Interview With Talia Sunsong

 

By Bixyl Shuftan

 

Recently the Newser wrote about an art exhibit by Talia Sunsong. Not long after, I had a chance to interview her.

Dropping by, I noted the gallery, and Talia smiled, "Netty (Netera Landar) did a great job creating this gallery. We had a grand opening with Helena singing live. Sandy made a stage out of one of my paintings. Sandy liked the colorful stream painting and picked that for the stage. I titled the exhibit "Fire and Water" because it's about that sea of brilliant color at sunset or sunrise, or the flash of lightning in the sky. I wanted to make paintings that you can almost hear the sizzle as the sun descends into the water." I asked if sunrises and sunsets are a frequent theme with her, and she told me, "Yes,  I love to play with color. Color is like a vitamin. It gives you a burst of energy."

She went on, "Years ago, I lost everything in a firestorm, including a hundred of my paintings. I didn't paint for years after that.  Then I decided to paint at least one painting a day. I did that for over a year. I take photographs to help me with my painting, and I keep hundreds of ideas on a spreadsheet." I asked how long she had been painting and taking photographs. Talia answered, "I won a drawing contest as a teenager, and tried my hand at painting then. I could control drawing more easily than painting, and it was years later before I felt more satisfied with my painting, enough to show to the public.  I did photography later on, and did some serious reporter photography, including ending up in court testifying in a police brutality case." Asking what happened there, she answered, "The man who was injured did not win in court."

I asked Talia what where her favorite subjects to draw and paint. She told me, "I like to paint nature, including animals, like birds, whales and dolphins. I also like to do landscapes and seascapes. Sometimes I play around with painting mermaids. I am passionate about creating a mood or telling a story in my creations, including painting, drawing, writing, 3D computer models or immersive virtual worlds. I have also worked in filmmaking and was a crew member for two Sundance Film Festival picks. I hope my artwork uplifts and brings smiles to people's faces."

I noted she had created her account in 2011 and asked Talia how she found out about Second Life. She answered, "I had heard on and off about Second Life on the web for about 2 years. I wanted to visit. When I came, I found out about all the classes offered. I loved taking classes in Second life. I also was welcomed into a fun roleplaying group, when I played an Elf that could shapeshift into a dragon. In those classes I learned about free resources, like GiMP (2D graphics program) and Blender (3D graphics program). I still use those programs today. I'm also learning about creating vector art in Inkscape, which is good for digital art. I have looked into some AI (Artificial intelligence) art programs.

"These paintings here in the exhibit are hand-painted in real life. I put my artwork onto RedBubble, a print on demand site for physical, real life paintings, t-shirts, mugs, bags, stickers, cell phone covers, and more. I named my store Aryxaba: https://www.redbubble.com/people/Aryxaba/shop ." I asked where the name came from. Talia answered, " I wanted a name that no one else had, so I made the name "Aryxaba" up, starting with the word "Oryx" which is a big antelope.

"I have a mug from my RedBubble store with the 'Ship in a Storm' painting. That is probably my most popular painting." She walked over to one, "This one." I asked what inspired that particular painting. Talia answered, "There's something about the energy, the lightning, the wind in the sails, the choppy water, yet I know that ship will safely weather the storm. I like energy, a mood, or a story in a painting. Each thing is almost a character in itself, the lightning is a character, the ship is a character, even the water is a character. They interact to create a plot." 

I asked Talia about her more memorable exhibits in the past. She told me, "Myself, along with others, did a 3D exhibit for the University of Australia. It was picked to be photographed and put into a real life book. The exhibit was of a woman with wings, escaping a confining home, by going into virtual worlds like Second Life. I think people really understand that feeling, after the quarantines." I asked if she meant about virtual worlds being a way to figuratively get out of the house during those time. "Yes, exactly," she answered, "Free to fly around in virtual space, meet friends, dance, take a class, explore, play golf and more."

I noted the location of the exhibit, next to Netera's Coffee Lounge, and asked how this came about.  Talia answered, "Netera and I both work with a live singer, Austin Moores for about 5 years now. We go onstage with him during his shows. It's a lot of fun and I really enjoy hearing him sing. Netera and I like to write also. She set up the coffeehouse for a peaceful place to write and to exhibit art."

I asked Talia what stories she wrote about. She answered, "I wrote a time travel fantasy novel, about ancient Egypt and Crete called 'The Missing Princes of Egypt.'  I also wrote a comedic fantasy novel of magic gone wrong, 'Risky Magic.' ... Writing humor does lighten my day. Sometimes if I'm tired, I write humor. It makes me smile. I've been writing humorous slogans for t-shirts that I will eventually put into my RedBubble store." I asked for an example, and she told me, "I made up one yesterday for the holidays 'On the Naughty List, And Had Fun Doing It.'"

I asked about the exhibit opening's singer. Talia answered, "We had this wonderful live singer, Helena Navarita. Austin Moores had to cancel at the last moment and Helena stepped in to sing. I was so lucky that Netera could get her at short notice." I pointed out to Talia that with her on stage, some might have have mistaken her for the singer. She laughed, "I would not be able to sing as well as Helena."

So what does Talia have planned for her next exhibition? Her answer was, "Good question, I might go with an animal theme, either birds, or sea creatures, perhaps swimming in beautiful blue waters. Maybe a mermaid will join them." Pointing out the shoulder pet dragon on her shoulder, I asked if any pictures to be done soon will include dragons. She told me, "I want to refine my dragon drawings more before going public with them. I took a short class with a woman who was known for her dragon illustrations at Renaissance Fair. I liked the fluidity of her dragons, and have experimented with that in my work.

The artist's last words in the interview were, "I wanted to thank the people that helped me on my way in this art exhibit, Netera Landar for the exhibit space, Helena Navarita for the singing at the opening, Sandy Hauster for the stage, all the people that come to see the exhibit and you Bixyl for this interview."

Talia's "Fire and Water" exhibit is at Snug Harbor (115/94/25) and will run until December 23.

 

Bixyl Shuftan

 

Interview With Kyoko Furse-Barzane (Samara Barzane) About The Arts

 
By Kayly Iali

Kyoko Furse-Barzane is a real life/second life artist as well as a curator for the Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA). She actively participates in Second Life once working in the business and now in the art arena. Kyoko is also the Chancellor for CDS (Confederation of Democratic Sims) for the 34th Term.

I first met “Samara,” as she was called then, back in 2010. She was then the gallery owner of Park Galleries and her gallery was my very first exhibit in Second Life. As an artist, I had always been intrigued with her digital photomontages. They are full of complexity like memories with so many different layers. Kyoko herself, is full of complexity. She had many roles in real life as well as in Second Life. She is also known as Kyoko Furse-Barzane for her interest in Japanese culture.

Kayly: How would you describe your art?

Kyoko: I have been an artist in real life and my medium was serigraph. But in Second Life I showed some of my travel photographs. Then, hmmm, it's hard to remember when I started creating "Memory Layers” to exhibit in Second Life. They were what I called digital photomontages. I manipulated a photo or usually parts of several photos to create a composition that seemed to work. Just like with our memory, each layer affected the next one. Sort of a metaphor for how memory works. Memory on memory which each memory changing those before in some way. I probably started this method about 7-8 years ago.

I then had a drought. I seemed to have gone as far as that could go for me. I did a few works in 2016, and then really tailed off. But during the pandemic and sheltering in place, my art changed. I still used my travel photos as the base layer but just only outlines, either dark or light. I eventually "got" why I was doing it. And since I haven't traveled in a year and a half, what I have left are the outlines. Pandemic does do strange things to one's mind for sure.

Kayly: Did you have any training in art?

Kyoko: I did take a drawing class my senior year in college. I actually ended up with a master's in dance education. Movement has always been my first love. I ended up with a bad knee injury when I landed from a jump and my knee kept going. But the creative spirit needs an outlet. So, I started taking painting, printmaking and design classes at The Philadelphia Museum of Art, but printmaking and design were the most influential for me. They both related to movement for me. I also took classes in the evening at The Pennsylvania Academy of Art for three years. I did exhibit my prints and won few minor prizes at various art center shows. But dance was always my first love. When I went back to dance to get the degree; I was a better choreographer for my work in design and serigraph.

Kayly: What did you do in Second Life?

Kyoko: When I retired in real life, I also retired in Second Life from the various jobs I had held with various fashion creators. I was a Customer Service Representative then the head representative and also, a shopping sim manager. Then probably 2012 or so the memory layers happened.

Kayly: What is your reason to exhibit in Second Life? and what is your experience had been?

Kyoko: This is my real life art. I just happen to show it in Second Life. In real life, I'd had enough as an artist and as a choreographer doing the politics and arranging and applying for shows and grants. In Second Life, I am more in control of what happens to my work, I guess.

Kayly: Do you have your own galleries?

Kyoko: I have owned and run many galleries, not just for myself, but to share the work of others. I took over Park Galleries after Artistic Fimicoloud, the gallery owner, passed in 2008. At CDS, I had managed the Art Café. It had a long run. I started that in 2015. Then I became curator of our Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA). So, I closed down the Art Café. The reason I closed the Art Café was that it just didn't feel right to promote artists at my art café as well as curating at the MoCA shows. As a professor, one course I taught Intro to Ethics. I always checking my moral compass.

Kayly: What advice would you give to artists who is interested in exhibiting in SL?

Kyoko: Look around. See where the important galleries are. Notice the sims they are in. Second Life for me and what makes me happy, other than doing my own work, is showing and promoting the work of others. While I owned and operated Park Galleries, I gave a number of artists their first exposure. I enjoyed supporting good art and really like helping people make connections.

Some of Kyoto Furse-Barzane landmarks to visit

MoCA, Museum of Contemporary Art in Neufreistadt, Curator
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Neufreistadt/188/135/181

Second Life Galleries:
The Grove Gallery, http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Arcata/149/183/57
Current Digital Photomontage
New England Estate, Marblehead, http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Marblehead/116/95/22
Digital Photomontage
Star Journey
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Star%20Journey/76/222/445
Digital Photomontage

Kayly Iali
 

Interview With Sabine Mortenwold

 
by Kayly Iali

Kayly:What kind of artist are you? And what medium do you work in? How would you describe your art?

Sabine: I am a mixed media artist which means that I use multiple mediums in my work.  I start out with acrylic, then draw into them with oil pastel or a water-soluble ink/chalk.  I also add paper to help me define space in my paintings.  I am more of a "builder" then a painter in a way as I add different things to create the layers in my work.

All of my paintings have multiple layers.  I play textures off of patterns so you don't know what is what.  Is it paper or is it texture?I love having a depth to my paintings that people want to step in and go, “Wow! How did she do that?”

Kayly: Do you work from photos? Do you work from life? What gives you inspiration?

Sabine:I don't work from anything. Everything just flows. I will take pictures as I am working on a piece so that I can look at the values in the painting. I look at the gray scale to see if I have a good range. So, I would ask myself -do I need to up a lighter area or do I need to make my darker area stronger. That really helps me to work on the painting. It is really more important to me then looking at the composition that just shows up in the process.

John Singer Sargent is an amazing artist. I love to look at his work as he is a master of a brush stroke that pulls you in but you then step back and look at the overall piece to see how it all fits.  I want to make something that when you look up closely you are interested but when you go across the room the painting still holds your interest.

I also love Jean Dubuffet and Willem deKooning.  They both have such amazing textures; that is what I am after.  It is like they are playing with the texture to see where it takes you.

I can't stand looking a painting that is just one flat range of color.  Paints that are just flat soft colors with no range of darks and lights to me are just blah.

I listen to music when I am painting.  If I have some really great music flowing and I feel like dancing and the painting is just pouring out of me it is like the top of my head is coming off.  It takes me to a complete other state of being.

Kayly: Did you have any formal training in art? If so, what university? If not,did you take workshops or learned from books?

 
Sabine: Yes, I have painted since I was 7.  I started taking oil painting classes, painting mainly still life.  Now, I refuse to paint a still life -never again! I went on to major in art in college and concentrated on painting and drawing.  And then continued to take classes in a local art center for a long time in both oil and mixed media abstracts. I am also very good at pen and ink renderings and painted representational landscapes for years. One day I took a workshop in abstract mixed media and fell in love with it. I never really looked back.

Kayly: What is your reason to exhibit in Second Life? And what is your experience had been? Any positive or negative? And has exhibiting in Second Life affected your real-life art?

Sabine: Oh, I really like being able to share my art here. There are a couple of things that make meme-that is art is essential to my being.  I can't not paint.  I also can't not workout.  I am a serious fitness person. Those two things keep me balanced and sane.

 People here would not know the fuller me without me showing my art.  It is key to who I am.

Someone,a while ago said I should show my work here and I decided to do it.  I do show my art a lot in Second Life. I get invited to show in various places.  I think about getting a booth in an event sometimes.  In real-life in my area people know who I am or have heard my name.

In real-life, I also teach art at a couple of art centers here and I also offer Zoom classes so if anyone here wants to learn to paint, I can teach them.

Kayly: Do you have your own galleries? Do you exhibit in other galleries? What art related projects do you usually do in Second Life?

Sabine: I have exhibited in a few but not many.  I need to apply to other galleries in real-life. It is on my bucket list. In Second Life, I think I should consider putting something in an event.  I have seen others do that.

I participate in Sisi Biedermann Artist United Gallery, Ernie Farstrider The Galleries, Windlight Galleries Galleries, and different boulevard art shows.

Kayly: Is there a crossover of people from Second Life to real-life to buy your works?

Sabine: No not yet -no one has commissioned me to paint them anything here, but I have had people say they would.  Not yet but maybe one day.

Kayly: So,do you sell prints of your works?

Sabine: I need to do that.  I am working on getting a new website in place to be able to do that.I had sold some of my Geisha Series as printsvia Saatchi, Instagram, and Facebook.

Kayly: What advice would you give to artists who is interested in exhibiting in Second Life?

Sabine: Just reach out to gallery owners here in Second Life. People are really happy to help here and give you an opportunity to show your work.  Showing in Second Life is a lot more artist friendly and it gives you an avenue for people to see what you do. And you don't have to be an accomplished artist to show your work here.The experience will give you more confidence and allows you to show your friends what you love doing.

Exhibiting here, you learn how to set up to exhibit your works.  If anyone needs help figuring out what to show or how to hang a show,I can help them.

Website: www.mjanejohnsonart.com

Email: mj2makesart@gmail.com

Sabine Mortenwold Second Life Gallery:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/oxygen%20o2/148/186/1172

Kayly Iali

Interview With JolieElle Parfort

By Kayly Iali

JolieElle Parfort is a mixed media artist who combines photos that she has taken in Second Life with graphic digital tools to create dreamlike images. She has been featured in many exhibits throughout Second Life.I had the pleasure to interview Jolie about her art training and her art experiences in this virtual world.

How did you get started as an artist?

JolieElle:I have been an artist all my life. Since my earliest memories I drew and got lost in the things I was drawing.Like my fantasies. When art lessons were available,I took them -I grew as an Air Force brat so with moving it was nothing consistent. But I loved any kind of art we did in school.

Is your family known for being artistic? Did you get a lot of encouragement from your parents?

JolieElle Parfort: They were very encouraging. My mother had a great aesthetic sense and did some beautiful window design for a while.  My father loved art but he did not feel proficient in doing art so he learned about it as much as he could.We had a beautiful art series from Time Life books with pull-out full-size prints of major paintings with explanations.

So,did you go to art school?

JolieElle Parfort: When I was 12, my dad retired to a small Florida town,that had a small art school on the main street.  It was a private studio but the artist, Elliott McMurrough,opened it up for art lessons which became very popular. I became involved when Elliot tasked me to model for his portrait classes. I was often at the studio not only for modeling but because Elliott had a daughter my age. Later I took art classes in high school but nothing ever clicked for me, there was no actual teaching - only challenges.

At 18, I went to Florida State and majored in art there and it was the same thing - I was given assignments that made no sense and it was only confusing. So during summer break I went back to Elliot's school to model and saw that his teaching methods made perfect sense-the knowledge and philosophies he passed on as he taught. I stayed and studied at Elliott’s studio known as the School of Art.

Jolie found that Elliott’s School of Art laid the foundation for her art. Following she explains the philosophy and the lineage that the classes were based on.

JolieElle Parfort: It began with "The Ten American Painters”(also known as The Ten) .... Theywere an artists' group formed in 1898 to exhibit their work as a unified group. Artists John Henry Twachtman, J. Alden Weir, and Childe Hassam were the driving forces behind the organization. Dissatisfied with the conservatism of the American art establishment, the three artists recruited seven others from Boston, New York City, and elsewhere on the East Coast, with the intention of creating an exhibition society that valued their view of originality, imagination, and exhibition..." (source Google). These artists were heavily influenced by French Impressionist and many went overseas to study.

A couple of these artists started art schools in the States. Child Hassam started the School of Art in Province town Massachusetts. Charles Hawthorne in 1899 founded The Cape Cod School of Art in also in Provincetown. Hawthorne trained his eyes to see and paint color as Monet had, and devised methods of teaching these principles to his students.

So,one of Charles Hawthorne’s students was Henry Henscheand Henry Hensche in turn taught Elliott Murrough. And then Elliott taught me. My education is a direct line through the decades from the first impressionists.

So, what are some of their principles?

We were taught to paint by learning to see shape and color for what it is, not what we think it is. High color starts to startle your eye when you see this way.We worked from life whether it is still life we set up and still life set up outside in full sun to fully see colors.  Then we would move to portrait and later landscapes. It was actually grueling work but the best part is that there none of the 1960's and 1970's pretensions just real learning and practicing and improving.To us an abstract was a much deeper continuation of a painting until there is only form and color. Therefore,we never set out to "do" an abstract.

So how would you describe yourself as an artist? What is your medium?

JolieElle described herself as originally a plein air painter just trying to do a decent painting. But she does used digital methods to create impressionistic images. She is open to break out of her traditional training to explore other areas of art.

What is your process? Do you work from photos? Do you work from life? How do you approach your art?

I worked from life and then from photos when necessary. Photos as an accessory to art developed back in the days of Degas.  But the emphasis is never to simply copy a thing, but to find the art in it. To make it "more" than real.

What is your reason to exhibit in Second Life? And what has your experience been?

In my middle years I found myself with no studio space and no supplies. But I also developed a very keen interest in computers, CAD and such things. As soon as I was able to get my own computer, I started teaching myself but everything I do is still based on the same principles I was taught from when I was plein air painting. So, my art may start as an SL photo but then I upload the photo into my programs. I was never taught any computer graphic skills. I just winged it and "painted" over my photos until they became art. So,this is my concentration now. And yes I have had people ask me to teach them how to do what I do but I have no idea how to approach that.

How did you get started into exhibiting in Second Life?

I found a sim with cheap real estate and a downtown. I rented the space and then teaching myself everything as I went along, I remodeled it. I hung my paintings and called it "House of Art". From there I noticed that there were shows and competitions to enter and things just developed from there. When I moved to Avalon, I rebranded as ART DREAMS.

So how did exhibiting in Second Life affected your real-life?

Well, I discovered Fine Art America. I joined and posted my Second Life, hoping to sell but that didn’t do much.  Fine Art America tends to price things too high. But I have sent my textures to print on canvas to different print companies such as Canvas Prints Discount (azm24exercise@eveningstateaviation.com) and had great results. Lower prices than Fine Art America. All printing is done on canvas. I have not done printing on fabrics; I don’t know how to market that; it just a different skill set. I am just a painter.

So for now, I do my exhibiting in Second Life, as going out carting paintings to real life galleries is just out of the question.

What art related projects do you usually do in Second Life?

This is it.

Do you participate in fundraisers?

There is one I am working on for Focus Magazine -a contest. Another project I will be working on is more of a teaching exhibition on the work of Dali which will take place here in Thirlmere (http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Thirlmere/93/192/22)

What is a teaching exhibition?

The large display and teaching gallery they have herein Thirlmere has nice big rooms for moving displays and they like to suggest different themes for the artists to explore. So, there are exhibits with lecture with Q&A. The next one is on Dali and Surrealism.

It is run by Star Finesmith and Sethos Lionheart.

What advice would you give to artists who are interested in exhibiting in Second Life?

Go to SEARCH ----> GROUPS and join all the art groups possible. Then start collecting information on what kind of exhibits are current -what competitions and coming up -and definitely enter the Raglan Art Fair it is such good experience and so many artists are there -go around and meet some.Also, get a Flickr page and send your work to various groups.

Websites for Jolie Parfort

Personal website: Jolie.Lisa   https://www.flickr.com/photos/127710262@N04/

Little Dreams ......for Painterly Work, curated by Jolie Lisa: https://www.flickr.com/groups/4124321@N20/

Kayly Iali

Kayly Iali, CDS Artist

By Bixyl Shuftan

Recently I had the chance to interview Kayly Iali, an artist who makes her home in the Confederation of Democratic Simulators. I met up with her in front of her studio at the Locus Amoenus sim, and we sat down at her patio, commenting with amusement if I wanted I could play the guitar as I interviewed.

When asked how she found out about Second Life, Kayly answered, "I read an article a few years I got on about how people can own land and basically do stuff in SL that you can do in real life. The avatars of course looked very primitive. At that time I wasn't very computer savvy and was afraid to touch the keyboard other than to type. And also I was very busy gettting my second degree but in art and raising a family." But later on, she would sign up for it. Of what convinced her, "I'm not sure. Maybe I had more time. Or I was playing Yoville on FB and just love how I can make friends from all over the world and have my own place. SL offered that so I decided to give it a try. As you know though SL has a high learning curve. I was often getting frustrated and quit, and playing on a laptop that wasn't gear to SL graphics caused me to crashed constantly."

She had a rough time at first, "But once I joined the Help People group and became a volunteer to help others to get started into SL that became a turning point. It was called Help People Island...I don't think  it is around anymore. That was over 10 years ago." For two to three years, she was a volunteer for the group. But that wasn't her only activity as she was, "... probably just getting to know SL and learning how to dress and redesigned my avatar. I came in as a different avatar not as Kayly Iali. I took classes and became familiar with Building Brewery, Oxford, NCI, took a bunch of classes."

She wasn't showing art at first, "I wasn't exhibiting art at that time. But I did go and visit galleries. During my travels through all these different galleries, I happened upon a gallery, Park Galleries, that was curated by Samara Barzane ... aka Kyoto." She brought up Kyoto had been a CDS Chancellor, "So Samara and I go way back. She is the CDS PIO Team (and) a very active member here in CDS." So at the time what caught her attention to the place? "Samara was running the gallery for a friend who was had either passed from cancer or was dying from cancer. It was a fundraiser. Samara took me under her wings and taught me the ropes about hanging in a gallery. It propelled me into the art scene, showing at different galleries like Pilate who had several galleries. They were well known for their reception and heavy promotion for artists."

Of when she thought about running her own gallery, "I mainly show in galleries run by other people. But here in CDS I can rent my own place and make it my own gallery. I did run a gallery on Avalon Art Center a few years ago where I exhibited other artists works. In fact I have a blog on it." She would show me the blog, at https://gallery24insecondlife.blogspot.com/, then went on, "I would interview  the artists and have receptions. There were some fantastic artists, mainly those who brought their real-life works into Second Life." When asked who stood out, "Silas Merlin, Xirana Oximoxi, especially Ieko Catnap, Maymay Matova and Miss Longtail. All of these artists are real-life artists. Oh I can't forget Sheba Blitz. All of them are still around. But Silas Merlin is doing more SL sculptures than his pastels portraitures nowadays."

Checking the blog, I noticed the last entry was in 2016. I asked about that, and Kayly answered, "Avalon got very laggy when there are too many avatars, and it was time to leave Avalon. It was a great place to have a gallery at one time but now when I had gone back to visit there's a lot of to be rented signs everywhere." The gallery is not as popular as it once was, "If you go there now you'll see what I mean. There are still artists there. besides I couldn't afford the rent."
 

Of how she found out about her current home, "I met Tor Karlsvalt at Help People Island. So  that's how I came to know about CDS." But she wouldn't move there until, "about one or two years ago. I rented the blue cafe next to me first, but it did not look like that. And then I went over to the docks and rented the corner place there. And now I'm here." So her art gallery has been at the CDS for about a year, "I'm planning to stay here for awhile. I love being near the water and hearing the sound of the ocean. And the layout of this place is perfect."

Of her artwork, "I just enjoy painting; I really don't have a point to make like a political statement of sorts. So I paint whatever is around me or what I feel I need to paint. When I started to paint seriously, this is right after I got my art degree in 2009, I painted a lot of fruits and objects, just to get a handle on oil painting. I did start off painting abstracts in college. But I wanted to paint more representational, something that is in front of me. Now I'm into landscape painting and more so into painting buildings, cityscapes." She only does real-life landscapes, though of the possibility of those in Second Life, "That might be a thought. I should mention that since I have a dog, I started to paint pet portraits. My clients had asked me if I would paint them as well. So now I practicing painting people as you can see in the exhibit at Visions." And downstairs, she had a number of cat and dog pictures.

"I tried to make this place more coffee shop like," Kayly spoke of it, "Sit and relax. I noticed in one corner of her studio, painted on the wall was, "Every journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step." She was happy about it, "I would love to do more word art like that, it was done in Inkscape. I was once a calligrapher so I love typography and lettering."

Of her future plans, "As far as Second Life goes, I'll take it one day at a time. As far as real-life goes, I want to get into a gallery. I applied to enter an artist coop, pretty well done in the region. But I was rejected, not because my art is not up to par but because there were other pet portraits artists in the coop. I would have been a competition to them."

That was about everything on Kayly's mind at the moment. So we bade farewell, and parted ways.

Kayly Iali Art is located at Locus Amoenus (71/173/24). She also has a Flicker page at https://www.flickr.com/photos/calliartist/ .

Third image from Gallery 24

Bixyl Shuftan

Interview with Hangars Liquides Creator: Djehan Kidd

By Bixyl Shuftan

It recently made the news that Hangar Liquides, an urban science-fiction themed area high above five sims, was in serious danger of being closed after twelve years online. The place was designed, created, and owned by Djehan Kidd. Wanting to know about how the sims came to be, and how they got into this predictament, I asked Djehan about an interview, and we met up at one of the apartments in the city. Djehan spoke fluent English in voice, but with her accent prefered the interview be done in text.

Djehan had found out about Second Life, "Long ago, in 2006, it was gaining popularity and was in the news on the TV, I thought it was a great idea, so I decided to try and never left. I forgot the name the first time I heard it on the news. That's why I only joined in 2007, when I heard the name again. I remember spending a year trying to remember because I really wanted to try."

Of her first days here, "I went to a French hub, a sort of noob place where they gave information on what you could do on SL. I thought I wanted to script and also build. Then I quickly got myself land, at Hina, and I started to build my first project which was (a) MOCA, museum of contemporary art, and then I started to texture and build and make installations in it. My first installation was called 'The Mother of All' on SL. Oh it was a lot of fun, I still have the moca group. Some people were coming over, including my SL neighbors that I still have in my friend list. Haha! It was nothing very social for me, it was really already about building stricto sensu. But I could use the tools of SL, so I had the group and made some announcements, and it was simple and fun and creative.

"After this, I first logged in during February 2007, in June 2007 I got the first sim to build a city on, and then started Hangars Liquides. I wanted to build Hangars Liquides after I saw Nexus Prime, I was always going there, hanging out with builders Slade Onizuka and Ash Garden. Slade built on HL the first months too, before he had to go out of being deployed to Iraq. HL started four months after I first logged in. ... It was smaller, only one sim. It already had a lot of convolutions in the architectural style. I tried to extend it first by rezzing a 'megaprim' sphere all around on which I stuck photos of the city on the sim arranged as a panorama. So the sphere was extending, or giving the illusion to extend because with the center of the megaprim inside the sim, the actual surfaces were far away from sim limits.

"It never looked the same over time. It has been a constant mutation all the time. For instance, now it has mesh. So it looks like it does today since mesh arrived more or less. And then I constantly tweak it and change it, I imagine real life cities are always evolving, you see cranes here and there. So I figured it was just the same here. Many towers come and go too. I think they are still the highests in the grid, in a city."

I asked about when the British newspaper, The Guardian, took a look at Hangars (video link). Djehan smiled, "Yes. It was presented as the largest cyberpunk city in the world. The city was already on 5 sims back then." When I asked if interest in the city picked up afterwards, she responded, "I don't know, I'm not sure the SLers are following the Guardian enough maybe.Haha! But it sure was good for the city to be featured there. I guess it is now part of the guardian's archives."

I then asked about roleplay groups in the city. Djehan answered,"Over time, I always saw many RPers from different roleplays come and go. Sometimes they exploded the traffic at insane numbers, well for a cyberpunk city. Sometimes it is a small team who does it privately, all sorts. I don't want to forbid any outfit or anyone, so you could get elves, aliens, furries, humans, robots, all sorts of roleplay happened like this. Sometimes some wanted me to organize, sometimes they were independent, I prefer independent projects of course, because I have to focus on building and I take no artistic direction or requests at HL. So they use the city as it is." She paused for a moment to think over her words, "I mean 'I take no artistic direction' from others, (laughter) I practice my own here, I mean. So roleplayers who need this or that, they couldn't ask me to build for them, if they wanted they commission me to build their sim."

I then brought up the real life nonprofit group Hangars Liquides. Djehan responded, "That's a very long story, Hangars Liquides is older than Second Life in fact. It started out as a record label in 1998, within the European underground hardcore electronic music scene, and it got big right away in all the illegal raves throughout the world. Hangars Liquides was producing records and signing artists from European Union and also the US. It's a grassroots landmark of underground techno culture now. I joined them in 2001, but we only started the non profit to be able to get an island on SL in 2007."

I asked if that's how the sims had been funded. "At first yes," she answered, " We went with the founder La Peste (The plague) aka Laurent Mialon, a cult composer. He coined and created Flashcore music with HL. We went to meet with many politicians and elected people delegated to the cultural affairs to pledge for the new technology that was Second Life and also for music of course. They gave us a government grant so I could pay for the installation of the first region. And also delegates to technologies, sorry I forgot to mention."

I then brought up when Linden Lab had ended the discount for nonprofits in October 2010. Djehan told me, "Yes they did this. Then I thought it was an emergency that I start a marketplace shop in order to be able to pay. I paid upfront what they asked for, and then HL was kept, and I started my MP store. Also, I sent a ticket to LL to ask them if I could rent to residents, in the city, to fundraise to pay the tier, Linden Lab told me that I was allowed to. So I also rented places." On her Marketplace page, she sells, "environments, mostly cyberpunk and dystopian with exclusive architecture. Lately I started to add a few furniture too. But I sell mostly environments like the Space Cocoon, the Cyberpunk Apartment. And right now I am about to release a new dystopian slightly futuristic one too (smile). I am finishing to paint the textures."

In 2013, Linden Lab restored it's discount for nonprofits. So all was well for a while. Then the Lab contacted her, saying the rules about qualifying for the discount had changed, "Sometime during 2017 or 2016, someone from Linden Lab contacted me inworld telling me that the TOS for non profits just got updated, and that I couldn't keep the rentals, or my shop or anything. So I stopped all these activities on the non profit sims. Then they came to verify that everything had been removed and from then on I just continued working as usual..And I always paid a lot from my own pocket anyways."

So when was the future of the sims looking doubtful? Djehan answered, "Before April, I had to pay big invoices. Nonprofits don't pay by the month, we have different payment plans through different systems. And because I was late, one of the regions got down, so I paid and everything went back up. But from that day, I realized that my work was in danger if one day I couldn't pay anymore. Like, if I was a painter, I was one before, I would rent a studio to paint in. And the day I can't pay for the rent , I couldn't take my paintings with me. And as an artist I never thought I would ever have to lose my work, because I wouldn't afford the space to host it. It is very strange.  I have all the textures and assets in my inventory. What is at stake is the composition of it all on the five regions all together linked into this giant knot that is the city."

I asked her what she was doing to make sure the five sims could stay up. She told me, "I work, I'm a professional artist and all I know is work. I need to make the money to keep up, so I work ten hours a day. I work the weekend, I handpaint, I manipulate vertex, all I know is to make 3D to sell it, and hopefully make enough money to keep the city up. Sometimes for commissions, like when I did Thinis, I worked up to 18 hours a day seven days a week, for a very little pay, I was glad Linden Lab featured me with a very nice text on their front page. But looking back it was impressive. In five weeks, I built three sims all from scratch, all handpainted textures. Some of my clients dubbed me 'the machine' when I was commissioned to build New Seattle for the Shadowrunners. All I know is work."



She then showed me a video of the Thinis sim, "after eight days of work, by the way. ... People liked it, I put all my heart in this one too. I love the post apocalyptic worlds too. Oh, and this is a video of the type of stuff I sell on MP, but filmed in VR back when SL was available with HMD. I think it is a shame LL stopped suport for the VR with HMD. Second Life in VR is so cool."



I then asked about offers of help coming in. Djehan thought some before answering, "Yes well people are kind and offer help yes. But they don't know that it is to be paid all at once. It costs around 3K USD, plus the cost of the two extra sims monthly, which are not non profit, Cell and China, around $240 USD monthly. You know I live in France, Here the median income is 1700 Euros per month, which means jhalf the population of the country lives below this. This is very far from anything in California, let alone the Bay Area. It has become too anxiogene to have to pay this.

"So right now, I really don't know what is going to happen. And since I can't have a backup to save the city on my HDD, I had an offer to get it displayed at the Fluxus Museum in Spain for instance. But they didn't want it hosted on Linden Lab's servers, so I am stuck on Second Life. And it is not for nothing that Linden Lab offers the possibility of preservation. It is exactly for this, and we are in touch with LL to preserve the city since a month, and I am just awaiting their answer. So a Linden is submitting the city to the SLPP (Second Life Preservation Program) and I am waiting. I've also been in touch with the Linden in charge of that program, and apparently a committee will come visit the city too."

I asked if there was any chance the Lab would allow her to rent out apartments and still qualify for the nonprofit discount. Djehan answered, "I don't think they can make an exception. I asked twice, and I think that Linden Lab is very monitored in their activities. Remember the casinos? Even at one time you could exchange Linden dollars with Bitcoin. I think that they get this imposed on them. I might be wrong but this is my opinion. I think that if they could allow me to rent they would of course allow me.

So when would the commitee drop by? He wasn't sure, "I am waiting for the answers with the tickets and by email, so far I didn't get a no or a yes, all I know is that a commitee will visit and decide."

I then asked what would she be doing after it was known whether Hangars would be saved or not. DJehan answered, "I will continue to work no matter what. If having it preserved allows me to keep updating it I will. If not I wont. The most important is not to destroy the art work. But then I will just go deploy on Sansar , High Fidelity, continue to release environments on the MP, work in Augmented Reality in Italy, also in VR for the Venice Biennale. I have many projects and ongoing projects. I work on many things. But yes of course preserving my work from destruction too is a big priority."

I asked about her VR work in Venice, if it was her largest current project. She answered, "In terms of organisation behind the scenes yes, the Venice biennale requires that you are represented by an institution, the city of Venice was supporting me, surrounded by my Italian Team, first of which my Curator, the urbanist in chief of the city of Venice, the UNESCO, the sponsors. My work on SL in my permanent exhibition, my portfolio, it is a very large piece , a composition. The last Venice Biennale in which I was selected in 2013 was for Augmented Reality.

" All in all, it is all very big projects. The Venice one like I described it, and on Second Life it is simply a big project because it is the largest cyberpunk city on the grid. It was accepted by the direction of the Biennale after being  personally selected by the curator in chief of that edition of the Biennale. For the 2021 Biennale, I will work on Virtual Reality. It is much simpler for me than Augmented Reality, because I know the subject very well. And Augmented Reality tech, based on GPS is still not really - how can I say, AR still requires much research for it to work smoothly, with GPS. Because the elements tend to shiver when displayed on devices due to the constant update of the position of the devices in real space. The GPS constantly updates the position of a moving human that is watching the content, and it is not ready. But there are other ways to display AR, without having it shiver (smile)."

At one point, she talked a little about being able to express herself as an artist, "You know, being able for every citizen, in my country France, but also the USA, is a constitutionnal right. It gives us the right to associate in between people, with another aim than making money. Because we humans are an intelligent species. We create arts, we also organize charities, and all this falls within the nonprofit organizations. And it is essential to protect this. It is not a constitutionnal right for nothing. It is extremely important. Well humans, intelligent in our own particular way, let's say, because I love all species. But humans have their own particular traits. We make arts for instance. When we were living in caves, one of us started to paint the walls, in Lascaux grotto (smile) ..  And we wonder why we started to draw like this, because it has no purpose. Experts even today are having troubles to explain why. Contemplation? Or maybe because they were locked in it and they missed watching outside? We don't know."

We chatted a little more before we eventually parted. A few days after the interview, Djehan had announced that she was going with a crowdfunding campaign to try to save Hangars Liquides. "I launched a crowndfunding thing," she would tell someone over the HR group, "That's the only way, instead of rental boxes. Then everyone who gave can come and stay around basically." When someone asked about the 6000 Euros/$6743 dollars, she answered, "That's the cost for the five sims. And non profits don't pay monthly, we have to pay yearly. So next due invoice is August1st. So hence the deadline for the fundraiser."

Hopefully Djehan Kidd succeeds in saving her cyberpunk city that's been in Second Life of twelve years. But even if she doesn't, she has no plans on stopping what she does.

Bixyl Shuftan

Resident Spotlight - Albright

By Cyfir (Cyfiremmerich Resident)

Albright (username Nihilisticloupe) is a talented digital artist whom has a large plateful of responsibilities in Second Life for both TWI (Timber Wilds Industries) and Furry Fashion. Her titles include Beta Tester and Sim Moderator for TWI and the General Sim Manager for Furry Fashion where she overlooks every department for the sim. Since she’s so instrumental in both sims, I thought that it would be a good idea to interview her and give her a chance to talk about her art, what she’s currently working on in Second Life, and how it all started for her.

For starters, I asked her how she got started as an artist and what her inspirations were. Albright answered, “I started making art when I was five years old. There was an old PBS (Public Broadcasting System) show that I used to watch that was basically a kids' version of Bob Ross. You'd draw along with the Host. And that's how I discovered my love for it. I always loved drawing animals primarily. When I was 19 I discovered the Furry Fandom and that really got me inspired. I started creating my fursona, taking requests, and eventually commissions. By observing other artists, studying figure poses, and challenging myself with different styles and perspectives, my art really took off and evolved into what it is now.

"A lot of my inspiration comes from several different sources. They include music, nature, movies, dreams, and real life situations. I always found myself turning to drawing or creating to vent strong emotions. I would put my feelings and thoughts down on canvas. It's sort of like I'd take all the negative energy that I'd be experiencing and transfer that to the piece that I was working on.”

When asked if she was currently open for art commissions, she told me that she currently takes them on a situational basis. She is currently open for small pieces such as headshots and busts as well as Second Life texture skin work.

I then asked her how she got started in Second Life. Albright told, “I discovered Second Life through the circle of friends that I had made through the DeviantART chat rooms about ten years ago. We were all very close and they eventually migrated from the chatrooms to Second Life. I decided to join and see what it was all about. I picked up on how to use it pretty quickly, and my curiosity developed into something that is now a big part of my life.”

I knew that she had discovered the TWI sim before she was a part of Furry Fashion, so I asked her how she got started there and what was currently going on there. Albright responded, “I have been part of the Timber Wilds team since its conception around 2008 or 2009. I met Rand when I was part of a roleplay sim run by Lost Ferals. I became friends with him and the rest of his team as they were starting up and we've been good friends ever since. I am their Beta Tester [for their avatars] and Sim Moderator. We currently have a large Sky Mall that is open for rentals for anyone that sells TWI or feral mods or accessories, a sandbox, and the entire ground level is a beautiful roleplay area built by Bird-E's Birds (Raven Seraph). RP is pretty free-form and there's a lot of fun secrets and landscapes to explore! Currently, we are working on our next Feral Avatar that will be released sometime this year.”

When asked for more information about the new feral avatar being worked on by TWI, she had the following to say. “TWI's next Avatar is going to be a Feral Deer. It'll come with all the usual quality that people have come to expect from our products. It will have full customization capabilities, tons of animations and sounds, as well as a few fun secret things that many of our past avatars have (But many people don't discover!). It is not yet in Beta Testing, but we expect to have it finished soon.”

I then focused my questions on Furry Fashion and how she discovered the sim and what she is currently doing there now. Albright answered, “I actually discovered Furry Fashion because of TWI! We had the Release party for the initial launch of the TWI Mesh Fox and I was in attendance. I really vibed with the staff and enjoyed the atmosphere so I decided to apply for Security. I ended up being hired and here I am, three years later. I am now a General Sim Manager. I overlook all departments of the sim as well as co-run our bi-annual hunt, that being Quest Fur Cover. I also manage our extensive Mall, Avatar Den, and Artist's Alley. I'm a jack of all trades you could say.”

I asked her to explain in more detail what QFC, the Furry Fashion Mall, Avatar Den, and Artist’s Alley were. Albright told, “Quest For Cover, or QFC, is Furry Fashion's bi-annual hunt that includes many Furry creators from all over the grid. All you do is hunt for the hidden icons!  We have one in the Spring and one around Halloween. We are currently over-hauling some aspects of the hunt and even trying to implement a HUD system to benefit both hunters and merchants. The build for Halloween 2019's QFC is currently in progress.

"The Avatar Den is where we feature some of the community's best furry and creature Avatars, all in one spot for patrons to shop for that new look! Spots in the Avatar Den are 100% free. Creators can just drop me a message! We offer free Release parties and advertisement for those in the Avatar Den!

"The Artist's Alley is meant to be a free space for artists of the community to show-case their Art and advertise their commission business! Spots in the Artist's Alley are all totally free and those that are interested need only to contact me! Artists of any skill and style are welcome!

"And now to the Furry Fashion Mall! Our mall boasts a large selection of some of the best Furry creators on the grid! Spots in the mall vary by price and are actually very popular. I'm afraid the Mall is 100% full at the moment, but I do have a waiting list for those interested in nabbing a spot as they become available! Being a mall merchant has many benefits. Not only do merchants get a spot on a sim with high traffic, but they are also free to use the many services we offer, such as advertising new releases in the FF group and Discord server. They also can take advantage of release parties, automatic approval for future FF events and Hunts, and so much more!”

In closing, Albright had the following to say, “I'd like to add that Furry Fashion is also currently hiring staff! We are hiring for Hosts, Models, and Security! We are a fun bunch, and we offer training, wages, and free Staff Homes!

"I'm very happy being part of the wonderful Furry community in Second Life. I feel like I fit in marvelously and we all look out for each other and share knowledge and talents to make a fun, creative experience for everyone! I hope to keep being a part of it, and if you ever find yourself at Furry Fashion or TWI, don't be afraid to say hello!”

Cyfir

Interview with Treacle Darlandes

By Deaflegacy

I met recently with Treacle Darlandes.  The first question I had for her is to tell us some details about herself.  “Well, I think my inspiration comes from the tools, textures, scripts and other things we can all use to make beautiful things in Second Life,” she told me,  “My father in the real world is an artist.  He paints with various mediums.  Maybe I have some of his art genes.  As for my artworks, they just kind of develop when I make or see things that I like.”

I asked Treacle about the Walk of Art.  “Yes.  I use a lot of colours, and moving fractals.  Often the real intensity of the colours and movements are lost out in the open, such as garden, or where there is a lot of light,” she replied, “I felt the need (for myself mostly in the beginning) to look at the fractals and things I made at Midnight setting, or in dark places, so I could feel the intensity of the colours.  Then I decided to make them against black backgrounds.  I like it so much that I made the Walk of Art with a complete black background so that anyone who visited would hopefully feel the same power from the intense colours as I did.  That too just grew as my ideas for it unfolded.  People who visit often say that the 'Walk' gives them peace.  Or a spiritual feeling.  Or makes them emotional.  I am very flattered that people feel that way.  That is why I try to get everyone else who wants to visit to actually do the walk and not be camming about, as that spoils the whole meaning of why I created it.”

The next question was what the inspiration behind the Walk of Art.  “Some I made from things I had created previously and were my favourites, or other peoples favourites.  The rest just sort of grew as I worked on it.  Always though the theme was the power of colour.  I believe colour, like music, can have a powerful effect on how we feel.  I wanted people to feel the way I did when I looked at rich colours,” answered, Treacle, “There is nothing for sale in the Walk of Art, it is simply there as a journey for people to see should they wish to visit.  So, I suppose the inspiration was pleasure, and feelings.  Hopefully good feelings.”

I was wondering if Treacle is planning on keeping the Walk of Arts around for a long time.  “As long as I am in Second Life, or as long as Second Life is here, or as long as I can still pay for my land it will be h ere, yes.  It is part of who I am in Second Life,” she replied, “Some day I may build more.  We will see.” 

I asked Treacle about the other projects.  “Well, I take care of my art gallery where my things are for sale, and I also help Meredith Staheli with her gallery, which is called Triglav Gallery and can be found through my profile,” she told me, “Other than art, I like to help newcomers to join Second Life, or older residents who may like some help with things.  I also like to visit the Buddha Centre as it is a very relaxing and unique place in Second Life.  My art gallery was made to feel relaxing and comfortable.  This is where people can buy what I make.  I do not make art from mesh, maybe I will one day.  For my art, I prefer the traditional tools.”

I also asked Treacle for the landmarks, and here they are.

To the art gallery:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lawst%20Paradise/202/209/24

To the Walk of Art:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lawst%20Paradise/200/234/2001

to the New Resident Island:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lawst%20Paradise/131/28/22

Deaflegacy

Interview with Mikati Slade

By Bixyl Shuftan

For those going to the Second Life Birthday, one build dominates the grounds of the mega-event, the "Cake Stage" which is so big, it takes four sims to hold it. For three of the past five years, the "Baker" of the stage has been builder and artist Mikiati Slade. Recently, the Newser met up with Mikati, and we sat down for an interview.

"For those newcomers who know you just by this year's Cake," I asked her, "how did you find out about Second Life?"

"I am from Japan," Mikati answered, "and I came to Second Life in 2007. SL was hyped even in Japan at that period. Second Life is everything dynamic and on-time for creating, so I thought I can show people (around the) world my creativity."

"How did your first days here go?" I asked.

"In real life, I learned classical sculpture and then worked for commercial graphics," she explained, "So, the first day of Second Life, I searched art galleries in SL and visited. I enjoyed a lot of artworks. Then I (was) amazed with avatar shape edit and I (was) excited that I can use my sculpture skill for avatar designing. That's my first day of SL." "Sounds like from the beginning, you were doing much building and creating." "Yes. I (was) amazed. Second Life is very wonderful world for creators, more serious than what I was guessing before. So I had ideas to create things."

I then brought up, "What were some of the things you built early on?" Mikati thought for a moment, "Can I rez some things what i built on that period? It's chair and shoes." I told her okay, and after some moments, she made appear some items, "These are first buildings of me, chair and sandals. The chair is something like modern Eames chair." Taking a closer look at the footwear, I commented, "The shoes look a bit detailed for a beginner's work." Mikati told me, "Yes, I worked for commercial graphics with 3D an 2D things. So, I already had some skills about it. And SL is very flexible to making shape from regular prims. So, I really enjoyed to create things, like (a) puzzle."

I then asked her, "What were some of the easiest things to learn, and some of the most difficult?" She answered, "On building in SL, most easy thing is making 'big shape' and 'sketch' in world directly and fast, this is very big advantage. And most difficult thing is, more technical thing specific in SL prim building. It is,  alignment of the parts. It need to use numbers and calculations. This is very important to keep the quality."

My next question was, "About what time was your work starting to get noticed by others?" Mikati told me, "I exhibited first time was, 2008 Burning-Life in SL. I created some pop display together my friend, and Molly Linden gave us a trophy. This was the first time of exhibiting." "I'll bet that got you some attention." "Yes, I thought so, and excited that people saw my works. And that's one of big excitement of SL I realized also showing people around the world in real-time, 3D world."

I brought up, "I recall in 2011, you had an exhibit at the Second Life Birthday that year." She smiled, "Yes exactly! I exhibited at SL8B, 2011, first time as a regular exhibitor. And SL Newser came to interview with me. This was my first time of having connection with SL media. I still remember it was so cool experience." "Oh yes, Grey Lupindo found you and interviewed you." "Yes!"

"And the next year, you ended up being the designer of the cake stage." I asked, "How did that come about?" Mikati answered, "Yes, I got opportunity to build the cake stage of SL9B. A staff, KT Shakumi, IMed me and she told me. She told me that she already visited my another exhibitions, like 'Kuru Kuru World' at MiC: Museums of Rome Capital, and 'PICO PICO LIFE' at LEA: Linden Endowment for the Arts. They liked my work, I guess."

"What was the inspiration for the cake's design?" I asked. Mikati responded, "About the 9B cake, this year one?" "Well, all of them." "Okay, can I tell you about it one by one?" "All right." "I built SLB Cake Stage three times. And each have different inspirations and concepts. About 9B, it was the first time, and I just tried to make it to express celebration mood using my style. " "How would you describe this style?" "My style is using a lot of retro-console game style pixel icons in 3D. I designed the style because such pixel things can be one of primitive symbols of current digital age. And the 'cubic' shape can be done with perfect shape, even in regular SL prim period. Also, it reflects Japan pop-culture, like Nintendo games. So I thought this is rational style for me."

My next question was, "What were some of the reactions to the first cake stage?" She answered, "About the 9B Cake, people had interest about such pixel 3D things in the huge size. And also the mood was very optimistic and pop, which was not so usual in SL before. So, I think people enjoyed it. ... SL12B Cake Stage, I created a lot of icons for this time and tried to create mood of dreamy. SL13B Cake Stage, the SL13B official theme is 'Shared Adventure.'  For the cake, I defined the Cake Stage is the treasure of the birthday party and 'goal of the adventure.' So I combined a lot of coins, treasure boxes, and jewels with the Cake."

I then brought her attention to the badge she was wearing, "I see that your SLB card says 'Baker.' I take it that's one of a kind?" Mikati told me, "Yes, the badge I wear is an official thing of SLB, and it says 'Baker,' SLB Cake Stage builder called like this. One optional thing I can tell, the role name 'Baker' is not just a 'cool name.' On birthday party, person who make the birthday cake have not to open the 'oven' until done to bake, even if people complain to open it!" "So people were asking you where it was when other builds were going up?" I asked. "Sorry my English," Mikati answered, "You mean, if people wonderd when I finish the cake?" "Yes." "Okay, yes, the SLB cake is the biggest opportunity for Second Life builders, I am thinking. And every time I did all of my best to make good thing seriously. So I spent all of time until the final deadline. And I think many people were getting tired to wait for it, heehee. Some people actually asked me about it. ... I also understand their feelings. So I told the people, 'I am sorry.' But I did not open the oven, heehee."

I chuckled a little at the giggles, then brought up, "And after a couple years, you were asked to do the cake again, and then the year after that." "Yes," she answered, "I think this is pretty rare thing of SLB. Because I heard that every year different builders build it. I think cake builder who built three times, I am the first."

Changing the subject slightly, I asked, "Besides the cake stage, what else have you been working on recently?" Mikati responded, "Recently, I joined an art project of a university teacher from Germany, It is purposed to archiving SL artists works for the future. Virtual world is still early period, I think, And in the future, the Second Life culture would be a great material for researching how virtual world started. So I was interested in it and joined."  "That is interesting. How has this art project gone so far?" "It is managed by a person, Art Blue, in SL. The project already exhibited at LEA semi-official SIM, and in near future, the buildings will go to OpenSIM and bring to real life art biennare."

My next question was, "Of the SL13B, what were some of your favorites among the other builds?" She answered, "All of the buildings at SL13B is a part of the celebration, so I love all of the builds! And this time, I love all the performance stages especially. All the stages did really great job!"

I then asked her about her appearance, "I notice you have a few items on you right now, those gloves, the cake hat, the heart-shaped glasses, and the flower." She smiled, "Oh yes, heehee! The heart sunglasses is what I wear since 2011 or more earlier, my trademark I am thinking. It inspired from a move Lolita by Cublic. The hat is gift of the SL13B cake stage. I made this and I think already 2000 - 3000 people got it."

Another question was about her native language being Japanese, "Earlier you brought up language. You don't seem to be having much trouble with English. Has it been a difficult language for you to learn?" Mikati agreed, "English is my big trouble point, yes. Usually, most Japanese people are not good at English, and me also almost zero skill about English when I came to Second Life. But SL gave me amazing big opportunity to learn English while having communication with western people, and my English skill improved very much. Learning language is very big advantage of SL also I think."

"About how many other Second Life users are Japanese?" I asked. She thought for a moment, "I am not sure the exactly numbers of population about it, but I think Japanese Second Life users are many, like, European countries. Japanese SL users are usually enjoy together, but having communication with Western SL users is not so often." "So interactions between most Japanese and most US and European users are uncommon?" I asked. "Yes, I think so," Mikati answered, "This because wall of language." I then questioned, "In what interactions there are, have there been many misconceptions, mistaken ideas, of Japan and it's people among Westerners?" She answered, "Most of Japanese people is respecting western culture very much, and always interest to have communicate with western people even in SL. But also Japanese people think that making mistake on English can be rude with western, I think. So, usually become shy I feel."

I then asked, "Did you have any other future plans besides the art project you mentioned?" Mikati answered, "I developed my style for everyone even out of Second Life. So my future plan is , showing and making enjoy people out of SL. This is my current plan and dream." Wondering about her noted build, "Might we see another Mikati Cake Stage in the future?" She responded, "I am thinking my style is perfect for SLB cake. so i want to make it in the future again of course. But also the cake is good opportunity for another builders. So, It also nice if another builder will make it, I think."

Mikati offered to show me the scale model of the Cake Stage,  "I can guide you, cake mini scale model, if you like." We went over to a skybox in her sim she which used as a building area, "As we see, this is 1/10 scale model of this year cake. I designed and worked in this scale, then stretch to the real scale. 1/10 scale is easy to see and easy to calculate real size." She then asked me to follow her inside, "Okay, please follow me a little. ... This is interior part of the cake. Now we are 10-times giants, heehee!"

She directed my attention to a small stick several inches tall, "Do you see the red small stick here? This is the avatar size in 1/10 scale." I asked, "So if someone is 1.6 meters high, this would be .16 meters?" "Yes, exactly! But many times, SL avatars are near 2 meters. So i made it as 0.2 meters. Heehee!"

I then asked her if she had seen some giant avatars in the official Cake Stages. She answered, "Oh yes! I have seen once such very large avatar at the cake few days ago! It was nice humor for the cake, because the cake is huge. Heehee!" It did cross her mind that it made everyone else look like her scale model, "The viewing looks similar with real size when you hold your camera to the red small stick."

She then brought me to a platform where there was a model of last year's Cake Stage, the one for the SL12B.  "This themed '12,'" she told me, "The twelve candles have twelve icons." At one point, she compared them to the twelve tribes of ancient Israel.

I then brought her attention to two huge pillars on the other side of the sim. She answered they were for the art archiving project she mentioned earlier, "Oh yes. These are the things of the art project that themed archiving SL arts. The tower shape outside is given parts. Artists build things using their typical style inside it." Of her sim, there was no house or relaxation area, "This sim is just for my private work place ..."

It was about time for the interview to come to a close, "Did you have anything else that you wanted to add?" Mikati's answer to that was, "I just want to add a thing (for the residents), I thank you to have opportunity of featuring the cake, and thank you for contributing for SL culture for long time."

It was about then the interview came to a close. Mikati and I would later meet up again at the "Cake Explosion" in which she brought down her build in a spectacular manner as a public event, as well as her making an appearance at the SL Newser beach party. While it's unclear whether she'll be building another Cake Stage soon, no doubt this cheerful designer is far from finished.

Bixyl Shuftan