Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Transcending Borders: 11. Secret, VilleH, Pol, Giovanna, Giorgio, Soror, Talia, Haveit, Johnny, Roc


As usual, entries for our 3D art challenges start pouring in as the deadline approaches. The UWA 3D Art & Machinima Challenge: Transcending Borders is shaping up to be one of our best shows ever. So many old friends and new, all showing how engaging work in SL can really be. We're up to 46 entries in the gallery, with several more we know are coming and probably a lot more we don't know about. Deadline is approaching soon! Get your entry in by the end of Friday 31 October.

It wouldn't be a UWA open art challenge without an entry by Secret Rage. Secret has become one of the busiest people I know in SL. Her entry this time is a simple, but elegant portal in a sort of Deco style.

Italy is well represented in the Borders show. We have three more Italians now (VilleH, Giorgio Nexen, and our good friend Giovanna Cerise), for a total of six so far. 
VilleH has given us an immersive chaotic space with the appropriate titled "Turbulent Kinetic Suggestions."

Among our veterans is a Pol Jarvinen, with a nervous little set of boxes that shift according to some logic of their own.

Anyone who has seen Giovanna Cerise's recent work at LEA and elsewhere may recognize her wonderfully expressive digital figures. Here they are in a tango of desire with the certain knowledge that the dance, as life, must soon end. A melancholy emotion the Brazilians call "Saudade."
 

Giorgio Nexen gives us a fun pair of Cubist talking heads. They do in fact talk with artificial intelligence scripting that is sometimes more artificial than others, but with surprising moments of humor.
 

Another friend who we rarely see anymore except for our competitions is Soror Nishi. Soror works with organic forms, especially trees and plants. Her variation this round is not so tree-like as her past entries, but it's quite intriguing with its monumental scale and deep materials textures on the roots.

Talia Sunsong has become a regular at UWA and her entries show more and more complexity and skill each round. This entry has a half dozen eerie figures that turn away from you as you pass by, but are watching you behind your back.

Haveit Neox presents an intriguing, lofty piece that's about language and symbols and an invented hieroglyphic code.

Johnny Lane's entry is about the different dimensions of experience we have in rl/SL.

Roc Furse gives us an Escher-esque satire about the pressures we all feel.

Saturday, October 25, 2014

MachinimUWA VII: Iono Allen's 'Butchery'



Versatile Frenchman, Iono Allen takes us back to the Great War in the early days of the last century with the 'Butchery' that accompanied humankind's drive to expand their borders. This film is the latest entry to the L$545,000++ MachinimUWA VII: Transcending Borders, the 7th UWA Short Animated Film Challenge. The 'Transcending Borders' theme was selected by Professor Ted Snell, Director of the Cultural Precinct, UWA and who inspired the very first of the UWA art challenges in 2009. This theme is in honour of the 'Transcending Borders' exhibition at UWA's Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery in 2014CLOSING DATE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS 31st OCTOBER 2014.

You may interpret the theme as you see fit, however the average viewer would need to be able to appreciate how you fit this theme (alternatively, please indicate in the notes how it fits in the film notes on the web). Your machinima must be made specifically for this challenge, and this should be indicated in the opening credits 'For The University of Western Australia's MachinimUWA VII: Transcending Borders'. You do not have to film on the UWA sims, however this of course will be appreciated, and there is a Special UWA Prize which will be made available to a film which includes either Winthrop Clock Tower, The Somerville Auditorium or The Sunken Gardens.
 
ALSO, public viewing for TRANSCENDING BORDERS: The 5th UWA Grand 3D Art Challenge is now open (though the closing date for entries is the same as the Machinima - 31st October)

Special prizes are also offered for machinima that best portray one or a few of the artworks entered to TRANSCENDING BORDERS: The 5th UWA Grand 3D Art Challenge.

Do visit the UWA Challenge Gallery HERE to view the submissions so far

List of Submitted Machinima for MachinimUWA VII: Transcending Borders:
(In Reverse Klingon Alphabetical Order)

Glasz DeCuir (San Sebastian, Spain) - Guest Outsider

Erythro Asimov (Tours, France) -  The 6th Extinction  (Click HERE for Vimeo Version) 

Iono Allen (Paris, France) -  Butchery  (Click HERE for French Version) 

GnomeZen (Ashland, Oregon, USA) - Transcending the Borders of Consciousness

Joe Zazulak [Spiral Silverstar] (New Orleans, LA, USA) - 'Transcending (surreal) Borders'

Tutsy Navarathna (Frenchman in Pondicherry, India)  - Metaphore - "Transcending Borders" 

Natascha Randt (Gelsenkirchen, Germany) & Karima Hoisan (San Isidro del General, Costa Rica) - The Connection 

Pepa Cometa (Andalusia, Spain) - Little Marie 

Sophia Yates (Boston,  Massachusetts, USA) - Transcending Borders 

Valentina Tremont (Milan, Italy) - Imagination

Peter King (Chester, England, United Kingdom) - Crime Knows No Borders 

NicoleX Moonwall (New Orleans, USA) - Transformation, The Long Journey Home

Erythro Asimov (Tours, France) - Night of the Johnstown Flood 

Misio2 (Melbourne, Australia) - Virtual Toy Island Plankton 

jjccc Coronet (Talygarn, South Wales) - What a Wonderful World

Valentina Tremont (Milan, Italy) - Dreaming

Friday, October 24, 2014

Transcending Borders: 10. Eliza, NaTaS, Sniper, Elettra, Eliza, Asperix, Luko, Lalie

UWA 3D Art & Machinima Challenge: Transcending Borders, just keeps getting better and better. We now have 36 entries and counting. Deadline is approaching soon! Get your entry in by October 31.

We have a bunch of new entries in by artists who are new to UWA shows as well as some old friends we haven't seen in a long time.

Eliza Cabassoun has made a lovely abstract prim sculpture that is elegant in its simplicity. It was created live during a concert last year by Prowess Rayna. An interesting example of collaboration and improvisation.
 


NaTaS Janus gives us a set of dioramas suggestive of comic panels that tell a brief visual narrative about a mundane unfortunate event with a happy, but surreal ending (sorta...).


Sniper Siemens is inspired by the movie "Transcendence" to show how the boundaries between virtual and real can be blurred.


Elettra Beardmore shows a sort of cosmic display of images illustrating the stages of existence.


Eliza Quinzet-Leijon's entry is an abstract form surrounded by slowly rotating pinwheel stars. It is inspired by a verse by Walt Whitman's "A Clear Midnight."


Asperix Asp has created a large obelisk titled "Infinite Landmark." It used subtly shifting amorphous textures suggesting water in a hall of mirrors, infinitely reflecting within a finite space.


Luko Enoch gives us a figure in a state of creative ecstasy. About this Luko says, "When in creative flux I always tend to drift into an unexplainable moment where thought and imagination dance with each other."


Lalie Sorbet  is a French photographer living in India. Lalie's piece is a rl photo of a dewdrop on a branch. She has interposed her virtual dancing avatar on it in a kind of triptych with translucent motion echoing behind.
 

Monday, October 20, 2014

MachinimUWA VII: New Works - Pepa Cometa + Team Natasha Randt & Karima Hoisan

 
The Connection by Natascha Randt & Karima Hoisan


Little Marie from Pepa Cometa on Vimeo.

The Germany & Costa Rica connection returns with 'The Connection' being brought to us by Natascha Randt and Karima Hoisan while we have a new name to add the the MachinimUWA family with Pepa Cometa bringing us 'Little Marie. These films are the latest entries to the L$545,000++ MachinimUWA VII: Transcending Borders, the 7th UWA Short Animated Film Challenge. The 'Transcending Borders' theme was selected by Professor Ted Snell, Director of the Cultural Precinct, UWA and who inspired the very first of the UWA art challenges in 2009. This theme is in honour of the 'Transcending Borders' exhibition at UWA's Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery in 2014CLOSING DATE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS 31st OCTOBER 2014.

You may interpret the theme as you see fit, however the average viewer would need to be able to appreciate how you fit this theme (alternatively, please indicate in the notes how it fits in the film notes on the web). Your machinima must be made specifically for this challenge, and this should be indicated in the opening credits 'For The University of Western Australia's MachinimUWA VII: Transcending Borders'. You do not have to film on the UWA sims, however this of course will be appreciated, and there is a Special UWA Prize which will be made available to a film which includes either Winthrop Clock Tower, The Somerville Auditorium or The Sunken Gardens.
 
ALSO, public viewing for TRANSCENDING BORDERS: The 5th UWA Grand 3D Art Challenge is now open (though the closing date for entries is the same as the Machinima - 31st October)

Special prizes are also offered for machinima that best portray one or a few of the artworks entered to TRANSCENDING BORDERS: The 5th UWA Grand 3D Art Challenge.

Do visit the UWA Challenge Gallery HERE to view the submissions so far

List of Submitted Machinima for MachinimUWA VII: Transcending Borders:
(In Reverse Klingon Alphabetical Order)

Glasz DeCuir (San Sebastian, Spain) - Guest Outsider

Erythro Asimov (Tours, France) -  The 6th Extinction  (Click here for Vimeo Version) 

GnomeZen (Ashland, Oregon, USA) - Transcending the Borders of Consciousness

Joe Zazulak [Spiral Silverstar] (New Orleans, LA, USA) - 'Transcending (surreal) Borders'

Tutsy Navarathna (Frenchman in Pondicherry, India)  - Metaphore - "Transcending Borders" 

Natascha Randt (Gelsenkirchen, Germany) & Karima Hoisan (San Isidro del General, Costa Rica) - The Connection

Pepa Cometa (Andalusia, Spain) - Little Marie

Sophia Yates (Boston,  Massachusetts, USA) - Transcending Borders 

Valentina Tremont (Milan, Italy) - Imagination

Peter King (Chester, England, United Kingdom) - Crime Knows No Borders 

NicoleX Moonwall (New Orleans, USA) - Transformation, The Long Journey Home

Erythro Asimov (Tours, France) - Night of the Johnstown Flood 

Misio2 (Melbourne, Australia) - Virtual Toy Island Plankton 

jjccc Coronet (Talygarn, South Wales) - What a Wonderful World

Valentina Tremont (Milan, Italy) - Dreaming

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Thursday, October 16, 2014

MachinimUWA VII: Tutsy Navarathna's - Metaphore: "Transcending Borders"



Three-time champion of the UWA Short Film challenges, and narrowly missing a "4-peat" the last time around,  the formidable Frenchman, based in Pondicherry, Tutsy Navarathna brings us Metaphore - "Transcending Borders". This film is  the  latest entry to the L$545,000++ MachinimUWA VII: Transcending Borders, the 7th UWA Short Animated Film Challenge. The 'Transcending Borders' theme was selected by Professor Ted Snell, Director of the Cultural Precinct, UWA and who inspired the very first of the UWA art challenges in 2009. This theme is in honour of the 'Transcending Borders' exhibition at UWA's Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery in 2014CLOSING DATE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS 31st OCTOBER 2014.

You may interpret the theme as you see fit, however the average viewer would need to be able to appreciate how you fit this theme (alternatively, please indicate in the notes how it fits in the film notes on the web). Your machinima must be made specifically for this challenge, and this should be indicated in the opening credits 'For The University of Western Australia's MachinimUWA VII: Transcending Borders'. You do not have to film on the UWA sims, however this of course will be appreciated, and there is a Special UWA Prize which will be made available to a film which includes either Winthrop Clock Tower, The Somerville Auditorium or The Sunken Gardens.
 
ALSO, public viewing for TRANSCENDING BORDERS: The 5th UWA Grand 3D Art Challenge is now open (though the closing date for entries is the same as the Machinima - 31st October)

Special prizes are also offered for machinima that best portray one or a few of the artworks entered to TRANSCENDING BORDERS: The 5th UWA Grand 3D Art Challenge.

Do visit the UWA Challenge Gallery HERE to view the submissions so far

List of Submitted Machinima for MachinimUWA VII: Transcending Borders:
(In Reverse Klingon Alphabetical Order)

Glasz DeCuir (San Sebastian, Spain) - Guest Outsider

Erythro Asimov (Tours, France) -  The 6th Extinction  (Click here for Vimeo Version) 

GnomeZen (Ashland, Oregon, USA) - Transcending the Borders of Consciousness

Joe Zazulak [Spiral Silverstar] (New Orleans, LA, USA) - 'Transcending (surreal) Borders'

Tutsy Navarathna (Frenchman in Pondicherry, India)  - Metaphore - "Transcending Borders"

Sophia Yates (Boston,  Massachusetts, USA) - Transcending Borders 

Valentina Tremont (Milan, Italy) - Imagination

NicoleX Moonwall (New Orleans, USA) - Transformation, The Long Journey Home

Erythro Asimov (Tours, France) - Night of the Johnstown Flood 

Misio2 (Melbourne, Australia) - Virtual Toy Island Plankton 

jjccc Coronet (Talygarn, South Wales) - What a Wonderful World

Valentina Tremont (Milan, Italy) - Dreaming

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

UWA 3 Minute Thesis Presentation & Second Life 2014

Image Used by Jay Jay for the Presentation (created with the help of quadrapop Lane & Dianne Elton)
UWA Second Life founder, Jay Jay Jegathesan is also a PhD student, completing a part time PhD on the topic of community and collaboration through virtual worlds.

The following video is taken from the semi-final round of the 2014 3-Minute Thesis competition where PhD students are asked to speak for 3 minutes on their PhD research using no technology or props aside from a single image.


JAY JAY JEGATHESAN - UWA SCHOOL OF EDUCATION / PHYSICS 

Some other presentations as shown below by David Gozzard, Blake Segler & Carl Blair, provide a flavour of some of the other presentations for the challenge.


 
BLAKE SEGLER - UWA SCHOOL OF PHYSICS


 
CARL BLAIR - UWA SCHOOL OF PHYSICS 


DAVID GOZZARD - UWA SCHOOL OF PHYSICS 

All these presentations led to successes in various ways. David & Blake made the final with David winning 2nd overall. Carl Blair gave a similar talk the next day at a postgraduate Physics conference and was adjudged best talk. Jay Jay was invited to give an expanded presentation by Arts Access Victoria at a Digital Accessibility Forum in Melbourne in December 2014.

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Transcending Borders: 9. Pale, Jipe, JointVenture, Ama

UWA 3D Art & Machinima Challenge: Transcending Borders, just keeps getting better and better. We now have 28 entries with lots of space left for yours! Entries are being accepted until October 31.

Pale Illusion always gives us something thoughtful, dramatic, and/or fun.  Her entry "The Paper Empire" is a commentary about the artificial barriers people erect in order to control others. It is a model in corrugated cardboard of the barrier wall between Israel and Gaza. There are figures on ladders on each side of the wall and they are kissing through the barbed wire at the top. The woman is in an Arabic head scarf and the man has a Hasidic hat and sidelocks. There is a graffito on the wall that says "Love knows no borders."

Jipe Loon gave us a startling object in last year's Reflections show, with meticulous mesh figures in a surreal kaleidoscope. This time he  presents a more programmatic piece in a similar spirit that is that is at least as provocative. The artist offers a number or stories and interpretations for his fantastic construction.

JointVenture Resident gave us a couple of mesh skeletal pieces for last year's "What Makes Us Human?" anatomy/physiology model challenge. His entry for Transcending Borders is a sensitive and moving scene showing a young man placing an apple in the alms bowl of a desperate homeless person on the street. He has made a speed-painting (time-lapse) video showing his process for texturing the piece.
 
Ama Avro's entry "Utopia" is an energetic scene with birds pulling at a giant web around the earth. Ama says this is about communication:
Virtual Communication
Who pulls the web?
At the beginning .... no
Once upon a time .... no
Utopia ..... no, not even
Utopia .....  I dream of you
 


Monday, October 13, 2014

MachinimUWA VII: Glasz DeCuir & Erythro Asimov bring the Guest Outsider and The 6th Extinction

 
ERYTHRO ASIMOV'S - THE 6TH EXTINCTION


GLASZ DECUIR'S - GUEST OUTSIDER

Glasz DeCuir brings to us 'Guest Outsider' seemingly transcending other dimensions, while Erythro Asimov takes us on a journey spanning millions of years with 'The 6th Extinction'. These films are the  latest entries to the L$545,000++ MachinimUWA VII: Transcending Borders, the 7th UWA Short Animated Film Challenge. The 'Transcending Borders' theme was selected by Professor Ted Snell, Director of the Cultural Precinct, UWA and who inspired the very first of the UWA art challenges in 2009. This theme is in honour of the 'Transcending Borders' exhibition at UWA's Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery in 2014CLOSING DATE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS 31st OCTOBER 2014.

You may interpret the theme as you see fit, however the average viewer would need to be able to appreciate how you fit this theme (alternatively, please indicate in the notes how it fits in the film notes on the web). Your machinima must be made specifically for this challenge, and this should be indicated in the opening credits 'For The University of Western Australia's MachinimUWA VII: Transcending Borders'. You do not have to film on the UWA sims, however this of course will be appreciated, and there is a Special UWA Prize which will be made available to a film which includes either Winthrop Clock Tower, The Somerville Auditorium or The Sunken Gardens.
 
ALSO, public viewing for TRANSCENDING BORDERS: The 5th UWA Grand 3D Art Challenge is now open (though the closing date for entries is the same as the Machinima - 31st October)

Special prizes are also offered for machinima that best portray one or a few of the artworks entered to TRANSCENDING BORDERS: The 5th UWA Grand 3D Art Challenge.

Do visit the UWA Challenge Gallery HERE to view the submissions so far

List of Submitted Machinima for MachinimUWA VII: Transcending Borders:
(In Reverse Klingon Alphabetical Order)

Glasz DeCuir (San Sebastian, Spain) - Guest Outsider

Erythro Asimov (Tours, France) -  The 6th Extinction  (Click here for Vimeo Version)

GnomeZen (Ashland, Oregon, USA) - Transcending the Borders of Consciousness

Joe Zazulak [Spiral Silverstar] (New Orleans, LA, USA) - 'Transcending (surreal) Borders'

Sophia Yates (Boston,  Massachusetts, USA) - Transcending Borders 

Valentina Tremont (Milan, Italy) - Imagination

NicoleX Moonwall (New Orleans, USA) - Transformation, The Long Journey Home

Erythro Asimov (Tours, France) - Night of the Johnstown Flood 

Misio2 (Melbourne, Australia) - Virtual Toy Island Plankton 

jjccc Coronet (Talygarn, South Wales) - What a Wonderful World

Valentina Tremont (Milan, Italy) - Dreaming

Sunday, October 12, 2014

MachinimUWA VII: Joe Zazulak's 'Transcending (surreal) Borders'


Transcending (surreal) Borders from Joe Zazulak (Spiral Silverstar) on Vimeo.

Joe Zazulak (Spiral Silverstar) returns to MachinimUWA with  "Transcending (surreal) Borders". In the creators words, "Sometimes the lines between reality and surreality become blurred, perhaps bump into each other....and chaos ensues". This film is the  latest entry to the L$545,000++ MachinimUWA VII: Transcending Borders, the 7th UWA Short Animated Film Challenge. The 'Transcending Borders' theme was selected by Professor Ted Snell, Director of the Cultural Precinct, UWA and who inspired the very first of the UWA art challenges in 2009. This theme is in honour of the 'Transcending Borders' exhibition at UWA's Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery in 2014CLOSING DATE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS 31st OCTOBER 2014.

You may interpret the theme as you see fit, however the average viewer would need to be able to appreciate how you fit this theme (alternatively, please indicate in the notes how it fits in the film notes on the web). Your machinima must be made specifically for this challenge, and this should be indicated in the opening credits 'For The University of Western Australia's MachinimUWA VII: Transcending Borders'. You do not have to film on the UWA sims, however this of course will be appreciated, and there is a Special UWA Prize which will be made available to a film which includes either Winthrop Clock Tower, The Somerville Auditorium or The Sunken Gardens.
 
ALSO, public viewing for TRANSCENDING BORDERS: The 5th UWA Grand 3D Art Challenge is now open (though the closing date for entries is the same as the Machinima - 31st October)

Special prizes are also offered for machinima that best portray one or a few of the artworks entered to TRANSCENDING BORDERS: The 5th UWA Grand 3D Art Challenge.

Do visit the UWA Challenge Gallery HERE to view the submissions so far

List of Submitted Machinima for MachinimUWA VII: Transcending Borders:
(In Reverse Klingon Alphabetical Order)

Erythro Asimov (Tours, France) - Night of the Johnstown Flood 

GnomeZen (Ashland, Oregon, USA) - Transcending the Borders of Consciousness

Joe Zazulak [Spiral Silverstar] (New Orleans, LA, USA) - 'Transcending (surreal) Borders'

Sophia Yates (Boston,  Massachusetts, USA) - Transcending Borders 

Valentina Tremont (Milan, Italy) - Imagination

NicoleX Moonwall (New Orleans, USA) - Transformation, The Long Journey Home

Misio2 (Melbourne, Australia) - Virtual Toy Island Plankton 

jjccc Coronet (Talygarn, South Wales) - What a Wonderful World

Valentina Tremont (Milan, Italy) - Dreaming

Thursday, October 9, 2014

York University Student Assignment @ UWA 3D Art Gallery - YOUR HELP NEEDED

Lecturer Carolyn Steele  and Students of York University

Artists exhibiting at the UWA Transcending Borders 3D Art Challenge may be contacted by students of York University, Canada over the next 2 weeks!

In this York Uni-UWA exercise, students from the 2nd year humanities and culture course "Other Worlds: The Arts in 3D Multiuser Environments" have been called upon to write a 500 word 3D Artist Media profile including screen captures of their work, and this will be due by the end of October.

Lecturer Carolyn Steele provided the following info:

This fall at York University in Toronto, Canada, students are getting the opportunity to experience and reflect on the social, political, ideological and cultural relevance of 3D art in Second Life. These students are new to Second Life, and many do not identify as gamers, so immersive environments are also new to them. In spite of this, or maybe because of it, their experience of the vibrant artistic community in Second Life is simultaneously halting, and wondrous. 

Roughly 28 second and third year students are just beginning a new assignment, due mid-October, requiring them to write an artist profile for one of the artists participating in this years UWA 3D Art Challenge: Transcending Borders. They are encouraged to initiate contact with an artist whose work intrigues them at some level in order to understand their motivations, process and vision for their art and for their choice of using this media. The finished profile will be shared with the artist on whom it is focused. Hopefully the artists will enjoy talking about their work and sharing their experiences with these students. 

Artists planning to submit, but who are still working on their entries and are willing to be profiled,  do contact Jayjay Zifanwe and your contact details can be provided to the students who might be able to work with you prior to your final submission of artwork
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Transcending Borders: 8. Shenn, Peli, kjs, Charles

We continue to have a steady flow of new entries for UWA 3D Art & Machinima Challenge: Transcending Borders, with a total so far to 24. Entries are being accepted until October 31.

Anyone who saw Shenn Coleman's 200 meter "Neuron Sphere" last year knows that he likes to work in big scale. His new entry for Transcending Borders (we are still waiting for a title) is no exception: A 150 meter cube with 6 areas of focus traversed by way of TP doors. It's a phenomenal experience and astounding that he was able to do it in under 150 land impact.
 

Peli Dieterle presents "Zoom in/Zoom out," a juxtaposition of macro and micro, with a giant microscope orbited by planets and a tiny space shuttle. There is quite a lot more to this piece than meets the eye. Be sure to read the accompanying notecard.

kjs Yip has given us an enormous box titled "Following Oskar," a reference and homage to the Bauhaus artist Oskar Schlemmer.



Charles Hera gave us some interesting minimalist entries in the 2012 Artists' Choice series. His "Maelstrom" for the WATER theme show was one of my favorites. For Transcending Borders, Charles has given us "Adaption - Relationships," an elegant abstract form that seems to be an apple and its shadow, or perhaps a pair of lovers in embrace.



Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Trascending Borders: 7. Slatan, Swann, Myhns, Wizard

We continue to have a steady flow of new entries for UWA 3D Art & Machinima Challenge: Transcending Borders. Entries are being accepted until October 31.

Slatan Dryke gives us "Quantum Shift: A journey into Perpetual Motion and Organized Chaos." It expresses the mystery of how chemical and electrical brain processes become .... us.
 


A few years ago Swann Jie started the "HuaKui Cube Wall" for the "Adopt a cube" project from the Virtual World to the Real World. The project allowed people to purchase a physical block with images on it and a QR code to a website of your choosing. The blocks would be assembled into a real world wall or house. Swann is showing a wall segment in this show.

Myhns Mayo presents a dramatic cyan colored expressionist bullfight scene titled "Fix TIme and Dissolve The Space."

Wizard Gynoid gives us "The 5 Elements," another of her wonderful geometric constructions.




Sunday, October 5, 2014

September LEA6 Full sim Eliza Cabassoun's Follow Your Soul review by Victoria Lenoirre

From Sept 17th until the end of October, Eliza Cabassoun is featuring her lovely sim build, Follow Your Soul, at LEA 6.

Everyone has a place where they found their soul.  This is where I found mine.  I found mine in a cabin by a lake where the fog rises in the morning into the mountains like a warm blanket.  I began writing novels here and taking photos here.  Nature can bring forth great inspiration, simply from towering trees or just the midnight sounds of tree frogs and rain hitting a tin roof.   

Wander around the sim and you'll find photography not only from RL but from SL as well.  I've also placed several of my tortured prim sculptures among the trees.  Make sure to click the teleporter in front of the cabin to go to The Poetry Garden and the SL Photography Gallery.  This lake is where I followed my soul to realize I have two gifts--writing and photography--and a part of my soul will always be here.

Eliza Cabassoun


My first impression is of a wide, open space that feels tranquil and uplifting. It feels like a home. There's a cozy cottage on one bank. By the front door is a sign that allows you to teleport to the Poetry Garden and the SL Photography Gallery.

Main landing area @ Follow Your Soul
Look at the texture of the grass, does it look like puzzle pieces to you? On each piece is a phrase. They seem like poetry. The phrases are on one of the easels by the cottage.


On the small easels are colorful photographs.

The leaves have turned into orange and red. You can see the reflections of the trees on the water. It's so calm and soothing to idle away your time here.

View from the main bank


Several docks lead away from the main bank. And one dock leads you to a gazebo. I always love gazebos and how cozy they make me feel. It adds a sweet, intimate touch to any place.


I found time to interview Eliza about her detailed, scenic sim installation.

Eliza says that her depiction is from her memories of time spent at Lake Burton in northeast Georgia.

Is that where you were raised or you had relatives there? or was it just a fall vacation spot?

 My great uncle built the cabin there in 1948, and my mom and her brothers grew up spending vacations there, and then my mom and dad and I went there when I was growing up.

There's a photo of the cabin inside the house...I used it as the rug.

Unfortunately it was destroyed in a tornado back in 2011...an F-4 tore across the lake, and it destroyed a lot of cabins.

Aww that's sad. You must miss it a lot.

 Yes, but I still have good memories, and I'm writing a novel based around the cabin and Lake Burton.  :)

I've created a fictional plot around it, and the main character's grandmother has willed a lodge to her, and the main character has decided to run it.

Is there an effort to rebuild the forest?

I believe they're going to plant more trees, yes.

Ok so I wanted to ask you about the photos on the easels that are strewn along the shore.
Are those photos taken during trips to the Lake?

I have very few photos taken from the lake...I have one other I plan on putting in the cabin tonight.  I didn't have a camera when we went most of the time, and the camera that I had the last time we went was a digital camera that used 3.5" floppy disks and I don't have a computer that can read them.  Most of the photos were taken at a nature preserve near my home outside Atlanta and in New Orleans, Louisiana.  I have a great aunt and an aunt and uncle in New Orleans.

The photos you included are really awesome. :)

Thank you :)  I plan on adding more as the month goes on.

 Eliza Cabassoun: I'm thinking about rezzing a house like I have rezzed for the SL photos up in the sky on the ground and putting more photos in it.

So there are 3 areas to visit at Follow Your Soul?

Yes...there is a teleporter in front of the cabin that leads you to the SL photos I've taken, which includes landscapes and singers and musicians in SL, and there is another area I've dubbed the Poetry Garden and has all of the poems I've put on my RL photos.

Very cool. and the Poetry Garden is also in the sky?

Yes it is :) It's listed in the teleporter.

Poetry Garden


I noticed that the main area has puzzle grass piece with poems?

[18:44] Eliza Cabassoun: It has a poem I've written on it called "Follow Your Soul", which is the name of the sim.

Nice. and the poem is on the easel outside the cottage?

Yes it is :)

The poem goes like this:

Soaring notes flying free
Circling unequivocally round the brain
The guitar twangs, harmony begins
The rhythm pounding in my soul

I close my eyes to hear it
Nodding my heart in time
No reason, no rhyme to all that is
The soaring of the vocals lifting my heart

It grows quiet, then rises again
I listen in pure wonderment
How can someone move the soul
With only a voice and a guitar
And a band behind him

God's gift of music
Touching them from high above
Giving others comfort
Making them feel the love

How can we feel depressed
How can we be lonely
When we hear something
That moves the soul so powerfully


So, what do you do in SL?  You own an art gallery, a shop, and you're a photographer in SL?

Yes. My store is Roots and Wings.  I've separated all the clothing items that I've used my RL photography on into a single vendor and put a sign next to it.

My vendor photos are on flickr.

My SL photos can be found on koinup.

My marketplace is at https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/107907 :)

So what are your future plans...any events or showings?

I plan on entering the UWA contest with "Soul of Heart", a tortured prim sculpture.  It's rezzed on the LEA sim.

A big thank you to Eliza for her work at LEA6 this month! And thank you for all who make LEA possible! :)

Come check out Follow Your Soul now until the end of this month!

Have fun and enjoy the art!

- Victoria Lenoirre