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

Breaking Free

"Gwen Carillon? She does that fantasy furniture...right?"



As a designer I feel it's really important not to box myself into doing just one thing. I love that people like my furniture! When I first entered Second Life, I had about 15 years of jewelry design experience in Real Life. I was tired of jewelry. When you are tired of something, and force yourself to create anyway, nothing really good manifests. So...I took up furniture design. (Yes, I see the connection there...don't you? Jewelry-furniture...ummm...) I felt renewed and ready to create good things. It was a vacation from what I was familiar with and I liked it. Months later, I felt refreshed enough to bring my jewelry designs into world. I found myself pidgeon holed into being a furniture designer. "Gwen makes cool furniture and art...Oh! I think she just started trying her hand at jewelry." Aaa! How ironic! *laughing* I'm still really glad that I took the break I needed from jewelry, though. I love what it did for my creativity.



I have always seen jewelry as wearable art. In Second Life I was not only able to recreate some of my RL work, I was able to experiment with particle scripts and animated textures in my jewelry. Why stop at silver and gold? Why not have a flame inside of a pendant? It was fun again and the ideas kept coming. My friends got used to my IM's saying "Hi:)I'm dropping a new set on you. Can you just try this on please and let me know what you think?" And truthfully, it's much easier than dropping a couch on someone and saying "Here. Sit on this for me." *laughing* I do have a confession to make though. I HATE preparing vendors for new sets. I have at least three sets ready for sale that I never prepped vendors for. In that respect I'm lazy! *sigh*



The important thing in design isn't *what* we create, as much as *that* we create. The process is as important to us as the finished work. For me it's like tasting light. The work fills me and I can't stop till it's complete.For designers and artists, it's that feeling the goes into a piece that makes it ours forever. And...it doesn't matter if the piece sells as long as it's loved by its creator from conception through manifestation. It's ours. When I finish a piece that I'm happy with I get a sense of completeness and joy that rivals chocolate! That piece has bits of me in it. There's a feeling of accomplishment that is overwhelming. It's a high! When I get an idea for a piece, I have to start it right away. I want to drop everything to create it. ...And I often do, at the oddest moments! *laughing* The next thing I know, I'm in "the zone" and blind to everything but the work. An hour can feel like five minutes! This process of creation is a meditation that is so immersive, I can forget to eat.

The act of creation is the difference between a designer and a retailer. Anyone can learn retail marketing. Design is reaching into yourself without fear and using your imagination...your vision to express yourself in new ways. I know some would argue that point. They can get their own Blog. *laughing * My Blog-My Opinion. So There. :P

Imagination Exploration

Second Life is an opportunity to explore the uncharted lands of our imaginations. If we just stick to the roads we know and never venture off the green, we will never know what is possible. That more than anything else would be a crime. Artists speak through imagination.



There is no right or wrong in the expression of what we find within our imaginations. We choose the vehicle of communication, be it performance, writing, film, sculpture, photography or design using prims. All are forms of communication through art. Art is less about forcing others to see a path and more about presenting possibilities. Art affects us. It has an impact on how we feel when we experience it. That experience can be pleasant or disturbing depending on the art and how we relate to it.



The most important things we can put into our work are passion and honesty. When I build, I don't think to myself "Will this sell?" I just build it for the sheer fun of doing so. I love the feeling of seeing something I imagined or dreamed become a *reality*. It's a rush! Then, sharing it becomes the next rush. *smiles*



There are a lot of wonderful designers in Second Life. I enjoy seeing and purchasing their work. As much as I respect and admire them though, I don't want to be them. I would much rather create things my own way. There can be no fulfillment or satisfaction in duplication of another artist's work or style. It's empty...the work is empty. It's not fun. We create from within. Among the designers I love, first and foremost would be my friend Julia Hathor. Her creativity sings in everything she creates. Her builds are as magical as she is.



So...let's walk the side paths of our imaginations and see what we discover about our art and about ourselves. Drop a prim and see what happens...teleport to a texture shop and get inspired!We never know where those paths will lead unless we walk them. ;)

-Gwen