Content Creators Association

Well, I just got back from an amazing vacation (first in a long time) to find that my store was hit by texture and design thieves. What a welcome home. *sigh* I couldn't believe my eyes. There, in a stranger's store on Deneb, I saw my stolen textures on badly copied furnishings. I was in shock. I was fuming! How could someone do this? Geez Louise-Why would they? Can't they use their own imaginations? Don't they know that it's theft? As these thoughts stormed through my mind, I realized that I didn't know the first thing about protecting myself from thieves beyond the "where's my lawyer?!" reaction. The first thing I did was to contact friends who were also content creators to let them know. I didn't want this happening to them as well. Then I got busy doing research. My friend Craig Altman, owner of Bits and Bobs, is not only a positive influence in my life but also a very well organized wellspring of information! He took me through the step by step process of filing a DMCA. Thank you, Craig! I also contacted my friend Robin Sojourner, who in real life, is the professional artist Robin Wood. She gave me lots of good advice and information on what to do and what not to do. Through it all, I was in constant IM with my friend Arwen Eusebio, owner of AE Industries. Arwen was also a victim of IP (Intellectual Property) theft in Second Life. Her original Tree House design was stolen -textures and all! Arwen's ordeal is still ongoing without resolution. As I shared the information I had gleaned from Craig and Robin with Arwen, we both realized that many creators do not know that their original content is protected by copyright though the 1971 addition of copyright law of "intent to copyright". Your creation is yours from the moment it is made. Many are unsure of the legal route to take and are intimidated by the process. Many creators also do not realize that they may be entitled to civil damages. It also became more clear to Arwen and me, that content creators needed to do more to protect our work from theft. That's when we decided to form the CCA (Content Creators Association). Only through the united support of others and the sharing of information could we make a dent in IP crime. We need to join together and support one another. We need to share anti theft techniques. We need to help guide others through the legal process and encourage them not to give up and give in. All competition aside, we need to help ourselves by helping each other.

The CCA has been picking up steam as more content creators pick up the banner. We are not limiting membership to those who sell content. Any who create original content are in need of support and protection from IP theft. I will be posting helpful info links in the next few days as I weed through the information I have gathered.

To learn more about CCA, please contact Arwen Eusebio or me. We do not have to be victims. We have rights to our work. Stay positive by helping one another. If you have experienced IP theft, don't give up creating or let frustration get the better of you. File a DMCA and follow up on it. Stay proactive. If it's worth creating , it's worth protecting!

Sculpted Furniture

OK, I got on the stick and started working more with sculpted prims. I'll admit I was resistant. (The damn programs are intimidating and they never seem to have a good guide.) I gave it another go this past week and I'm glad I did. I am here to tell you that once I got started sculpting prims I couldn't stop! It's so much fun! The best part about sculpties is, I can streamline my builds and create with more freedom. The lower prim count is an added bonus. My plan is to remake much of my store inventory, replacing some of the regular prims with sculpties.



Although I am creating quite a bit of "Real Life" styled furnishings, I will also continue to create the fantasy pieces that EID is known for. I believe there is room for both.


I'll be in and out of world over the Thanksgiving holiday. For those of you that celebrate Thanksgiving, have a wonderful day and be well!

Breath

Imagine a wisp of air...ethereal, insubstantial and fleeting. Imagine glass...fragile and crystalline. When life is challenging, we can sometimes feel disconnected from those we love and even from the world around us. We feel fragile...as insubstantial as breath. So fragile that we could blow away if we don't make a concerted effort to hang on to ourselves.

Over the past week or two, I have felt disconnected. My anchors...my touch stones don't seem reachable. I am pealed back to my fragile core and exposed. The slightest breeze can sweep me of the edge, so I hang on to myself. I tell myself that I can stand. I tell myself that I can hold. Who knows...maybe I can?

The choices we make in life build the structure that we stand on. The people we include in our lives are always a part of that structure. The problem is...weak choices can weaken that structure and cause it to collapse under its own weight or tip over for lack of balance. We seek balance in our selves. We seek balance in our work. Maybe we should seek balance in love. Maybe it's not "OK" to always be the one who opens...reaches out. Maybe by doing so, it takes too much from us. Maybe it doesn't encourage others to step up. In any case, I need to stop overspending myself. I haven't reached any momentous decisions on this topic or resolved anything within myself. I'm still here...still standing. But...I now understand that balance is applicable in relationships too. I don't know why I didn't see that before. Its not OK to expect to put myself last. Its not "OK"to always be OK with everything. I am not giving up on love. I am not giving up on friendships. I am drawing boundaries between what I can be "OK" with and what I can't. I have some really amazing friends and family. I love my friends and family dearly. I hope that they will understand. I hope that they will see this as an opportunity reach out. I know that right now I am over extended and I can't hold my hand out any farther without falling.

Breath....delicate....insubstantial...fragile, it exists in the in betweens of moments. And I am in between one breath and the next.

Souls' Dance

Connected beyond skin, we touch. Souls woven together in a timeless dance, we meet and become one.

For T always...
and dedicated with love to Jordan & Via ...two who are one.

Sometimes miracles happen and we get to see a story unfold in the most astonishing way. This was the case with Souls' Dance. It is the aftermath of magic.

This story continues...

To begin at the beginning, I was in turmoil regarding current events in my love life, (See Previous post "Fire Dance") when I received an instant message from my old friend, Jordan, in Second Life. He apologized for being out of touch, but circumstances had kept him off line. We spoke frequently over the next three days. He had been upset over his home situation. Then came the message from Jordan that the love of his life, his wife Via was leaving. She needed space to figure things out. That day, with shaking hands he signed the separation papers. He loved her enough to want her to be happy, so resigned himself to letting her go. At this point , Jordan and I were both hanging on to our respective sanity by a thread. I was waiting to see if I still had a relationship with T. Jordan was going through legal separation. I had wished there was something I could say to help him, but no words would make any difference to someone who was losing the one person they love above all others. In an effort to clear my head, I decided I needed new shoes. (Hey! I'm female ..ok? I shop. Therefore, I am) After teleporting into a couple of stores with disappointing results, I deciding to go back to my tried and true favorite shoe store , Minx. This is where it gets interesting , so stick with me ....

I teleported into Minx and landed on...Jordan's wife, Via. Yes. Out of the 35,000 people logged into Second Life, I landed on Via. We'd never met. She recognized my name as one that Jordan had mentioned and introduced herself to me. As we chatted she mentioned their immanent separation. (Still we cammed and shopped...We are female after all.) Via mentioned the sculptures that I'd recently done, that are on their Second Life estate. Universe of Two and Fire Dance - Danze del Fuego are two of Jordan's favorites. Via told me that she connected with Universe of Two, because it reminded her of when she met Jordan. She said that time stood still and all she could see were his eyes...his face. Interestingly enough , Jordan had expressed the same thought to me in almost exactly the same words, when he first viewed Universe of Two, and I told her as much. Shocked by this, she told me she thought he'd forgotten. I told Via that Jordan said he could never forget the way time stopped and their eyes met across the room. Via told me at this point through tears, that she was incomplete without him, but she needed space. She wished that she could erase the past year and start fresh, but he was so distant. I told her how much Jordan loved her and suggested that she talk to him. Really talk....openly and without reservation, pride or walls. I explained what I'd recently gone through, and how I risked being completely vulnerable to hurt in order to reach out in my own relationship. We talked about dancing in the flames. Wasn't true love worth the risk?

That night Jordan and Via talked and reconnected. Jordan told me he stayed up much of the night watching Via as she slept. When he finally slept, Jordan dreamed of dancing with Via in a lovely garden. He said they had no corporeal forms. They were pure essence weaving in, out and through one another as if they were one. Jordan stopped at that point and said" It's hard to describe". I reassured him that I understood. I remembered all the times I felt that way with T. The intimacy of that soul deep connection is the most beautiful experience I've ever had. So , without thinking I told Jordan, "It's like a Souls' Dance". There was an Oh My God moment in IM, when I realized that I had just named my next sculpture. I could see the weave of prims and colors forming in my head. I couldn't wait to get to work on it.

So I ask you...Was I really shopping for shoes? (Laughing) We are all so connected to each other, that great need can produce miracles. I know the four of us experienced a miracle this past week. Jordan and Via are back together and working things out. The separation papers were ripped up and in the trash. True love won the day. As for my own Fire Dance...? Well, I didn't crash and burn. In fact, I found a wellspring of strength I never knew existed. I was able to share this with T and it went a long way toward healing our relationship. Magic exists, fed by love and connecting us all, to create miracles.

I have since completed Souls' Dance and dedicated it to T, Jordan and Via. The story will unfold further and time will add detail and flavor to this dance. We will undoubtedly get back to our lives, but for the briefest of times, we were each part of the miracle. We will never forget.

I pass that magic on to you. Continue the story for me. : )

-Gwen

Fire Dance - Danze del Fuego

There are times in our lives that are cross overs...nexus points. We make a choice to either play it safe or take the ultimate risk of crash and burn. But when we want something enough, we may choose to risk failure, rejection and even pain to gain it. That's when we find ourselves dancing in the flames. It's not a fire walk....that's for wimps! No. It's a fire dance. The goal is not merely to survive, but to summon all of our courage and despite fear, risk all for love. Love can be the ultimate motivation for growth, if we allow it. So many times we have stopped ourselves from enjoying love because the risk of hurt was too great. We don't want to feel vulnerable. Excessive pride is fear's shield, preventing love and growth. I asked myself "Isn't love worth any risk?" The answer was plain. Yes. Staying safe gained me nothing. Love is always worth the risk, so I chose to dance in the flames. Once I made the decision to conquer fear of hurt and rejection and openly express my feelings, an amazing thing happened. I didn't feel weaker, I felt stronger...empowered! I realized that fear of hurt and failure can stop us from experiencing so many good things in life. Just the act of making that choice was empowering. Yes...I may crash and burn. I left myself with no out and no shield of pride to hide behind. But, I cannot let that stop me from doing all I can to experience love. So I acknowledged my fears and with a last look at the safety zone, tossed myself into the flames with three words on my lips. "I love you."

Allowing myself to be vulnerable has strengthened me in a very integral way. I chose love over fear. Whatever the outcome of this ultimate risk of self, I will not regret my choice to dance in the flames.

EID Radio Hits the Net!

I am pleased to announce my latest project...EID Radio: The Voice of Elements in Design! Wooohoo! As a former DJ, this is a world of fun for me, cause this time around, I get to play what I want and not have to follow some program director's playlist rotation. It's a great way to connect with my guests on Elements in Design and poke fun at LL when the mood strikes me.

Right now, my On Air schedule is from 6pm to 9pm SLT. Soon though , we'll be streaming 24/7! (And we'd better cause I can't build and spin at the same time.) Please tune in and join me. I take requests but don't play them...just kidding. lol I may not have what you request but I'll do my best to get it. *smiles* Feel free to IM. My On Air status will always be posted in my picks under EID Radio. Just Click or copy the url you see below.

http://66.34.54.162:8090/

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