Renew your soul - Curei's Floating Gallery - Lacy Muircastle reporting

Curei’s Floating Gallery - Grand Opening this weekend Sat., Feb., 24th & Sun., Feb. 25th. 

Second Life is amongst other things a platform for individuals to set their creativity free.  Curei’s Floating Gallery is just that, creativity set free…

 "Curei's Floating Gallery"  is a dream that has come to fruition.  It floats high above Inspiration Island one of Second Life’s longest running sims.

 So who is Curei?  "Curei" (pronounced: CURE-ee-eye) Is a photojournalist in real life.  “Or, in what is left of photojournalism in the retreating form of current "hard copy" publishing,” she said.

She looked around at many of the galleries in SL and discovered that there was no shortage of them.  Curei found that some of the art and photography was original and very creative. However, it seemed to her that most of the works were still being displayed within the "other world" concept of pictures on a wall.

She wanted something different and to share her soul with Second Life, to reach for new vistas of creation and display.  The end result is exciting.  She has tapped into the talents and capabilities of other artists such as Gee (GeeJAnn Blackadder) who is a sculptor.  It is far from being all about Curei, she said, “often the best that can be done is not going to be all about me, but about a number of us together, working as a great creative team.”

Curei’s dream was made possible by many SL residents, and she would like to thank them as without them her creation would not have seen the light of day.  Pluto Fairey, of The Forest, gifted the basic "floater" as a beginning, and Curei said it was most certainly a wonderful place to start.

Wisdomseeker, the founder and director of the Inspiration Island sim, and the rest of the incredible leadership of the island gave them an exceptional home in their sky.

So many residents, from all aspects of SL, helped get the gallery up and floating.  There was Francisco Koolhoven, the tech expert of Inspiration Island, Wordsmith Jarvinen, the Chancellor of Oxbridge University, and Tooyaa from Inspiration Island.  And there was Ari, and Par, Catseye Tennen, Khamon Fate, and the hosting volunteers, and many others.

The team from Curei’s Floating Gallery hope that everyone will enjoy the fact that there will be much to see.   There is the Central Plaza area, the little model sailboats, a lovely Meditation Alcove, a magnificent one-of-a-kind spiral fountain, strolling peacocks, the Little Jazz Corner, as well as a relaxing music stream.  And who knows what else you might discover.

Speaking of discovering things, a mysterious object has been hidden somewhere on the floater.  It is an interesting surprise.  Come and see if you can find it?  Hint:  It’s a thing, and it has but one moving part.  If you find it, please don't tell anyone what it is and don't tell them where they can find it. Let them explore and find it for themselves.

This is a place to renew one's soul, a place for relaxation and enjoyment.  You are invited to join in the adventure of discovery and to return to as often as you wish.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Inspiration%20Island/202/118/1004

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The Multiple Layers of Ilyra Chardin- Dean Lawson Reporting…

Ilyra Chardin is a real life and Second Life artist. In Second Life she expresses herself as a photographer and builder in the virtual world. Ilyra also donates art for sale or auctions to benefit charities and her art work has been featured in the Builders Brewery Relay for Life Art Auction and is currently on sale to benefit Parkinson’s at the Creations for Parkinsons Art Gallery.  Ilyra is currently accepting clients and commissions but was able to put aside her busy schedule to answer some questions.

Dean : How did you first get involved with SL photography?

Ilyra : Like any new resident, I learned to point and click using the built-in snapshot feature within a week or two of joining SL.  Back then I used to shoot in the same way that I shot in RL.  I dabbled with building in SL within my first year as a resident, and as I got better with it, I started making a few of my own textures.  When I began to sell my work, I took the product pictures, but I had a strict rule for myself.  No enhancements to the product images.  I really wanted the consumer to see what they were going to be buying.  Hence I often heard, this item looks so much better than the pic.

About a year ago, I joined an online community and people were posting photographic art.  I was intrigued.  In RL, I had worked with acrylics, decoupage, and collage to enhance furniture or to make a mixed media decorative accent piece.  I started experimenting with mixed media digital art.

Dean : Your landscape snapshots are very impressive. In the snapshot titled “Rendezvous” a large moon rises out from the water and in the snapshot titled “Once Upon a Dream” billowing clouds surround a ruined castle. Did you find these backgrounds in Second Life or were these superimposed using post processing? If these snapshots are a result of post effects, could you discuss your process?

Ilyra : Thank you so much.  You chose two that are among my favorites.  The older of the two that you asked about, Once Upon a Dream, was taken in March of 2015.  Using Windlight, I got a great shot of the castle and I loved how the water looked, but I hated the sky.   I began by removing the sky, which left the castle and this great water that you can no longer see.  I made the sky and thought that it really needed clouds, so I made them along the horizon.  I altered the dragon and added him.  Then I felt that the sky needed cirrus clouds – the misty clouds behind and above the cumulus clouds on the horizon.  The cirrus clouds were airbrushed in.  At this point, well, the water needed a mist so that the castle would appear to rise out of the mist with the dragon ascending above the castle.  The mist over the water is multi layered and airbrushed.  The last part of the process was multi-step, I altered the color and texture, trying to give the piece a dreamlike quality.

The second piece, Rendezvous, was taken in July of 2015.  Sometimes when I’m shooting, my shot is a canvas - I plan all of the alterations that I want to do while I am photographing at the location.  There was a lot that was done to the original raw shot.  The sky is hand painted.  The original sky in the shot was mostly dark grey.  I added the full moon behind the plants and I added more plants.  I painted the center owl’s eyes to bring them out more and added a second owl, matching the color and eyes to the first one.  I added the dragonfly in front of the moon and a bird flying up in the sky.  I added in tiny blue fireflies and then I finished the piece off with a canvas texture and a border.

Dean : You seem to specialize in rural landscapes. Do you have any favorite SL sims for photography? If so, which sims do you think are the best for landscape photography?

Ilyra : I generally look for SIMs that are uncluttered so that there is enough room surrounding the subject to frame the shot.  I look for interesting trees and landscaping.  There are new SIMs or SIM redesigns that open quite frequently, and I’m always on the lookout for interesting subject matter.  SIMs that I visited multiple times to produce new pieces include: Flux Sur Mer, The Trace, Matoluta Sanctuary, Junk, Frisland, and Checkmate.  I also build my own sets, particularly for special events.  Animal Farm and The Veldt are examples of this.

Dean : Some snapshots such as “Alpha”, “The Lakehouse” and “Solitude” look as if a texturing filter has been used. Do you use filters to create a “canvass” effect to create a more artistic impression or are filters used to conceal imperfections in the digital images?

Ilyra : That’s an interesting question.  Alpha was a multi layered piece and all of the effects were designed to enhance the image.  If there are imperfections in any original image, I correct those by hand. I fix trees all the time in my work, because sometimes SL Trees show a paper-like edge.  I fix shadows so that there isn’t a gap between the object and the shadow that it is casting.  So, no, I don’t use textures to hide imperfections. 

Solitude was a very early digital art piece.  I am very proud of the concept and composition, but I can see mistakes that I made.  I continually strive to improve and hope that I never stop learning.  The Lakehouse, was experimentation with a different technique.  While I really like the composition, if I were working on that piece today, it would look very different. 

More examples of Ilyra's work can be found at the following links.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ilyra_chardin/

http://ilyrachardin.deviantart.com/

Art in the Park: Crystal Gardens Estates (165,220,22)

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Grand Opening of Windlight Magazine’s Art Gallery & August Windlight Artist Fellows Exhibition- August 1, 2015

DATE: August 1, 2015

LOCATION: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Froien/172/111/23

Windlight Magazine, Second Life’s newest magazine about the arts, will open it’s brand new Windlight Art Gallery with a group exhibition on August 1, 2015. The opening reception will be on August 8, 2015 at 1pm slt and feature live performer Anek Fuchs. A closing reception will be held on August 23, 2015 at 3pm slt and will also feature live performer Anek Fuchs.

The exhibition will feature August 2015 Windlight Art Gallery Fellows Artemis Greece Resident, Richie Narstrom, Seb Arkright, Bones Delicioso, Ozymandi Resident, Ilrya Chardin, Sandi Benelli, Myra Wildmist, SereneDean Resident, Roffellos Resident, Bluesrocker Resident, ChrysteRox Resident, and Wicca Merlin. Many of the works are original pieces by each artist in a variety of scenery and art mediums.

About the Windlight Artist Fellowship Program:

The Artist Fellowship program will provide free gallery space to both new and established artists for a period of 30 days. This program is open to both new and established artists in Second Life. The goal of the program is to provide promotional and artistic resources to artists in Second Life.

About Windlight Magazine:

Windlight Magazine is a publication about the art and photography world of Second Life. The goal of Windlight Magazine is to support artists, photographers, galleries, and related events. John nee Johannes1977 Resident is the Owner, Publisher, and Editor in Chief of Windlight Magazine and Gallery. The magazine is published on a monthly basis.

For More Information:

www.windlightmagazine.com

http://windlightmagazine.com/fellowship-program/

https://www.facebook.com/windlightmagazine

https://plus.google.com/+Windlightmagazine/posts

http://windlightmagazine.tumblr.com/

https://twitter.com/windlightmag

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New RL Paintings at Parris Galli Art Show in SL

PARRIS GALLI has been hard at work creating new art in RL. You are invited to see his 12 new pieces which provoke thought & feeling. Join him @ GALLERY GALLI on SugarHill sim TUESDAY MARCH 29th @ 7PM slt FREE ARTWORK for ATTENDING & DJ DIBOU spinning NeoSoul RnB FUNK live on BLACK SOUL RHYTHMS RADIO.




*Black Thoughts w/ Colorless Limits, & Creativity *Teaching Art, Loving Art *Full-Time Father of One * Part time Doubter of Dreams *Aggressively Dominating & Sensitively Understanding----- Welcome to Me… Parris Galli…

Well I'm a 33-year-old aspiring artist from Gary Indiana.... I love to create; I love to meet creative people and in some way I think we inspire each other. Most if not all of my works are made to evoke thought & conversation. I’ve recently been working with watercolor adding here and there acrylic paint with fabric for texture. I’ve been away from the Gallery for almost two years; during that time a lot have changed in my RL. All 12 Paintings speak to a certain period during those 2 years. So, if you like what I do. Please leave me a Comment or shoot me a Message. I'm open to do custom piece and commission work.

Come meet me at Gallery Galli. There will be will be a Q & A during the second hour of the Exhibit. During this time feel free ask anything Via IM box and I will address each question over voice chat.

You can also connect with me IRL at the Links below.

http://parrisart4u.deviantart.com/

http://www.facebook.com/Parris.Gill.Sr


*** FREE PAINTING TO EACH VISITOR, SO TELL YOUR FRIENDS***

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