Bad Blogger

Oh, I'm a bad blogger. It's true! I didn't record the rest of the announcement here about the photo contest. And now its over. Flog the blogger.

The contest was to take pictures of the Rezzable sims. The people who entered watched Flickr where the details were posted. (Actually, I posted to about 6 flickr pools, and forgot to update my own blog!) It looks like 10 photographers sent entries .... I need to look at them in the morning (after the New Year's festivities and subsequent mandatory sleep), upload them to SecondLife, and display them at the Cannery for all to see. A representative from Rezzable will review them and determine which pictures are the winners.

I want to thank all the people who entered. I think they all had a great time. I know I did, although I fell was killed several times in the Toxic Gardens trying to take pictures. (Be careful, a bad step or a big ant can get you in a heart beat!) The picture included here is my companion who was aghast at what was growing there.

Cannery SL Photography Contest

Friday, December 28th, I will be announcing the rules for an SL photography contest. There will be 1000L in prizes given out, to be divided between first prize, second prize and third prize.

General rules:
1) All pictures must be square and at least 1024 x 1024 in resolution.
2) Pictures must have been taken between the start of the contest (12/28) and the end of the contest (12/30).
3) No pictures will be accepted after 12/30.
4) Pictures must be delivered to ShoshanaEpsilon@gmail.com (bmp, jpeg, png formats are ok).
5) No more than 2 entires per contestant.
6) Pictures must be abut and originated from Second Life.
7) The contest sponsor will have full permissions to the winning pictures. to use as they see fit, without further compensation to the photographer.
8) Post processing is ok, although there should be no watermarks, signature, or other post-processing writing on the picture.


The winners' picture(s) will be used by the sponsor of the contest for whatever purpose they deem fit.

Information regarding the contest sponsor and the particulars of the event will be given out on Friday, Dec 28th, after 3pm SL time.

Have a great holiday week!

-- Shoshana Epsilon

On Line Art Gallery

I came across a wonderful site the other day ... a place to post your best work and (possibly) sell it.

The new site is called RedBubble. I'm rather pleased with the comments I've received so far on the site. The people there are pretty friendly. There's a Second Life group, too.

Qoop connects directly to Flickr, or allows you to upload a file from your computer. The advantage to Qoop is that you can get copies of your own work for not-much money. Qoop will let you make T-shirts, mugs, posters (on photo paper), greeting cards, mouse pads ... all sorts of let's-have-fun-and-share-my-art stuff.

The advantage to RedBubble is you can get copies of other people's work and you can sell your work. You can get the image as a card, a laminated print, a mounted print, a poster, a canvas print, or a matted and framed print ... all sorts of ways to share your art as ART.

Ok, I'll admit it. I've sold 2 pieces, and now I think people will actually buy my stuff. How egotistical is that? I'm still dancing for joy. In the mean time, I'll post some of my pictures there and hope that someone "discovers" me and soon I'm rich and famous.

It was Too Short

Ok, we tried.

Vint saw my picture of her, ruthed, and asked me politely to take it down. In my usual "let's be difficult" way, I said "no". She threatened me with a blackmail picture that she felt was sure to cause me to cave in, but I rather liked the picture, so of course I maintained "no". She suggested we should have a pretend war, we each decided on who should be on her side and who on my side, and the war was on!

I posted the first blog and tried to get VERY campy so everyone would know that we were kidding. She posted her picture (thank you, Vint, but I have two, you know) and a very non-specific tale of woe. I was going to follow her around in Second Life, taking picture of dirty laundry hanging out in front of her home, or something equally outrageous, but then I got an email from a concerned citizen who was afraid that a) two friends were going down the warpath and b) we'd get banned from Flickr.

I felt certain I could help our mutual friend see that we were playing, but frankly, I have no such hope that Flickr would be as understanding.

By the way, if Vint was really upset with it, I would have removed the picture in a heartbeat. We're friends and I wouldn't want to damage that.

Volley of the Damned

Ok, Vint. You have done it. Don't deny it, because you know it is true. I won't go into the gory details of what that rat-cat has done. The deed is too vile to besmirch my blog pages. Suffice it to say that I, Shoshana Epsilon, do hereby, officially, lob the first volley in her direction.

Vint Falken, ruthed at the Cannery Gallery

And beware to any who side with you, girl. I'll get them, too. "You and your little dog, too!"*

---
* Wicked Witch of the East, Wizard of Oz

A Different Light - Opened!

Jaid at the opening of "A Different Light"

Wow, what an adrenalin rush. I love show openings.

Yesterday, at the Cannery Gallery, Vint Falken and I opened a new show called "A Different Light". What you will see there is but a fraction of the awesome art that was submitted. We wanted to show you a different view of Second Life.

Imagine that the world is a rabbit. A Great Magician pulls the rabbit out of a hat now and then, and the rabbit sees the world. Now, imagine you are a flea on the rabbit. You live in the deepest part of the hairs of the rabbit, close to the skin where it is warm. You don't need to see the universe that is beyond the rabbit, that you can never reach and have no interest in. It is comfortable where you are.

Now, imagine that you are an adventurous flea. You want to see the universe on those rare occasions when the Magician pulls the rabbit out of the hat. You climb up the rabbit hairs and wait there, poised, waiting for a bit of the universe to be revealed to you. *

The concept behind the show is this: There are many different types of people in Second Life. Some people are into being "furry" or mechs; some are into re-experiencing their childhood; some are into slavery; some are into making new friends. Do I want to do some of those things, experience what it is like to be adored or spurned because of my appearance? No. I have a lovely avatar for a reason. However, imagine what it would be like to be a child again .... you see a firefly for the 10th time and you are filled with wonder. It is at that moment that you see the universe that the Great Magician is presenting for us.

So, take off your comfortable skin and come wander down the paths. Come see the universe through someone else's eyes.

-----
* Note: Special thanks to Jostein Gaarder for his outstanding book of juvenile fiction: Sophie's World, originally published in Norwegian in 1991.

Cannery Art Show Opening December 5th

"A Different Light - a different view on Second Life"

Presented by Rezzable, Inc at Cannery Rezzable

Curators: Shoshana Epsilon and Vint Falken

Opens Wednesday, December 5th 4pm

Featured artists:

• Andromega Volare
• Isolde Flamand
• Kimberly Mirabeau
• Marianne McCann
• Mylena Aquitaine

Additional artists:
Codebastard Redgrave, GM Nikolaidis, Jazss Saiman, Kim Dench, Loki Popinjay, Luna Zolnir, Raul Crimson, Ryker Beck, Shoshana Epsilon, Stephen Venkman, Vint Falken

Dancing starts at noon and goes until midnight. Official opening at 4pm SL time. Come meet the artists! Buy some art!

Tagged?!?

I've been tagged? Ryker, I don't think this is a favor, but OK. I'm glad you thought of me. Or perhaps you were just getting desperate because you didn't know who else to choose. You realize that this is the blog-equivalent of a chain letter. And blackmail. I have a picture of you "ruthed", so I guess all is fair in love and war.

I had a list of people to tag, but then I got to thinking about it ... and I don't think I'm going to tag anyone. Fun game, but I am against chain letters in principle. (I won't mention the fact that most of the people I had in mind are already tagged.)

Here are the rules:
(1) Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
(2) People who are tagged need to write a post on their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules.
(3) At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
(4) Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

---------------

1) I hate Ryker. Straight teeth! I've had braces once and I may need them again. I have a mobile mouth. (Somehow, that's doesn't sound very good.)

2) I love SecondLife. It's rather taken over my life. I actually went for nearly 2 weeks without a SecondLife fix this summer. But I thought about the place every day.

3) I love my Beloved. In SecondLife, she is Jamie. In RealLife, she is my best friend.

4) I am not artistic in RealLife. My day is filled with technology and management and I never felt that art was important. My few attempts into the realm of art were doomed by helpful people who told me how to "improve" the work. I was a compliant child, did what I was told, and hated the outcome.

5) I love art in SecondLife. It is so easy to take snapshots! And damn, they look good. I am always so pleased when someone steps out of the shadows and tells me that they like my work. Some people even have constructive criticism that I am willing to take. Sometimes, the end result is better. And if its not, I have a savefile that I can revert to. (That was impossible when I was a child, working in acrylics.)

6) I have two cats and I beat them regularly. They seem to like it.

7) I have a pet theory that goes like this: As you get old, whatever you are, you become "moreso". So, if you are a nice, thoughtful person, you will become nicer with age. If you are paranoid feakezoid, you will go ballistic and take out 20 other people before you die.

8) I have a very peculiar sense of humor. My favorite joke is my rope joke. It combines the absurd with a wicked pun. If you want to hear it, you will have to ask me.

Cannery gets ready for next show

This is going to be an AWESOME show!

As you may know, Vint Falken and I are the curators for a Second Life photography art show called "A Different Light". We've been accepting submissions for a few weeks, and last night we went through the submissions. So many people submitted such outstanding work, it made it VERY difficult to decide. It took us hours longer than I expected. In the end, we chose 10 pictures for each theme, and 10 pictures from each featured artists.

The featured artists are:

• Andromega Volare
• Isolde Flamand
• Kimberly Mirabeau
• Marianne McCann
• Mylena Aquitaine

The artists participating in the themes are:

• Codebastard Redgrave
• GM Nikolaidis
• Jazss Saiman
• Kim Dench
• Loki Popinjay
• Luna Zolnir
• Raul Crimson
• Ryker Beck
• Shoshana Epsilon
• Stephen Venkman
• Vint Falken

I can't tell you which pieces were chosen. You'll have to come to the show to see them. But, with a list like this, it's going to be a show to remember!

RL Art Sold!

WOOT!

I just returned from a very pleasant weekend at a small convention called "Darkover Grand Council". This convention is held near Baltimore, MD. I'd been trying to get in touch with the convention organizers to see if I could show my pieces from Flickr. I brought the art even though I didn't hear anything. They let me show them and amazingly, two of the pieces sold! (See pictures below.)

I learned a couple of things. This may not work in your neighborhood, but give it a try. Before you tey to sell any of your own art, you should go to a local convention and see how this works in your area. Here's what I learned.

1. Frame your pieces, or at least mat them. Try to do it yourself, because you are unlikely to recoup your costs if you have Kinkos do it.
2. Wrap them in bubble wrap or other packing material. It's nice if you can give the purchaser the packing material.
   
3. Sign all pieces on the front, either right or left side. (I signed using my avatar name.)
   
4. Name the pieces. "Snapshot_001" won't get you any points.
   
5. Figure out how many copies of this piece you are planning on making. Keep the number low. (I should have had mine at 10.) Number them, ie, 1/10. I was advised to put the number on the opposite side of the signature.
6. Figure out how much you will sell each piece for. You may need to wait until you get there to determine the price, to see how much other pieces are selling for, but you need to know how much you need to make.
   
7. Bring a list with the titles of each piece.
   
8. Each art show is different -- some require advance registration, some accept walk-in artists. Some will send everything to auction, even if it only has one bid. Some shows will wait until there are 3 or even 5 bids on it.
9. Keep track of your pieces. Which ones sold? If, for instance, you say you will sell 10 copies of this piece, and you sell 1/10 (#1 out of a set of 10 that you plan to create), then you need to keep track of that number, so you never sell #1 again!

All in all, I had a wonderful time. I got lots of encouragement and suggestions. I'm hooked. I will definitely do this again.

Tyffany Flintoff is back in the world ...
watch out world! She's on a rampage with Lindens to spend and vengeance in her heart. (She'll be shopping with a vengeance.)

SL Photography submissions are coming in for the Cannery Gallery show "A Different Light". If you haven't submitted your work yet, please do! The artist agreement is at the bottom of this blog. Send me questions. Vint Falken and I are co-curating this show.

Our last show was quite successful and I thoroughly enjoyed working with all the artists involved. We made a RL book out of the art involved in the show. Our sponsor gave us 75,000 L to distribute to the highest award winners. Wow! That's like ... real money! Hopefully, you've seen the top winner: Mia Olivier White Cyber Angel. It's a lovely composition and quite popular with the attendees!

That's all I have for now. Perhaps I'll blog again next week.

-- Shoshana

My First Blog Post

Many friends have suggested that I start a blog. Why, I ask? Who cares what I think? I don't know ... perhaps someone wants to know what I'm thinking. If no one reads it, no one will be harmed by it.

I am heavily involved in Second Life. If you haven't been there, you should check it out: This is NOT a game. If you want to "win" something, you will be sadly disappointed. (Games *do* exist there, but the world itself if not a game.) Second Life is an awesome world where you can be creative and see things you never could have seen in Real Life (abbreviated RL by afficiandos).

In Second Life (SL), I have many activities. Primarily, I am a Mentor, a photographer, and a curator. As time goes on, I'll discuss these activities in more detail. Suffice it to say that I am happily occupied all the time there.

That's all I'll write for now. Thank you!

-- Shoshana