SL VENUES:Nicci Winsmore's World of Art and Fashion - Sandy Demina Reporting....

Nicci Winsmore-Trees in light

Staff Reporter • Monday, October 25, 2010

  Through the experimentation of forms, of colors and of textures all artists try to communicate their emotions and Second Life is a great place for all the ones caught up by their (first) life and who ended up doing something different... to their regrets.

This is the story of one of them, Nicci Winsmore has been enjoying art since she was very young. Her aunt even bought her a sketch book when she was about ten, feeling that she might do something with it.

But her true love was born when a professional photographer visited her high school and talked about his profession. This was it and she thereafter pursued photography as a passion.

Nicci Winsmore (aka Nicole Perrot) loves representing nature through her viewfinder. She has been taking pictures in various parts of the USA including California and New Mexico. She tries to keep her photography as real as possible without using any enhancements except for contrast and light with Photoshop. What you see is mostly what you should get. Her influences are many but her main one is Ansel Adams.  

 

Nicci runs now in Second Life a sim named" World of art and fashion"(http://slurl.com/secondlife/Breezy%20Shores/31/31/21 ).It’s a very friendly place with a great atmosphere, where she lays down a stream-of-consciousness cascade of photographica priced by the yard.Worth a look.All art work in her gallery is original and catchy.

Currently she assembled a mix of new artists as well as old favorites: Fiona Letner, Oxil Zane, Toad Laloix, Ichiko Miles, Soul Yheng, Sandralee Palianta, , Ganso Artis, Giovanna Cerise, Tegan Jenvieve, Carley Noonan, Kyr Art/GeejAnn Blackadder, Artman Diavolo and Madison Arnahan.Nicci of course display in her gallery her works too.
We had a conversation about her (second) life and her passions.

Nicci discovered SL reading about it in a magazine or online and since she has always loved virtual worlds (she was a big Everquest player), that picked her interest. But what attracted her the most was the idea of creating things and have a currency and a business." I thought I would make clothes (laughs). Instead, I fell in love with an artist who put me back in touch with my artistic side. And there i was! I'm not with him anymore but I owe him. So much for being a die hard celibate in rl."

I asked her if did she ever think to use her real name for what she usually do in Second Life.
"Strangely, it never occurred to me-she says- This is a different worlds, with different (more or less) rules and you can't really tell who is who. I just didn't even think about it. I picked my last name because it sounded British to me (laughs). Then Nicci was just a shorter version of my rl name Nicole. However, when I started to showcase my photos, I was asked by the owner of the first gallery i showcased at (it was the now defunct Shamen Gallery sigh), to show a rl pic of myself and a mini bio. So that's when my rl name and picture came up in the end"


Taking pictures is Nicci's passion also in her first life, but she never really went far. She took a course in photography for a couple of years and wanted to get into a real school but it was never possible. But thanks to SL, she actually brought it back into her rl and started doing more stuff. "I do shoots for a Los Angeles band and managed to increase the number of nature photographs in my collection. I have some of these in my gallery. "


When Nicci started her virtual adventure opening her art gallery it was really both business and fun." I tremendously enjoy having artists under one big roof and showcase them to people who might not get a chance to really appreciate art in rl-she says- I am very lucky to have some really talented people at World of Art. And one of them (SandraLee Palianta) is also a wonderful fashion designer and her dresses are displayed there as well. I felt like creating a combination of gallery / high fashion. I have not seen that on Second Life so far. So i hope i fill a niche somehow. Plus, when I organize some art events, it is also a way of having a good time. I love having a performer. I had two good friends of mine, Idella Quandry (who is herself a rl singer/musician/teacher and Grammy nominee) and Boris Afterthought performing in my gallery. So it becomes a really nice artistic moment of music combined with the art."



Nicci definitely thinks that SL is already a valid showcase for art in general.She says "I have had a number of people telling me i should showcase in rl as well. I have never tried that. So the encouragement is a plus. I believe SL is a great way to expose people from all walks of life to art of all sort. I haven't seen that much art in years! Whether it is rl art or sl art, the two worlds just collide. It is incredible. More people than I ever thought actually want to see art. I don't think RL gives us that much opportunity and for free!"

I asked her if she knows anyone who made a success in SL."Honestly i don't.she says- And i don't think that if you do art you want to look at it that way. One thing i found out on SL is that sex sells, art... it's a different story. I think of it as more of a visual investment than a business investment. Of course, paying tiers can be expensive to run a big place but i love the psychological rewards."
In order to promote her virtual gallery Nicci mostly uses notices and SL events. She has been using a lot of advertising groups and art groups as well. But I'm always looking for new ideas :anything that will bring people to see the art is good!

 

Sandy Demina Reporting...