The Language of Art

Art isn't something reserved for the deserving few. Art is a universal form of communication. It allows us to speak with one another in ways that go beyond conventional language. Art speaks to our emotional core. Image replaces syntax, stirring our emotions with color and shape, harmony and dissonance, poetry and prose. This language of art reaches across disciplines. It bridges societal differences and schools of thought. Art is the common language of the mythical Tower of Babel, encouraging us to collaborate and explore and accept new ideas.

Although we may love and appreciate art, we have not all experienced the creating of art first hand, since arts and crafts in grammar school. We don't finger paint any more. We have put the crayolas away and channeled our creative sides into more practical outlets that seem more acceptable and less frivolous to us. Many of us learn early in life that art is not a necessity but a luxury... something we can play with but must put away when life gets serious. But Art is not a luxury. It is a necessary expression of the human spirit. Art connects us on the soul level.

But let's not over-analyze art. That would take the fun out of it...kind of like trying to read the tea leaves rather than enjoying the tea. Instead let's enjoy it, immerse ourselves in it and let it take us to new places in our minds.

What if you could create anything you wanted, shape your environment at will, be your dream self ...even fly? Oh wait...you can! It's called Second Life. The limits we have are the ones we place on ourselves and our own creativity. Why would we do that? (laughs)Second Life is full of possibilities. All we need to do is open ourselves to those possibilities and explore! We don't need to limit ourselves to our "real life" existence, but instead take the brakes off of our imaginations and soar. We don't have to choose between Second Life and First Life. Second Life is not meant to replace “real life." It isn't an imitation of “real life.” Second Life stands alone on its own merit as a separate dimension, rich in dreams and beauty. It is a vehicle for exploring our creative sides. Creativity has no bounds and accepts no limitations. When I first got into world in May of 2006, I was amazed at the color and texture around me. Sure, I walked into walls for a while, in my default skin and hair, and wore boxes on my head at the shoe store. Newbie concerns aside, I fell in love with the freedom of imagination! I hope you will too.

Over the Rainbow - Posted in Prim Perfect Issue 13

What if you could create anything you wanted, shape your environment at whim, be your dream self ...even fly? Oh wait...you can! It's called Second Life. The limits we have are the ones we place on ourselves and our own creativity. Why would we do that? (laughs) Second Life is full of possibilities. All we need to do is open ourselves to those possibilities and explore! We don't need to limit ourselves to our Real Life existence. Take the brakes off of your imagination and soar. Real life has it's place. Second Life is not meant to replace “real life”. It isn't an imitation of “real life”. Second Life stands alone on it's own merit as a separate dimension, rich in dreams and beauty.When I first got into world in May of 2006, I was amazed at the color and texture around me. Sure, I walked into walls for a while, in my default skin and hair, and wore boxes on my head at the shoe store. Newbie concerns aside, I fell in love with the freedom of imagination!

My first in world experience was on the island of Serenite owned by Keith Extraordinaire. Sereine Bard, showed me around. I felt like I'd landed over the rainbow! (smiles) I was asked (dragged in was more like it) to try Second Life, by my “real life” friend Robin Sojourner (Wood). She had been trying to get me into world for about two years! I would look at the web site and say..."na...what do I need with a virtual world. I'm not into computer games." and I'd shelve the idea. Then came the day I didn't. Wow. This was no computer game. How could I have known? The first thing I did was redecorate Robin's cabin. I almost ruined her existing furniture! (laughing) I started building almost immediately. I couldn't wait to create things. I bought a nice piece of land in Nitida and my friend Keith Extraordinaire gave me a cottage to "live in". I was in heaven. *smiles* My friend and then neighbor, Twome Rutledge, helped me to shop and she explained the nuances of SL. My friend Morse Dillon explained the basics of building. I found “busy mode” and used it a lot! My first couch, was the ugliest thing imaginable. I loved it.(grins) I made it. It was mine. I kept building. My friend Sereine said, "You should sell this stuff!" I rented a booth in an "outdoor market". By July of 2006 I had enough inventory to open up a store. I love Elements In Design. It's been a labor of love and a constant source of joy, from the start.

I had kind of an “aha” moment recently. I realized that Second Life cannot ever be like the physical world that our computers reside in. Unlike the “real world”, where politics and bureaucracy abide, Second Life is run entirely by creatives! No wonder it's magical! We make it that way! No matter how tough things get here with grid issues and IP theft, we need to remember the tremendous opportunities that Second Life has afforded us. Think about this: We can create without limits, we can work, doing what we love and we can immerse ourselves in a community that makes art a priority! We are Second Life. Creating art in Second Life has renewed my art in “real life”. Two and a half years later, I still can't believe that this world has absorbed me so completely. Yet...I found bits of myself, that I didn't know existed. I opened to this experience and this experience opened me. I found friends that speak to my soul. I found creativity without boundaries. Nothing for me will ever be the same.

IP theft is a huge thorn that needs to be dealt with. We all agree that there are steps that need to be taken to get the rampant piracy under control. One Linden Lab employee, in particular is making a difference. Blue Linden, With the help of some of his collegues, has drafted and submitted a proposal, for a Creators Registry. That registry would help to highlight legitimate businesses and help consumers to weed out the shops stocked with pirated goods. Contact Linden Lab and ask for the Creators Registry to be implemented. You can read more about this registry on the CCA blog. We, as creatives, can either decide to be proactive and better our world or we can sit back and complain about Linden Lab not doing it for us. At some point , it falls to us, to step up and take responsibility for the direction this world takes. We are not powerless, unless we choose to be. Get involved. Help others become more aware of Intellectual Property ethics and issues. Mentor new builders and encourage creative exploration. Last but not least...No matter what happens, keep creating. It is the magic that breathes life into our world. We are the magic!

**Some additional thoughts...Panic about IP theft does us no good. Instead put that energy into helping the community to find more ways to make IP theft in Second Life less profitable. For thieves, it's about the *easy money*. CCA is focused on making it more difficult for thieves to remain comfy. We visit sites where pirated goods are being sold. We alert creators immediately. We stay proactive within the community and encourage awareness of IP rights. (And on a personal note...I did NOT spend all that time in the trenches and writing to Linden Lab, ignoring my own business, just to give up, roll over and play dead! Neither did Arwen Eusebio or Tigerlily Koi!) Challenge: Join this effort and give back to the community. Get involved in practical ways. Offer to blog, offer to mentor for CCA, volunteer to write letters, help in the trenches by going to shops selling pirated goods and taking photos and info to pass to the creators that were victimized. In other words, skip the noise and DO SOMETHING!

Off the Deep End

As you know, I am a dedicated advocate for Intellectual Property rights. It has been a trying time for creators of digital art, both web wide and in Second Life. Piracy has been rampant and theft notices seem to be an every day occurrence. Having said this, I'd like to address the issue of proof. Has the current theft epidemic finally driven some of us over the edge into paranoia? It's one thing to have your work duplicated and resold without your permission. It is quite another to think you own a popular concept. In the past two days I have seen two talented creators, both strong proponents of IP rights, Delora Starbrook and Laynie Link, accused of content theft. One because she dared to make adorned hair styles with ponytails and the other because she used glow on an outfit! Oh-My-God! What is this driving us to? In plain English...that is just nuts. Folks, I cannot stress this strongly enough: Please be certain (with proof) that theft has occurred. Ponytails and glow prims are not enough to accuse another member of our community of theft. At what point will we realize that all chairs have a seat to place your rear in. That is the nature of chairs. I make chairs. My friend Arwen makes chairs, Maxwell makes chairs, Su makes chairs...and so on. Should we all accuse one another of content theft, because they all have a place to park our butts? I am so upset at the rashness of these unfounded accusations! I'm beginning to think that some creators are throwing around the label of "content theft" and accusing their colleagues of thievery, to nix the competition. Before you accuse someone of theft , you'd best be damn certain it is theft! It is not only unethical , it is reprehensible to attempt to destroy another creator's reputation, solely because you feel slighted or threatened in some way by their work. This is about as close to a rant as I've ever gotten.

We have not worked this long and this hard to let insecurity and paranoia lead us into a panicked feeding frenzy, with our colleagues labeled "lunch"! Enough already! Let caution, reason and respect be your guides.

The G-Crew ,The Elements Family & The Crosstime Pub

Photo:Wed Night at Fibber Magees, Dublin3

How do you thank over a hundred people for being wonderful? With a blog post! *laughs* When I first started Elements Family two years ago, I had know idea how much it would grow. Since then, I've grown to depend on The Fam for smiles , jokes and moral support. You have stuck by me through it all and I thank you with all my heart.

A couple of months ago I started the G-Crew group for updates on my DJ events. Ha! I didn't really start it...The G-Crew was a group already formed and connected by friendship. All I did was name it. They have quickly become not only my good friends, but an integral part of the Elements Family. Just seeing everyone at a gig with their G-Crew tags on, gives me a feeling of home wherever I'm playing. I can always count on AC, Dave, or Min to make me laugh just before I go up on the mic! It never fails! *laughs* (I'm sure they know and do it on purpose.)If someone doesn't show up at a set, we miss them (and track them down, like we did with Star!..lol)! I'm very glad that the Family has welcomed the Crew so completely. Thanks Ali (my sis in all but blood), Johnnie, Mondo, Ash, Sel, Buttons, Nu, Jean, Baer, JP and all of you!

When the time came to rebuild my sim, I decided to build the Family / Crew, a pub to call home. That's how The Crosstime Pub was born. ( I owe that name to Minerva Breda. Thanks, Min! ) The Crosstime Pub will play host to a variety of Live performers and will include many different musical genres. The main theme will be comfort, fun and friendship. The build is almost done. I hope to have it completed in 2 days.


Thank you Con, StarZ, Min, Taro, BB, Ken, Yank, Ota -the awesome staff of The Crosstime Pub!

A special thank you to Yankee Lockjaw(G-Crew Mgr & Pub Mgr), Minerva Breda and Tarogue Albatros, the G-Crew officers for keeping things running!

Thank you, Family! Thank you, Crew! All I ask, is that you keep dancing!
I love you guys!

It's Also About Getting There

I'm sure that you have heard the saying "It isn't about the destination. It's about the journey." Well, I'll agree with that statement...to a degree. You see, in some cases it is about getting there. And sometimes, however you can get there, is OK.

We stumble through life as best we can. We have successes and we make mistakes. Both sides of the coin are part and parcel of life. I am not ashamed of my mistakes, because I know that they have helped me to grow. (And believe me , I've made some really stupid choices this past year!) The thing is, I was concentrating on the journey and ignoring the direction and the destination. That is just as silly as doing it the other way and focusing only on the destination. I was doing this day to day thing and ignoring where it was leading, which was down a dark hole. At some point, I woke up and took a good look around at my surroundings and said "Dang! How the hell did I get here?" That's when I pulled out my trusty map. We all have one. It's a built in standard feature in all humans. Anytime we get turned around and feel lost, we can whip out "the map" and get our bearings. So, I looked at my map and realized I was slightly off course. I was headed in the right general direction, but I needed to do a slight course correction.

As is often the case with me, I create a sculpture and then grow into it. I think that these sculptures may be my way of manifesting points to follow on my map. (Hey...whatever works. Right? If you know me, then you know that I am directionally challenged. I get lost turning around.) A few weeks ago, I created a sculpture that I called, "Soul's Journey". In essence, I built a beacon of hope to follow.

Life is messy, unpredictable and full of imperfection. We are human and so by our very nature flawed. Yet in our flaws and vulnerability, we are beautiful and strong. I have finally grown into "Rebirth" and "Soul's Journey". I have looked at my map, corrected my course and found hope. No, I don't have all the answers, nor even many of the questions. *laughs* However, what I have found inside myself this week is far more valuable. Me. The rest is just down the road.

Rebirth

Hi again. Taking a nice stroll through my brain. Want to tag along? Don't mind the mess. I haven't cleaned up in a while. Oh look! There's last decade's baggage still sitting in the suitcase, unpacked and taking up space. Just walk around it. I do. See the sticky notes I've left all over the place? That's to remind me of important things, like...who I am. *laughs*

Let me dust off this old chair for you. Have a seat, and we can have a nice chat about life. It's bizarre isn't it? (Life, that is) We think we've run away from something in our lives, only to find ourselves running toward it instead. There are things in our lives that help us to flourish and there are things that will kill us eventually, like a slow acting poison. Some relationships are like that. We can convince ourselves that if it feels good at the time, we can overlook the long term affects. That doesn't mean that it won't eventually kill us. It just means we chose to turn a blind eye on reality. We haven't had enough self destruction, so we take another swig from the bottle marked with the skull and crossed bones! After all, it's just an interesting design on a label, right?

Why do we choose things that we know will hurt us? I don't have an answer to that one. It isn't on a sticky note. I can tell you, that as of this month, I chose to toss away the poison, in favor of a nice cup of self esteem. It wasn't easy. A part of me still kept insisting that poison tastes good. That's when I shored myself up and said no.

Rebirth is more than a statement of being. It is hope held out, that I'll reach the antidote in time and be OK. We are more than we give ourselves credit for. We carry the entire universe within us. So, how can we know that and not feel empowered? It's not about the mistakes the we've made. It's about what we have learned from those mistakes. It's not about love turned sour. It's about knowing we can love. When we come to the realization that we can love and honor ourselves, that's when true Rebirth occurs. Once we know and love ourselves for who we are, nobody and nothing can break us.

Rebirth doesn't just happen. We choose it. We must allow it...embrace It. No one can do it for us. Once we choose that path of self acceptance and growth, the way opens and we start to feel better. I can't say that I'm at that point yet, but I feel like I can be. I'm open to the possibilities. I am open to love as well, but only the kind that heals- not the toxic kind. I want to spread my arms wide and let the stars flood in. Maybe then, I can ditch the unpacked baggage and take down the sticky notes, cause being myself is reminder enough.

Thank you Jeff, Ali, Julia, Twome, Arwen, Zazen, AJ, Johnnie, Jean and the rest of my wonderful friends for never letting me give up. I love you all. Thank you also to my children, Marin and Max, who remind me every day of what love is. The rest of you reading this may be thinking that I've been rather candid about my life in this blog. Well...yes I have. But, so what. *grins* It's not like we don't all have our own demons. It's those of us that don't admit to weakness that are ultimately frail. The rest of us learn to bend without breaking. *smiles*

**On the descriptive side, Rebirth is interactive , thanks to Keystone Bouchard and October Brotherhood, who provided some of the scripting. The Elements Family came over and we all had a nice time dancing in the universe. Rebirth premiered at my Dances of Life exhibit on Cedar Island. A special thank you to Jon Seattle and Kate Miranda, for honoring me with that show. You can experience Rebirth at Dreamscapes Gallery of Art, at the Dances of Life exhibit on Cedar Island, at The Tech and at Anandra Gallery.

Betrayal

What inspires your soul? It's different for each of us. Some find career to be the *it* for them. For me it's always been love..... The kind of love that circulates through my system like blood. Love feeds my art, which in turn feeds back into the system. It inspires me and sends me flying in all sorts of creative directions.

We do not exist in a bubble. Everything we do affects others just as everything they do affect us. What happens when the source of our inspiration is cut off? Well, I thought the answer was .."uh starve?" It's not. The answer is that the source of inspiration cannot be *cut off*. I recently went through a difficult time, emotionally. I was very upset, angry, sad ...you name it. This is what I learned. Only you can cut yourself off from your muse. I did. I told myself I was so sad I couldn't build. I told myself that my creative side had "run dry". I was so distraught, that I needed a way to vent the sadness. So, standing on my Skyland, crying, I saw the piece that I needed to build...in my head. I began rezzing prims. I was blind to my surroundings. I ignored IM's. I poured every ounce of anguish into that sculpture, as I watched it form in front of me. When I was at the point where I saw a double vision...one in my head and one in front of me...I knew it was finished. I named it "Betrayal". I felt drained...like a poison was lanced from a septic wound. Then... I felt better. I learned that nothing could stop me from being me. I create. That act of creating is love. Creativity is something that lives within each us. No one can cut us off from that flow, although the source is harder to reach for at times, it never gets cut off. If you reach for your creative side during times of sadness and stress, not only will it be still there, but the act of creating can actually help you to heal. "Betrayal" is not a pleasant sculpture to view. How could it be? "Betrayal" is the embodiment of all that anguish that lived inside of me. I even find it hard to look at. But it also stands as a testament to love and proof that I am still me. We are capable of more than we give ourselves credit for. That wellspring is in each of us, nestled within our own unique spirits and talents. So next time you are in a room that is too dark, reach out to turn on the dang light! *laughs* Don't accept that it has to be dark. You'll just end up stubbing your toe or worse. *smiles*

A hell of a Valentine's Day post to put up, but hey ...it's real. lol