Are SL Artists becoming scarce?

I was reading an article, actually more a message, yesterday, about Second Life art, and more in particular the art of images. It seems that there are some people who believe the making of art works in Sl is over. People wouldn’t be interested anymore in making images in the virtual world. Instead of that, they look for other challenges as building, scripting, machinima, shops or whatever they think about what would give them more satisfaction than making art images.

My opinion is, that maybe there are less photographers inworld interested to make beautiful pieces, but….to me…it is only a natural change of interest. The “few” that will be left, will be the ones that are motivated to work on images and will try to maintain the quality of their images as high as possible. Others, with maybe more skills and talent, eventually will find their way in building or other activities. It is not always because you have the skills, that you are meant to be an image maker, and perfectly understandable to look for other challenges.

But there are exceptions. People whose life has always been about photography and who want to improve their skills in Photoshop or another post processing program will eventually stick to the pictures enhancements. SL is an ideal platform to take pictures and try out all the tools in your photo program. It is a world that is not comparable, as you can choose which background, which scene, which pose, which angle…etc….what you can not do so easy in RL

I won’t call myself an artist, but since I have registered myself at SL, I have been using the opportunities in the virtual world to enhance my skills in Photoshop. I wasn’t familiar with the program at all at the beginning, and, although I am not posting as much images as in the beginning, I still have fun by surfin’ the net for tutorials or images which I can use to process my pictures. And I see others improving too, and that makes me happy.

We do see a slight change though, and that is that more and more avatars use RL pictures to blend with SL pictures, but as long as the main object is from inworld, I don’t think it would ruin the appreciation of the majority, as being SL images.

I hope I am not alone with my view on this matter, and that we still will have quality SL pictures in flickr and inworld.

Iam Yumako @ the Avatrait Gallery

Come and join us on July 4th to the wonderful DreamWorld of Iam Yumako at the Avatrait Gallery. This artist has prepared some interesting views on the virtual world, from fairytale to futuristic cyberart.
The show starts at 1pm SLT, as usual, and we will have great music from DJLucifer.

You are hanging on a VERY thin thread

I was reading some plurks and stumbled on one from Hyang Zhao, who wanted to reset her password for SL, but seemed to have forgotten her security question. Peter Strindberg wrote a blogpost about it.

So, even when you have a premium account with all your private information, credit card numbers, RL name and address, you can not change your password at LL. It must not be easy for Hyang to find support on that matter since she is Russian, and will have to call to the US, which she already did, but without any result so far.

After being on the grid for more than two years, this proves again what you money is worth to LL, what you are worth to them. You're just an avatar, a genuine pig to them. They use your information to improve their game, their business, without thinking of the people who brought them so far as they are now. It is a shame.

I know Hyang is getting support from her friends, but at the end, she will have to clear it with the Lindens. And if they can not help her, she will have to build her personality in SL from scratch, although she is a well known person in the community.

I only can say, beware! You're just a number, an avatar...not a person!

New edition "Role Magazine"

First of all..a happy New Year and prosperous 2009 to all the readers and their family.

With this first article on my blog in 2009 I want to inform you all, that the new edition of the "Role Magazine" is out.
Again, the team has accomplished an even more interesting magazine for you this time. Of course there are articles about fashion, but also about art, travelling in SL, in and out the inworld house and other stories.
This is only the second edition, but you can see at the website, that there is a whole team working with a lot of professionalism, to make an outstanding magazine in and about the virtual world as we know it.
To read the magazine, you can either choose the following link, but also inworld you can read the magazine, by clicking on one of the many kiosks, which places are to be found on the website, www.role-magazine.com.

X-mas on Mars

I am honored to see that one of my pictures is being used as a New Year's card in RL. Vint Falken asked me some time ago to use my "X-mas on Mars" picture, and I could not refuse of course. Although it is a pleasure for me to work on images taken inworld, I am pleased to see, as any other photographer is, that some of the pictures I processed are being commented on flickr. When a picture is chosen to use in RL, and on the web, by someone who can easily make a piece of her own, it is really a great honor. TY Vint!!;)

Mami Jewell Grand Opening for Azul‏

Press release:

Join us December 21, Sunday, for the highly anticipated Grand Opening of Mami Jewell's Azul designer clothing store. There will be special offers for visitors who attend the Grand Opening, so you definitely do not want to miss this! The special offers will give customers a chance to purchase a few beautiful pieces for some great prices, those offers will begin 12/21 5am SLT-12/23 5am SLT. Mami Jewell graduates from working with edo Tone, owner of the very well known clothing line Styles of edo. Five months ago the famous edo Tone had taken Mami beneath his wing to teach her the fashion industry. With edo's expert teachings Mami has taken her talented designing skills to the next level and is ready to now take SL by storm with her very own clothing line Azul.

Mami has already made a wonderful name for herself within the fashion community due to her classy, beautifully detailed, and creatively designed dresses that have a flair which sets her apart from other SL designers. Mami Jewell is the awesome designer who made the gorgeous dress that this year's winning Miss Virtual World 2009 (Mimmi Boa) wore. Both Mami and edo feel it is time for Mami to go independent again with her own clothing line and that her time with Styles of edo has been a learning experience that each will cherish and are glad to have shared together. Even though Mami is seperating from Styles of edo they will continue to have fashion shows together for both name brands and continue to be friends. This is not an ending but a new beginning for the friendship that began five months ago and was built on a love for fashion.

Date: 21 December 2008 (Sunday) Venue: Joia Azul (129,129,25) Slurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/joia%20azul/129/129/25

The new "Role Magazine" is out !!!!

EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!

"Role Magazine is a monthly publication dedicated to highlighting the many facets of Second Life™ and to showcase the most interesting people, places and things in a high quality magazine production.

Role Magazine covers fashion news, specific designers and trends as well as artists, entertainment, subcultures, literary and technical aspects of the daily Second Life™.
Role Magazine is produced in Second Life™ and published in-world as well as on our webpage."

A new magazine is born, and I am proud to write for them, as the first issue is really a hit, with a variety of articles as their introduction says. Every avatar will find at least one article of his interest. The quality of this issue is beyond the normal magazines we have seen so far inworld.
I know, I have said that before...of the Twilight magazine, but this one has certainly the same level of quality and even offers you more with the different articles.
As I was asked only at the very last minute to write for this magazine, it was also a big surprise for me to see the result.
I am already anxious to see what next issue will bring us...;)

You can find the magazine in world or on the website with this link.

WORKING WORLDS/GAX TECHNOLOGIES: INTERNATIONAL CAREER FAIR

Join us November 27, Thursday, for the third recruiting job fair event for GAX Technologies. This time Working Worlds will have some of the biggest employers in Europe present and they will be interviewing candidates in their virtual offices. GAX Technologies has made its mark in Second Life with their hugely successful in-world Career Fairs. Every six months the Working Worlds/ GAX Technologies Career Fair is held and each fair has been larger than it's predecessor, thus making the sky the limit for the Working Worlds Career Fairs. To help job hunters learn more about the fair and how it will benefit them there will be conferences and e-learning sessions at the Working Worlds location in-world. Working Worlds offers everything possible to help ensure the success of the job seekers.
This months career fair is off to an exciting start with 3,500 candidates from all over Europe who have submitted their CVs online. In order to participate as a career seeker go to the Working Worlds' website www.working-worlds.com and register your CV it's a very easy process and gets you well on your way to finding not just another job but to finding a career in the field of your dreams. The fair that was held May 2008 brought 2,900 visitors, 2,767 candidates who filed their CVs and 600 official interviews that took place. The previous one before that brought 2,000 visitors, 1,500 candidates who registered their CVs and 300 interviews that took place. As you can see the difference in the numbers between the first and second events were astounding. The amount of candidates grew immensely and the amount of interviews doubled.

Cornelia den Hartog, Managing Director of 'GAX Technologies' and organizer of the Career Fairs is entirely convinced; 'The need for companies to attract new profiles from beyond the territorial limits is becoming more and more important. 'The 'Working Worlds' Career Fairs are in itself the most efficient solutions currently available to these companies without having to deploy significant resources. Our partners will be directly in touch with candidates who will not have to travel, but who may meet their future employer "Live" on Second Life'.

The Working Worlds sim gives a career seeker the opportunity to do something they cannot do outside of a virtual world. One can get up out of bed, walk over to the computer, and be interviewed without having to change clothing or pay travel expenses to interview with recruiters from prestigious companies for a job that he/she is qualified for. Having such a recruitment tool like a career fair in Second Life definitely makes the impossible seem possible and places the world of opportunities at a career seeker's fingertips. As we have stated before, it really does not get any easier than this and the results can be just as rewarding for both the employer and the job seeking employee. Come down and discover a creative, fulfilling, and exciting world of opportunities. There is opportunity for everyone, you are invited to come and find that career you have always wanted it is just a teleport away. You have had jobs now come find your career!

Date: 27 November 2008 (Thursday)
Time: 1am-12noon SLT
Venue: Grand Ducale 128,96,22
Slurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Grand%20Ducale/129/97/22

LL, Are you serious?

You have already heard about the new policy of LL, about openspace pricing. It must be a joke, but as we experienced in the past, LL never make jokes. It is always serious business. We learn them how to improve their "game", and what do we get in return? Increased costs, because after advertising to use openspace sims, they now think there is too much traffic, so the owners need to pay more. How ridiculous.

"So Openspaces have been incredibly popular as a perk for estate owners, but sadly there is a twist. Unfortunately most of the Openspaces are being used for much more than light use. Based on analysis performed in August and September, Openspaces are being used about twice as much as we expected, in other words being loaded with double the content/avatar load than we’d expect for a region that is supposed to be light use."

It has no use to explain on this blog whether it is justified or not, but as we already know for a long time, LL pulls the strings and we are the puppets. If you don't like it, leave this virtual world and look for another one. That is the message we get.

You can also read a reaction on RightAsRain Rimbaud's blog.

Reading the reactions, some agree , some don't. I will post some of them to give you an idea.

"I understand the reasons for doing this, and I actually support the change. However, I am concerned about the slashing of the edu discount at the same time. Given that a campus is someplace that is more likely to necessitate openspace (and even the proper use thereof) to establish mirroring of RL/SL environs to facilitate initial acceptance and bridging, this effective 214% setup jump and 333% maintenance jump is a difficult thing to justify on the meager academic budgets we have.
At this point, it almost becomes pointless to have edu openspaces, and I feel this is limiting edu expansion in secondlife unduly (or perhaps I should say, disproportionately), given that edu is a key constituent of your userbase.
Respectfully submitted for your consideration,

Kyle Thorn
Second Life Coordinator
Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy"

"First - this is not about abuse, that was just a lie to try to distract you from the real reason for the price increase - Gree.
Second - ranting about LL is going to lose customers - that's silly. They don't care about individuals. they're aiming at corporate users now that their proof-of-concept has worked.
Third - ranting at all is a waste of time. Decisions were already made. This was not a request for comments but an announcement of what is going to happen.
Fourth - yelling at the Linden sock-puppets does nothing but increase the personal abuse level. Personal abuse is always a bad thing.
I'm having my landowner convert my sim - which is a forest, as suggested usage - to a full sim. I like the people inside SL a great deal and I am not going to screw up friendships just because LL doesn't respect its users. I would love to rant and rave and claim LL is going to kill itself with this decision, but in reality they are going to line their pockets with a bit more money and business will go on as usual.
stop thinking you are important to LL. You aren't. - Lissa Fimicoloud"

" Quote:

Originally Posted by Vryl Valkyrie I know exactly what you are referring to and furthermore this is more than just about end users. This illegal decision effects us all. Most of the Open Space sims are rented to third parties from end users. Of course land must be rented for a profit. Trust me, without commerce, Second Life is dead. It does not take a rocket scientist to read the writing on the wall here. That's ok.. let's see how they feel about Class Action Law Suit. Now time to mute you because a good friend of mine, Obscuo Valkyrie told me a very long time ago, "don't feed the trolls" ..

What makes this illegal?
The cost of a 12 pack of coke went from $2.50 to $4.20, was that illegal?
The cost of gas went from $2.00 to $4.00, was that illegal?
The cost of a bus pass went up.
The cost of a movie tick went up.
The cost of a newspaper went up.
My utility bill went up, my cable bill went up, my internet bill went up, my phone service bill went up.
Prices increases, the costs of doing business increases, how is this any different? A virtual world is still run by a very real company that is affected by very real economics. Did they ever guarantee that their rates would stay the same forever?- Jenika Connolly."

It is clear that some are "misusing" the sims, and that the others have to pay the bill, but the question is if LL will get what they are aiming for. The future will tell.

CIENEGA SOON'S GRAND REOPENING OF CASTLE VALERIYA ARTIST GALLERY

(and the Opening of Fog Terrace Dark Psy Trance Club featuring a 24 hour Masquerade Party for the opening)


Come join us for the highly anticipated Grand ReOpening of Cienega Soon's Castle Valeriya Artist Gallery. The gallery will officially reopen October 24th and will be a sight to behold. Cienega is well known for her vivid and lively art which brings fourth various emotions while being viewed. Cienega's art captures the attention of the viewer and draws them in making them want to know or learn more about each piece of art they are viewing. Her art has an edge and an appeal which reaches out to both the art connoisseur and to those that simply enjoy visually appealing art. This will also be the opening for Fog Terrace which will feature guest DJ's that will play Dark Psy Trance Music. The Fog Terrace is sure to quickly become a hit to those who love Dark Psy Trance and are looking for an awesome atmosphere to enjoy that in. A 24 hr Masquerade Party will begin at 6pm SLT, this will feature 12 Dj's who will fill the Fog Terrace with Psy, Goa, and Trance mixes for a solid 24 hours.

Cienega's Second Life® awards and accomplishments include: being a guest judge for the "Photomania Contest" held at the City of The Arts on Hyacinth Island, speaking at the Photo Institute which is Second Life's premier school for studying photography, winning both the Koinup® Exotic Contest and the Slartist IDOL contest. She was an exhibiting artist for SL5B. Cienega also placed as top 20 finalist out of 400 entries in the Stiletto Moody "Picture Your Moods" photo contest. For the opening of The ARTist's Park Cienega had a piece of original art that was displayed. In 2006 Avatrait presented Cienega Soon for the month of December and she is now one of their galleried Artists in their real life gallery just outside of Chicago, Illinois.

Cienega is not just a talented artist in Second Life® she is also an artist in real life. Cienega's real life artwork uses many mediums such as oils, acrylics, sculpting with metal and wood, soft leather and feather mixed with glass and her stained glass work. Cienega has only displayed a few of her real life artworks in Second Life® because she believes that the beauty of Second Life® should be celebrated in its environment without real life artworks being present and hanging around in an unnatural view. Cienega Soon has been selected as one of the artists for the real life exhibition Rinascimento Virtuale (Virtual Renaissance) which will open at the Museum of Natural History of Florence, Italy. October 21, 2008-January 7, 2009.

Her artistic talents are just as original as her name and anyone who knows of her gifted skill will tell you of her innate abilities. Some would say art like this is not something that one can learn, this is a talent that you must be born with in order to do it this well. Cienega has been called a "photographic lyricist" and she feels that art is alive everywhere she creates it and there is a need for her to sing with her hand and eyes. She states," I sit and paint my version of my photo, my hand interprets what my eye sees deep inside the shot. To me THIS is my ART and my HEART turned inside out, capturing the beauty of what has been created in this Virtual 3D World by its many talented gods 'Their Creation'. What a wonderful talent Second Life® has assembled. It truly is worth capturing & hanging on a wall."

Date : October 24, 2008 (Friday)
Time : 5pm SLT
SLURL : http://slurl.com/secondlife/Valeriya/31/245/102

LOST WORLD

It has already been some days ago since I visited the sim “Lost World”. I received the landmark a while back from Kiya Mc Mahon, and, although I had not much time, went there for a short visit. Immediately I noticed the beauty of this sim, the details of the ruins, the virtual nature…. I only had the time to take a shot at one spot, but was already convinced that I had to return to this beautiful place, to take more snapshots.

I posted that first picture already some weeks ago, and noticed the nice comments on that picture, which made me decided to return as soon as possible.

As I am almost every day online, but not that long, I had to see that I could be there at a quiet moment, with not too many IM’s.

I was able to take lots of picture, but even than, did not had the possibility to turn every stone upside down. Again I was fascinated by its beauty, and I must admit, I maybe made the best picture ever, until now. I let you decide of course, but I am already pleased with the comments on these series.

I f you are an explorer of the sims, and want to see another great build, made by lolmac Shan, just follow this link….

Kiya also build a gallery on this sim, with various pictures of some of the best artists in SL. Worthwhile to check this out too.

To see the series of "Lost World" on my flickr stream, you can follow this link.

Avatrait brings the art of second life to global art event.

Press Release

Evanston, IL “ 10/16/2008“

AVATRAIT, the leading advocate of the emerging genre of "Digital
 Impressionist" art from the virtual world of Second Life, is excited
 to be a part of the Festival della Creativita  as well as being featured
 in the Rinascimento Virtuale exhibit focusing on the art of virtual worlds.

The Festival della Creativita, an international art event being staged
October 23-26, 2008 in Florence, Italy at the historic Fortessa da Basso,
and various satellite venues.  In its third staging, several hundred
thousand attendees are expected, all enjoying hundreds of events,
exhibitors, and the presentations of over a thousand artists and speakers.

The Rinascimento Virtuale exhibit is a gallery show focusing on the art
of virtual worlds, which will be featured at the Museum of Natural History
of Florence from October 21, 2008 through January 7, 2009.

Greg Houston (Track Hax in Second Life), the founder of Avatrait, will
be making a presentation during the Festival at the launch event for
Rinascimento Virtuale, detailing the growth of "Digital Impressionism",
how the Avatrait Gallery arose as the premier site for this emerging
genre within S.L., and how they have bridged the real and virtual worlds
by bringing this new art to a wider real-world audience.

Avatrait artists will be both represented by printed images in the show
and via a video production which will be a program element of the art fest.
All of the Avatrait art featured in Rinascimento Virtuale will be donated
for a charity benefit at the conclusion of the exhibit.  In another first,
a hardcover book, AVATRAIT: From Second Life® to Florence, is being
released the week of the Festival which will both detail the birth of this
exciting new genre and document the works of 47 of the Avatrait Gallery
artists.
Also being announced this week is the new Avatrait web site, which offers
its users free art uploads, social networking, and retail options.

The Avatrait Gallery is on the web at http://avatrait.com and in can be
found in Second Life at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Simuality/38/211/38.
The book, AVATRAIT: From Second Life® to Florence, is available for
direct order at http://avatraitbooks.com.

The Great Virtual China Wall

I recently visited the great wall of China in Second Life, on the Mao sim. This is a fabulous build, and I also discovered that there were some Belgians involved in this project!

In fact, Amiryu Hosoi has also her shoulders under other projects, such as the Hosoi Ichiba. Hosoi Ichiba is an Asian-themed market surrounding a meditation garden located on a traditional Asian-themed island called Virgin Island in the Second Life virtual World . For sale are Japanese and Chinese antiques, furniture, artwork, and other interior decorating elements, together with buildings and building components that can be used to create an authentic Asian environment. I have not visited this sim yet, but it will be one of my next stops for sure, but you can already visit their blog.

I also met Nani Yifu at the wall, and she was so kind to invite Gwendolyn, who was with me at that time, for a trip on her flying carpet around the sim.

I really admire these people for their skills, as the result may be seen!

As usual, you can see more pictures of this beautiful sim on my flickr stream, but also in the flickr group of Hosoi Ichiba.

Busy weekend

I had a nice long talk yesterday with Patrick Hufschmid, the designer and builder of RL and SL guitars, and lately, as you could read in my previous post, SL watches. The difference between all the watches, which can be found in SL, this one is really something.

He has updated his product already, as he is constantly trying to improve, which is remarkable. If you turn the watch (the side on your wrist), you can actually see the watch working. Amazing!! Don’t ask me how he did that. This is not just a copy from a picture and put into a watch. This is so much more.

If you don’t like the color, just change it, if you don’t like the light, just turn it off.

It is quality stuff, as we are used to see from him.

Since this weekend, I have also my own photo studio on Dream beach. Not big, but just enough to have the work done properly. I have installed a white room, where I can rez nearly anything, and post process the images later. I also put a CW studio, with lots of poses and backgrounds. As being the CYD photographer, I had lately quiet a few photo shoots, and this studio can only make the work easier.

Thank you Hellboy, for giving the opportunity!

After the September show at the Avatrait gallery, which was a big success, I am already preparing myself for the next show. So, keep tuned, I will inform you when and where.

Need to know the time?

Some time ago I wrote an article about Patrick Hufschmid (PatrickHufschmid Beaumont in SL), a well known guitar maker in RL as well as SL.

As he lives in Switzerland, it would almost be normal that he designed a watch with menu for SL.

I was not a bit surprised when I saw his product, as this is a watch, illuminated with different possibilities and a real time! You can adjust the hour and even the minutes, as it is very accurate, what else could you expect from a Swiss made watch?

Every artist I know in SL, who plays with a Hufschmid, is really excited about it, so I am convinced you would too with this watch.

Even if you have RL company and are looking for a business gift, this could be a real opportunity to have you own name written in the watch.

As I did not have the time to check all possibilities, I would suggest surprising yourself by buying this watch and check it out yourself. You will not be disappointed.

Can you imagine talking to someone, and then suddenly look at your watch...to make clear the conversation is taking too long? LOL

Golconda, the Vampire sim

I have visited the SIM Golconda several times. Every time I found something new to take pictures off.
It is a French community of Vampires, based on the World of Darkness, living and role-playing.

"The vampire that walks the World of Darkness is an undead creature. It is a former human being that has undergone the "Embrace" of a vampire, being completely drained of blood and then fed some by his sire, a vampire who has turned a mortal into a vampire through the embrace." ,so we learn from Wikipedia.


"Vampires strive for a Nirvana-like state called Golconda. This vague concept, encompasses salvation, redemption, a mastery over the vampire's bestial urges, and a high degree of Humanity; effects might be to lose the need to drink blood or even a return to a human state. Vampires in Golconda spent one blood point in a week, they are immune to the effects of Frenzy and Rotschreck and can raise all Traits and Disciplines up to 10, ignoring their generation limits."(wikipedia)

As all know, blood is truly vital for vampires. "When a vampire does not have any more blood in its body, it falls into torpor and cannot be reanimated unless someone feeds it with blood or a period of time has passed." That is why you need to wear a tag on this sim, to prevent yourself of being sucked out from one of these "creatures".;)

Everyone knows the stories of the vampires of course, but to give you a good impression, you need to visit the sim and try to discover every corner, turn every stone...

You will be able to find more pictures on my flickr stream, as usual, but also on the stream of one of its residents, Siobhan Watanabe, with several pictures of the beautiful vampires..;)

Virtual nature at its best.

Some days ago I visited a sim called “Hollow Forest”.
Arriving on the spot you get the idea of being in the middle of a swamp, that is why the title of some pictures is called that way. The fog over the water…and with the right “Windlight” settings you really can make an amazing view on that small lake.



This forest can also be the perfect background for elfins or faeries scenes.
It seems that builders are really improving their skills lately, because there are now many nice forest sims, a virtual nature where you get a real good feeling and almost real life experiences. The mushrooms and all the details are made with real passion, I must say.
This is certainly a place to visit, and to discover the beauty of the other world.
More pictures are and will be seen on my flickr stream.

Some thoughts

I only said yesterday, that I did not had the time to surf around. What did I do this morning....indeed...surf a bit around the grid...checking my offline emails...my flickr stream...;)
That having done I remembered a blogpost by Prad Prathivi. I think I have been too long in Second Life.;)

"You know you’ve been in Second Life too long when..

1. You’re browsing webpages and you Alt-Click to get a closer look at an image.

2. Someone calls out your avatar’s name and you respond.

3. You start typing “/me” in a text message or on MSN Messenger.

4. You start using your favourite gestures in the real world.

5. You accidentally write down your avatar’s name on an RL form

6. You see a pink ball and a blue ball in a store, and think how funny it’d be to put them on a bed.

7. You google your real name and get nothing, and then you google your avatar’s name and get a dozen pages.

8. The word “cyber” becomes synonymous with sex.

9. The first thing you do in the morning is open the laptop and check your email for offline messages, then check your Flickr/Koinup/Blog for comments.

10. You’re on an airplane and think how it’d be funny to suddenly stand up and scream “ZOMG - SIM CROSSING!!!!!” to the astonishment to other passengers.."

The only problem that I have now is, that I've been too long away from my blog. I tried to include the link to Prad's post, but did not succeed...haha. It is time for me to pick up the pieces, I think.

Update......finally I managed to include the link.;)

What's up?

I know I haven't been blogging much lately, due to several circumstances.
But I would like to inform you all that I am still alive and kicking, ;)

I have moved to another SIM from August 1st, and have rented a penthouse on Bahia Beach. This is a very beautiful island with a lot of performances and parties, what was not exactly what I was looking for but, but the friendship I get there can compensate it.;)

It has been approximate one year that I lived on the former Strawberry island from Coolzor Courier. Due to the fact that he sold everything in Second Life, we got a new landlord, with, of course new rules, which is inevitable.

I am preparing my exhibition in the Avatrait gallery for September, that is also why I haven't been posting a lot of pictures lately. As you know, every month, there is an exhibition of one of the members of the Avatrait Gallery. I would suggest to take a look at this month's artist, Keiko Morigi.

To be honest with you all, it is a pleasure to see, that even when I don't blog, I have daily visitors on this blog, which means that I have posted some articles in the past, which interest some people and that is why I intend to get myself together again, and try to post some articles once and a while.

I will try to update the bloghead soon, as my appearance in SL has changed too.
I hope to see you all soon, on my blog or on the grid.;)

Koinup contest presented by Twilight

I would like to tell you about a contest that Koinup is hosting and Twilight is presenting.

I came up with the idea, rules, and awards of the contest. Basically from July 8th to July 18th photographers can submit their work to Koinup on the theme of “Lifestyles.” I wanted to give people the opportunity to present the different styles of living they have encountered or do themselves partake in within Second Life.

There will be seven winners: one jury winner and six community winners. The Jury winner gets an article in the November 1st issue of Twilight Magazine (delayed time due to the magazine being release quarterly now) and also their own exhibit of about 20 photos in the August 9th opening of Twilight Gallery. This August 9th opening will hopefully be the largest ever as we will be having it at our new gallery on its own open spaced sim. The Community winners get their photos in Twilight Magazine and also on display in the main hall of Twilight Gallery during the month of August.

More detailed information can be found at this website: http://www.koinup.com/contest/twilight/. This includes, criteria, and submitting.


Belmakor Pintens
Twilight Gallery Owner
Twilight Magazine Editor


http://slurl.com/secondlife/Aloha%20Ocean%20Estates/158/