you approach your art?

 

(Judilynn) I generally begin with paint on canvas, starting with texture and color blends. I love layering for effects of depth and shadow. The painting may remain as is on canvas, or I'll take it into a computer program and further work the imagery to add other elements of grunge, etc. I don't generally do illustration, but when I do, it's somewhat surreal. I almost always work from my imagination. Occasionally, I may use a photo source for an idea.

(Kayly) So,your inspiration is from within?

(Judilynn) Absolutely

(Kayly) But you are probably responding to situations around you, subconsciously.

(Judilynn) I believe my mood and general state of mind determine what appears before me on the canvas. I work intuitively.

(Kayly) Did you have any formal training in art? If so, what university? If not did you take workshops or learned from books?

(Judilynn) My artistic training began as a child. Though I was involved in art programs during grade school, I began my formal training as a commercial art student in high school. I went on to study Graphic Design at Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Pennsylvania.  Through the years, I learned how to paint in oils and other media and decided I enjoyed painting. I've been doing so since the early 2000s. With the advent of YouTube, it's been fun watching other artists demonstrate their techniques. I've picked up ideas here and there. As a bookaholic, I've acquired a good library over the years. :)Lately, I've begun to explore cold wax and oil.

(Kayly) I also work in cold wax and oils. But for my still life paintings, it allows for more abstraction in my representational work...we have to exchange ideas later about cold wax and oils.

(Judilynn) Yes, I've seen how realists apply the cold wax to give more definition and texture to their work.

(Kayly) What is your earliest experience with art that you remembered that mark your path into becoming an artist? Who influenced you to be an artist? A family member, a teacher?

(Judilynn) I believe I came into the world with a pencil in my hand (laugh). My earliest memory was waking up one morning, stealing a crayon from my sister's desk and drawing on the wall next to my bed. I was three years old. My mother was a bit "intrigued" with my work, so she got a roll of butcher's paper and taped lengths of it on the wall. She'd replace it as I filled the sheet.  In kindergarten, instead of playing with the other girls, I would go to the easel the teacher had set up for us and I'd paint.  I recall once painting a purple flower and alarming my teacher when I painted the background in black. I had to explain to her that it was a flower at night (laugh) .My teacher would tell the class that 'Judi's going to be an artist when she grows up.'  That's when I first learned there was a word for what I loved to do. Drawing and sometimes painting, was my general pastime. My mother always encouraged me. She was also talented, but did art as a hobby. My father was an oil painter and commercial artist.

(Kayly) What artists in real life and SL have affected you?

(Judilynn) My earliest artist crush was Norman Rockwell. I'm not sure where I first saw his works, but my mother knew this and bought me a book of his artwork for Christmas one year. It was amazing. I also fell in love with Vincent van Gogh's work. The texture, color, expression-just amazing. Later in life, I would come to admire the work of Carol Nelson (https://www.carolnelsonfineart.com) and Gerda Lipski (https://www.gerdalipski.com) for their use of acrylic texture and color. Since coming to SL, I've taken note of artists like, Elin Egoyan and you.(I was flattered)

(Kayly) Whatis your reason to exhibit in Second Life? and what has your experience been like? Any positive or negative. And has exhibiting in SL affected your real-life art?

(Judilynn) I have also been a computer geek since the 80s and first learned of virtual reality in the late 80s. When I read about SL in an online news article and about how a Boston artist brought his work into SL, I knew I had to jump in. I was elated to find a place online where I could actually exhibit art and connect with other artists and art lovers in real time.  There have been ups and downs, but mostly, my experience here has been good. I came to SL with 12 pieces to show and soon started getting invitations to join group exhibits and solo shows. SL has actually kept me painting and developing my techniques.

(Kayly) Have you gotten commissions for real-life purchases from people in SL?

(Judilynn) I've only had a few people in Second Life actually make print purchases from my real life website at www.judilynnart.com. Real life purchases and commissions have come from people who have seen my work online or had conversations with me. I think my SL followers find it easier to collect in Second Life. It's financially easier to put together a virtual home gallery.

(Kayly) Do you have your own galleries? Do you exhibit in other galleries? What art related projects do you usually do in Secons Life?

(Judilynn) I have three of my own galleries in Second Life: Center Ground, Avalon town and Chelsea. My other resident installations are at various galleries throughout SL. I had the opportunity to build a sim sized installation for Linden Endowment for the Arts in 2018.  That was my first shot at a 3D build.  Most recently, I created an interactive installation at BURN2, this year's virtual Burning Man Festival. It was an amazing experience. I'm hoping to do more 3D work in the future.I've also been involved with exhibitions for Doctors Without Borders and Creations Gallery, fundraising for Parkinson’s.

(Kayly) What advice would you give to artists who is interested in exhibiting in SL?

(Judilynn) For artists who would consider showing their work in SL, I would suggest wasting no time setting up a small gallery of your work in rented shop with good traffic. I would look for areas that cater to artists (like Hotel Chelsea Manhattan NYC). Join all the art groups that you can, and introduce yourself to other artists and gallery owners for suggestions and advice. Find a mentor if possible. I'm always happy to help.

(Kayly) Any links to purchase your real-life works? website? And what main gallery would you like to direct your visitors to view your works?

(Judilynn) My website for art prints is www.judilynnart.com.  I can also be contacted through that site regarding canvas originals. The website will be updated soon to include more canvas art.  My main gallery, and one that is updated with newest work is the Center Ground Gallery of Art, Han Loso (226/30/72)

I should also add visit Judilynn’s Avalon Gallery, Tabula rasa (111/44/25).

Kayly Iali

Scraps: Collages at Montara Bridge Works Gallery

By Klaus Bereznyak

Scraps, by Veyot (Resident) is the current collection of art on display at Montara Bridge Works Gallery in Second Life.

The gallery is located in the sky above a tiny beach idyll where visitors are welcome to relax and enjoy the waterside setting, take off for further exploration in a passing Yavascript Pod, select a destination from the posters on display or check out the landmarks from a notecard in the news vendor.

Into this context, Veyot has placed her virtualized collection of hands-on, real-life collage work, made initially not with pixel manipulation but with glue, paper, and scissors. The collages are abstract and freeform with thematic echoes of shape, color, and content, leaving it very much to the observer to take what they will from the detail.

Veyot's summary, provided in a notecard at the exhibit, states: "These abstract collages are made from scraps of junk mail, old calendars, magazines and newspapers. I use them for greeting cards or fold them over to make covers for tiny notebooks. I prefer to tear random shapes instead of carefully cutting around an object. In SecondLife, they seem more useful as textures rather than wall hangings, so I put them all in one box. It's upstairs."

Many of the pieces include tantalizing fragments of text and a mixture of formal and informal composition, figures, faces, textures from nature, fabrics, maps and photographs. There are 12 individual pieces on the wall and several décor items textured with collages as well as the box of textures, which are on offer as freebies.

However playful and accidental the works may appear at first, they are marked by a coherent style and overall feel that perhaps comes from the fact that Veyot has been making collages for several years, although this is the first time they have been presented in an inworld collection. Veyot explained to me it was the combination of her commitment to making a "collage a day" while stuck at home during the Covid-19 crisis and an invitation by gallery owner, Pearl Grey, that provided the impetus for the project.

The pictures were chosen from dozens of possible options. Choosing the ones that would work together in the space, Veyot tells me, was a challenge that took "some imagination". It is an accessible exhibit in that we are likely to be familiar with printed material and many of our humans had a crack at sticking things together on paper in our early education. I found myself naturally responding to the colorful, kaleidoscopic compositions as they seemed to celebrate nature and topography, everyday life and exotic locations, inviting fresh associations between visual cues.

It's inspiring to look at these pictures, and I found myself wanting to have a go too. I asked Veyot if she had any tips for wannabe collagers. She said, "Calendar pictures are an especially good source because of the size. Tear the page into random shapes and then glue them down in random order for a simple abstract collage. Take care which way you hold the paper when you tear. You can get a white edge either showing or not, whichever you prefer."

Veyot is one of many creative souls making ingenious use of the opportunities in our virtual world to make art and stories and have adventures. You can read what she's up to on her blog or follow her on Tumblr.

SLURL: https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Montara/47/187/702
Veyot's View: https://veyot.tumblr.com/
Virtual Veyot: https://veyot368870036.wordpress.com/
Klaus Bereznyak

Curei's Floating Gallery

By Deaflegacy

I met with Curei at Curei's Floating Gallery. "What inspired you to do the floating gallery?" I asked her. Curei answered, "I thought it would be really refreshing to create something that was very different and was not like the usual gallery, with little pictures hanging on walls."

Curei also said that the meditation place is so beautiful and peaceful.  She wanted the place to be a work of art in itself, even without considering the creative works hanging in the gallery. Curei's Floating Gallery has a wonderful and very original spiral fountain, as well as the strutting peacocks and the little model sail boats in the other pond. There is a hidden mystery object that I have yet to find.

Curei's Floating Gallery is a beautiful place, full of art and many wonderful things.  I have been to the floating gallery at least three times and have enjoyed each visit. I would urge people to go to Curei's Floating Gallery.  It is a good place to experience.

It's not just a good place to be, by the way. It's also a beautiful location, full of nature things like vines.  Everywhere you turn, you will see something from the nature itself.  That's why I definitely recommend Curei's Floating Gallery to people who are interested in visiting the places of nature. Meditation place is not a place to be easily forgotten.  You can go there to relax and meditate.

There are more to the story as well as there are arts at Curei's Floating Gallery.  They are in a spot, where arts are being displayed.  I would suggest you give this place a try. It is truly remarkable. Why don't you give Curei's Floating Gallery a try because it's full of beautiful nature and arts.

Curei's Floating Gallery is at http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Inspiration%20Island/195/118/1003

Deaflegacy

The Art of Sisi Biedermann

By Gemma Cleanslate

Sisi Biedermann shows her art in many places in Second Life. I have seen it over in Paris Metro and Starz gallery.  I went over to Whinlatter to see her latest exhibit. Sisi has been in Second Life since 2007 and says of her art,  “Back then I had just started painting with acrylics after a very long break where I raised my children and looked after my family and my work. Today I have been painting several hundred paintings since then and I still get a lot of inspiration from nature, Second Life and northern islands such as Faroe Islands and Iceland. In SL I started taking photos already in 2008, and has developed my style ever since. All this brings me to where I am today and I hope you will enjoy my pictures.”

I certainly do. This particular showing is of Wild Animals of SL. Some of the animals of Second Life are gorgeous and what Sisi does with them amazing.To get to her exhibit directly take this ride. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Whinlatter/246/72/54

While you are in this gallery room take a look at the oil works of earring collection nearby and check out the top floor and the lower floor where there are other artists displaying their works. .This is a marvelous gallery that I have been meaning to write about for a while.

From this location you can TP over to the main TP area. Here you can choose among all the many artists that are on the Complex. There are many buildings to explore to see the varied collection .

The Complex belongs to dj12 Magic. He has other locations in Second Life but this is for the Arts. "The original and still going strong Visions of  Beauty Art Gallery.  It  is shown in its natural surroundings.  The artists and curators provide natural photographic art works and fantasy art pieces.  The collection is rotated regularly,” he says of his Vision.

After you leave the buildings go down the hill to the west to relax in the charming Gabriella’s Grove. This belongs to Gabrielle Magic (Gabrielle Avedon), dj12‘s partner. It seems that both have delightful stories and photos of  their cats.

Be sure to tp up to their area in one of the galleries and enjoy. There is so much lovely art here . Plan to spend some time exploring all there is to see.

This is the central TP area where you can move about to the artists easily, but enjoy walking through the galleries . Each building has its own charm . http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Whinlatter/158/88/50

Gemma Cleanslate

Aruba DeCuir: Fine Art and a Flavour of Paris

By Klaus Bereznyak

I have paid several visits to the gallery of Aruba De Cuir since I first saw a small selection of her work at Gallery 23 in Virtual Chelsea. I own a couple of her art works and to me it has a different feel from what you usually see in Second Life. There's a sense of actual 'materials' being used (papers, fabrics, crayons) and it has a striking simplicity. She also makes attractively designed and reliable low-LI furniture and decor items as well as hats.

Aruba has recently finished work on her "Petit Paris", which gives a flavor of Parisian street life, just alongside her gallery. There's a florist, a wine bar, apothecary, furniture and decor stores, a fromagerie, and a pleasant seating area. She kindly agreed to chat to me on the record for The Newser.

 

On my visits to Petit Paris I had got the impression of a particular affection that had gone into making an authentic sense of place in a fairly small area. I was curious about the inspiration behind the build.

"I build to entertain myself. I started on my Petit Paris out of a deep love for Paris and France. I think I have visited Paris more than 40 times. My version is not a copy of any, or a special, street. Each time I come to Paris I get high and run in overdrive for the first 20 hours or so - totally exalted and almost raving mad inside. Outwardly I just blend in and enjoy to be in this exciting city. I go to very few museums and the sights I have seen long a go. But I spend hours in parks, markets, or just sitting at a cafe, and suck up all like a sponge." She smiles.

 

By her own admission, Aruba can discuss art for hours but, like many, she has found by experience how hard it is to get AVs interested in looking at art in Second Life. She administers a group to share information about art and art-related matters, and she is very clear "Art is free and should not dictated by gallery owners or 'curators'". Her own work suggests a continual experimentation with techniques and approaches and a variety of subjects that has issued in a wide array of very appealing art. I ask her what is most interesting to her at the moment.

"Almost impossible to answer. I do paintings, etchings, collages and some photo based art in real life. I found a way to copy the feeling of etchings in here (in SL). It does not mimic an etching perfectly but it works and many people like them."

She goes on to describe to me a little of her creative process in Second Life:

"The way I create in here is mostly by creating a lot of scraps and cuts. I then look them over and ideas are born. I make one - sometimes 3-4 versions - save them and look at them again after a few days. Sometime I just trash all of it. Others I keep and upload."

 

I ask Aruba what she'd like to do next now that she's settled the area. Of course it is impossible to put the brakes on creativity:

"It will be refined and tweaked, and one day I will do something else. My gallery will stay in one form or another. Even it is a struggle to keep it running - any sponsors out there? In a wider perspective, I am inspired by a lot of things: Music, poetry, literature, history are some important sources."

A visit to this location is not to be rushed. Aruba guesses 10 minutes to get a superficial look. I'd double that. There are three floors of art to be savored and, if the visitor's virtual feet get tired, there are cafe tables to sit at in Petit Paris. If anyone is rushed she hopes they will take an LM and come back another day, or perhaps take some souvenir home to decorate their home. The art on display will change over time and I will keep going back to see what's new.

 

Finally, I ask how people can find about the gallery and any future events.

"They can visit, they can ask me, and they can join my art group "The Art Messenger" - as I say: "Support your Local Artist". Many people say they do not understand art - they are wrong - it is all about opening the eyes and seeing."

Links:

5th Ave - DeCuir Fine Art: https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/5th%20Avenue/199/90/21/

The Art Messenger group: http://world.secondlife.com/group/631e035c-e87b-c6eb-de96-7cb215c55962?lang=en-US

 

Klaus Bereznyak

 

The DiXmiX Gallery

By MajikVixen (bluevioletvixen.lorefield)

“And What Say The Dreams?”

Have you ever been so at one with art, that you ate, slept, and breathed it, just for starters?  A lot of what draws us here to Second Life, is the beauty to create and share, so this seems a very obvious answer, but I wanted to share my experience of DiXmiX Gallery with you, anyway!  You see, this place called to me, all my senses were stimulated by the unrelenting aesthetics here.

When I first arrived, I was greeted by the colorful and lilting tree branches, encompassing a very practical and modern looking building, made for beautiful presentations.  I was drawn in, by the many poetic pieces that reminded me of things you'd find in one of Tool's albums, a touch of Marilyn Manson, things found at TheHappyPencil dot com, or something similar.  Whatever the case may be, I was immediately taken back to a very wondrous and emotional place in my artistic past, and I felt ALIVE again.

When I later came back to do a tour with the very kind communal curator, Dixmix Source, he talked about how long this gallery has been in SL and what made him decide to do this, "We opened September 17th, but before, we had another dixmix gallery in another land ... We had to move because we had too many ppl at the opening, so we needed a no limit avatar place for our event (even though the limit is still 100, as per Linden Lab rule).  You know before, I was not into promoting stuff, I was sending some notices to art groups and invited my friends, the gallery was not even in search.  With this one, it's a bigger project, about art, but also, a place to hang around, to make pictures, and take a drink."

I then asked Dixmix how he decides on what artists should go into the gallery and how often it changes, and he thoughtfully responded, "How I decide hahaha, feelings ... I have to be impressed by one picture, then I'm looking if his/her production is quality, if there is a style, then I talk, and see if we can do an exhibition together ... the 'together' is important.  I've been invited so many times in some gallery where the walls were not even nice to pop up the picture, and the owner says 'drop what you want' ... it's fine... But for me, here, I want to be involved in what we are showing.  Artists usually like to be helped with their selections, and I push them to produce more exclusive pieces.  After some weeks of the opening, and artists being in articles, I will begin to change one of the galleries every 2 weeks."

At the beginning of the tour, Dixmix explained that all galleries have two floors (even though we would mostly stay on the ground level).  In the entrance is their thematic room, now occupied by the amazing SL artist, Ariel Brearly.  "...all these pics are from my inventory.  I bought them through the years, but later this year we will have Ariel with new work here," he commented, "Later we will have different themes, like black/white pics from different artists, or pictures from a sim, or pieces based on a word."  I asked Dixmix how he found Ariel, and he replied, "How?  Dunno.  I saw an exhibition of her maybe 6 or 7 years ago, I bought some, then more at another exhibition, and I bought some other pictures by Ariel too, then we become friends.  And we organized an exhibition of her work at Crimarizon's gallery (it was a sim, built by Megan Prumier - co owner and builder of this gallery too).  Megan also built a lot of sims, one of the famous ones being Deadpool - Metropolis city."

I was then taken to a room in the South, with a little bar and one amazing coffee machine.  I clicked on it, and was then able to select my poison *grin*.  Dixmix remarked, "We created this gallery after some others (all were dixmix gallery named), but this time we wanted to promote art as usual, but also have a nice place to hang around.  Since the opening, many bloggers are coming here to take the pictures... it's full of nice chairs, and some little details that Megan created and rezzed here and there, to warm up this modern building."

Then continuing on the tour, Dixmix said, "...then we have 3 areas (the black, grey, and white gallery that we named like that, not because of their walls, but because its shade of monochrome ...and even if we will have colored exhibition, it's a photography theme I really like so much).  The black gallery is occupied with Grazia Horwitz photos, it's her first exhibition in SL, and I found her in Flickr.  As a curator, I select her pictures, and drive her to produce a lot of new ones in the direction I show her.  My curator's job is not only to invite artists and let them go, I'm talking with them, I'm sharing ideas about how it has to be hanging on the walls, and of course it has to match all together.  Some photographers (like me) have many different genres of shooting (portrait, surreal, landscapes, erotics) but I always want to make a strong selection, and all pics of an artist match in a series."

Hard to pick a favorite, but I did mention how much I loved the sculptures.  "All the scupties are bought by us, and most of them are from the Italian sculptor 'Mistero Hifeng,'" Dixmix replied.

In the East, we approached the Grey Gallery, and Dixmix said, "On the walls of the grey gallery, we invited Ziki Questi, who is a SL art blogger, and we have been attracted by the quality of her photography, so I asked her to show 7 of them (as you can see the selection, the blue ones are downstairs and the sunset upstairs.  I should also have sepia, pink, or green, but I want to have an 'ensemble' (in French), a collection."  Questi's style reminded me a bit of a mix between Salvador Dali and Mark Ryden.

Continuing Eastward, we came upon the White Gallery.  "...in the white gallery are my pictures, a selection of monochromatic sensual photos.  Works on the light and the darkness.  And behind me my favorite chairs (very personal ) hahaha," he proclaimed about Megan's "NOMAD // Sea Mine Chairs."  Love the black and white and limited color erotic photographs in this collection, they massage one's thoughts after having visited the previous works.

Then we stabbed Westward into a cozy and spacious room Dixmix called "The Atom," and Dixmix told me, "...it's our party room.  For openings, we always have live DJs, but we will also have live musicians playing here too.  Even our tip jar has been made by Megan, and is a piece of art.  People like to touch it and drop some L$ to support us hahaha.  This is one of our permanent galleries (the other one is up here).  In this one it's Megan's choice (and I asked her to have this collection of her pictures)."  ...This place would be perfect to mingle and talk about the feelings the artwork in the gallery has provoked.

We trudged forth, upstairs and sat in front of a mesmerizingly mechanical memory game.  "...Up here, it's my choice and I select again, in my inventory, from the stuff I'm buying or have received, from artists that had an exhibition earlier in my gallery.  Some games you can play with are here and there, also.  People will discover it when they will take the time.  Come back 10 times and you will still discover new stuff."

I asked Dixmix, at the end of our journey, if he gave these tours to everyone, and he replied, "I did a lot ... we build the gallery early August, but with vacations, we wait until mid September to open it, so I invited some art blogger to make the tour before, and since the opening I'm trying to have a SL magazine like yours... It's good to have press before an event, but also after, because we will always have events here, artists will change.  And making the tour with people helps me to find my way here too (laughter)."

If a picture is worth 1,000 words, then I bet the first hand experience is priceless.  Go and see what thoughts and feelings can be brought to the surface of your being, when you live for a few moments, at DiXmiX Gallery ...Your inner poet craves this nourishment. ♥


Additional Information:
SLURL: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Bay%20Port/45/235/22
URLs:
    https://www.flickr.com/groups/dixmixgallery/pool/
    https://dixmixgallery.wordpress.com/
Personal Gallery:
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/10mix/
Group: DiXmiX Gallery (Group Key: 1f0de95d-9c3b-df47-9b79-db1d8af5c00a)
Preferred contact: dixmix Source

Majikvixen

Kayly Iali’s Art At The Paris Metro Art Gallery

By Gemma Cleanslate

I made it to the opening party in Paris for the September opening in the gallery. The  delightful Tiny Maniac’s Band was hard at work playing their music and Keeba Tammas, a well known Second Life vocalist, was singing her songs . The party was well  under way when I arrived in the lovely courtyard. Everyone was in great form dancing along. I stopped there for a while to enjoy the music then stepped away into the gallery where Kayly Iali’s art is on display for the next month.

Kayly was at the door when I entered. She says of her work, "I am an alla prima painter. I paint still life, mostly fruits but my first love is portraits. I also had painted abstracts. I do calligraphy and bring my calligraphic skills into my abstracts.I started my art career back in 2009 after graduating from California State University at Sacramento in studio arts. Going back to school was a great way to keep one toe in art as my kids were growing up. Since then I have been jurored into a couple of major regional art competitions and sold paintings through Etsy.com . I came into SL in 2009 and started exhibiting in 2010. I had showings at Pirats, Space 4 Arts, and others.”   

Alla prima is a new term to me so I looked it up and it is wet-on-wet, or alla prima is a painting technique, used mostly in oil painting, in which layers of wet paint are applied to previously administered layers of wet paint. I am glad I did because it helped me see her paintings in a different light as I went through the gallery. Her love of painting fruit is evident as she explores the fruit from different viewpoints in her art. It is so interesting to see an artist who brings their art from real life into Second LIfe. I enjoy visits to galleries where I see this. I have seen Kayly’s art in other galleries passed through. I hope you will stop over to visit during the next month while the exhibit is up. 

Kayly mentioned she may start painting pumpkins soon.  Walking in the Paris region is always so interesting. Enjoy !  

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Paris%20Couture/129/26/22

Gemma Cleanslate