Last week, Gemma Cleanslate dropped by the Fandom Fashion Show, and finding a number of Moles and Lindens took some pictures. This included Alotta Mole.
There was Wendi Linden. No word from Gemma on if anyone was saying "Bettlejuice" three times.
And there was Patch Linden, in a pink-stripped outfit.
There was Mini Mole in a sailor suit.
Ancient Mole looked a bit like a Murlock from "Warcraft" on a broom.
It wasn't clear what Jester Linden was trying to be.
Ador Mole was looking a little cheesy.
They and others were having fun, dancing away at a pad.
At one point there was an "intruder on stage." If this guy was out to cause trouble, no doubt with all the blue tags around, he was taken care of in a hurry.
The Relay for Life's fundraising season is still over a month away, but already some are getting ready for it. Among them is Pyrie Catoria (account name Catalina Staheli). Pyrie has been doing a photogrpahy project, taking pictures of each Relayer with their reason for taking part in a picture frame they're holding, and putting each on a Flickr page for the project. Recently the Newser had a chance to interview her about herself and her project, so I met her at her studio.
Bixyl Shuftan: "So how did you find out about Second Life?"
Pyrie Catoria (catalina.staheli): "Oh! I actually got involved in Second Life through my university. I was working as a technology consultant as I finished up my bachelors and they put SL into use at the university for online classes. They told us to familiarize ourself with the program to help if any troubleshooting was needed. And I came in, set things up, looked around and said 'What's the point of this, again?.' Coming from a gamer's background, I was expecting levels, goals, quests, etc. *laughs* And instead it was just a bunch of people standing around. I was like 'hmm.....alrightie then.' And then explored a bit more on my own time and, well, eight years later I'm still here."
Bixyl Shuftan: "What did you find once you explored?"
Pyrie Catoria (catalina.staheli): "Hmm....well, as an educator, I loved the online representations of the different cities. I still remember visiting an online Prague, Venice, Paris. And then I found out you could have a job in SL and well, I was a broke college student, so signed up. Worked for a bit, did well. And then started finding some of the role play sims and got hooked on that." *smiles*
Bixyl Shuftan: "What roleplay sims were you in?"
Pyrie Catoria (catalina.staheli): "Oh, I started off with the vampire sims, working as a handmaiden to a lord and his family. They actually paid their staff in lindens to be around, so it's how I sort of made that shift from jobs to role play. After that I explored the Gorean sims, beginning as a role player. I did that for a few years, branching out into Game of Thrones, where I was a part of the original King's Landing sim. I've explored Venexia, Kingdom of Sand, Goatswood. A few years ago, I realized a bit more about myself through my time spent in Second Life and began to pursue a new path that touched both on my SL and real-life journey.
"So some role play turned into real life. And some have continued to just be enjoyable role play." *chuckles*
Bixyl Shuftan chuckles, "How did you find out about the Relay in Second Life"
Pyrie Catoria (catalina.staheli): "I did Relay for Life when I was in high school, the walkathons, the fundraising, all of it. And I loved it. There are very few places that throw a party like New Orleans and so our RFL walk-a-thons were filled with crawfish boils, live cajun music, pet alligators you could hold, and teams that were laughing and dancing and showing such a camaraderie, it's something truly special. A few years ago, I saw some notices for RFL things, but really didn't pay that much attention to it. And then three years ago....I don't remember what prompted it, but I had this small kernal of an idea. I tend to be quite the dreamer and come up with fun projects to explore. So I had this idea of doing a photography project. I did a few samples before approaching Kaiila Mahoney, the captain of the Goreans For Life team, and from there, I fell head first into doing RFL every year since."
Bixyl Shuftan: "Have you done much photogrpahy in Second Life before your project for the Relay?"
Pyrie Catoria (catalina.staheli): "Indeed! I began doing photography about a year beforehand. Everything was a learning experience in terms of technique and composition and I really enjoyed the process. I worked as a photographer at A Touch of Glamour until they closed and then opened up my own photography studio after that."
Bixyl Shuftan: "How has your own studio done?"
Pyrie Catoria (catalina.staheli): "It did pretty well. I had a lot of fun and was doing 200-300 dollars a month in revenue. It was truly a second business for me. There's no studio or gallery as of now, but I still do freelance photography for any who want it." *smiles*
Bixyl Shuftan: "So how did your RFL photo project do at first? What were some of the initial reactions?"
Pyrie Catoria (catalina.staheli): "Oh it took off like a shot! I didn't start doing anything until the end of May or beginning of June. Between then and the RLF walk-a-thon, I raised about 50,000L that first year."
Pyrie Catoria (catalina.staheli): "I was pretty happy! I think it was about 53,000L in the end. 50K had been my goal."
Bixyl Shuftan: "Sounds pretty great. What team did you say you were a part of?"
Pyrie Catoria (catalina.staheli): "The last two years I was with the Goreans for Life team. This year I am helping with the committee and reaching out to all teams."
Bixyl Shuftan: "Any specific plans for this year?"
Pyrie Catoria (catalina.staheli): "Yes! I'll be doing the 'Why Do You Relay" series for the third year and then I'll also be doing a special exhibition later this season featuring those currently fighting cancer and survivors of cancer."
There had been a man nearby in her studio, so I decided to ask about him.
Bixyl Shuftan: "I guess we need to mention him sometime. Is Corel Ewing here with your photo studio?"
Pyrie Catoria (catalina.staheli) smiles. "Corel's a friend who stopped by. We were chatting when you arrived."
Bixyl Shuftan: "Oh, I see."
"Was there anything else you wanted to mention about the Relay or the photoshoot?"
Pyrie Catoria (catalina.staheli): "The photoshoot takes about fifteen minutes from start to finish. And all are welcome. It doesn't matter what community you're from or what team you're on, everyone is welcome. The portraits are free and each participant will receive a full perm version they can do anything they'd like with.
"My goal this year is to raise 250,000L in donations, and 100% of any donation someone on a team gives can go to that team. So they help their team and they get the portrait. I'm just keeping a running tally of the donations for my own goal. It all goes to the same place and I just really want everyone to work together so that we can have an amazing year."
Pyrie invited me to pose for one of her snapshots, so that was quickly done. With both that and the inverview finished, we went our separate ways.
I took many more shots than could be shown for the Kickoff article. This one that I took just a few minutes after porting over, most everyone looked grey or clouded. The whole place spelled L-A-G.
RacerX Gullwing was soon identifiable, him being a "unique bunny."
Breezes Babi, a longtime friend and Relayer, was also there.
And here's three from the Steelhead Salmons, from left to right Softpaw Summer, Fuzzball Ortega, and Eugenia Burton.
And after the Kickoff officially ended, some left, others hung around a little to chat.
IshtarAngel Micheline, the official Relay Photographer on the other side of the lens.
Looking further away from the center auditorium, three of the four sims had crashed. All that was open to me was RFL Past. Not far away was this dinosaur.
There was also this Egyptian maze. I ended up going back out the entrance.
A few things to see.
And as time went on, I dropped in on a few of the events that weekend. Here's the Road Rash Relayers group having a small bash.
The Pure Heart team held a larger Adel live concert. I ran into Breezes again.
Then I got a message from Fuzzball, "Message from 'The Hair:' Join me at Steelhead's RFL Kick Off Party. Starting.....Now."
Gimme head with hair, long beautiful hair, shining, gleaming, streaming, flaxen, waxen, Gimme down to there, hair, shoulder length or longer, here baby, there mama, everywhere daddy daddy, Hair, Hair! Hair, Hair! Hair, Hair! Hair, Hair!
At the Heroes for Life stage, singer Wytchshisper Sadofsky gave a performance.
"Called a torch singer by some and a freaky fairy by others I have a jazzy, alternative, oldies, demented, pop, rock, happy in the pants sound! I love requests ~ please remember you are a huge important part of my show that way. All proceeds to benefit RFL of SL!"
It was a big start to the "Time for a Cure" season. More events have happened since, such as the Passionate Redheads kickoff at the Palace of the Sun. And many exciting things will happen, culminating to the Relay Weekend in June with The Walk.
Recently, I met up with Gracie Kendal, the artist behind the 1000 Avatar Project. She was on her photo studio platform over the coyote sim, with pictures of numerous avatars around four high walls, along with a number of people waiting to be photographed, many socializing before and after it was their turn. They, or someone they knew, had answered a notecard she had sent out.
I would love for you to be part of my project on online identity/anonymity. I am shooting portraits today, come on by and hang out, chat and be part of my project. I have over 1221 portraits so far of some of the most amazing people I know. My goal is now 2000.
And among the people waiting to get their pictures taken, were the residents of the Sunweaver Estates, and friends.“Nydia, are you ready?” She asked Club Zero owner Nydia Tungsten just after I arrived, and the white vixen stepped into Gracie’s hemisphere photo stand. Among those whom had gotten their pictures earlier, builder Lomgren Smalls, and Club Green Meadows owners ReCoyote Minds & Perri Prinz. There was a waiting list board for residents in line,”If you are here and want to participate click enter on the waiting list.” As soon as Gracie was finished with someone, the name was gone fron the list and the rest moved upward. Those wanting in clicked on the board to wait in line.
The 1000 Avatar Project was started almost a year ago. Someone asked if this was a second project of Gracie’s, “thought we were doing Round 2. (grin)” “Nah,” Gracie answered, “same project just going for 2000.” “Good luck Gracie - I know you'll make it no problem. (smile)” “Thank you, Menubar. (smile)”
For the photoshoot, Gracie asked her subjects to b ewhatever avatar and wear whatever outfit in Second Life they felt best represented them. They could also have on any AO, or any kind of pose or dance, “You can use any pose, dance animation, gesture, etc. youd like. (smile)”, though did ask that any facelights be removed. Nydia chose to wear a fine dress, “I wanted to look my best for Gracie.” Others also chose their very best outfits, although others chose everyday wear. The pictures themselves sometimes caused Gracie’s computer to pause a moment, and she sometimes had to take a second or third to get just the right pose.
Gracie took pictures of both the front and the back, but those on the wall were of the backsides. With the furred avatars, there were jokes that Gracie wanted a better shot of their tails. Gracie’s explained in the notecard the backside pictures were partily an artistic statement of Internet aynamonimity, and partialy because users usually saw the behinds of their avatars most of the time.
Gracie told me that she had found out about Second Life through her family, “My real-life aunt and uncle had read about it in SPIN magazine. They came in and thoughth it was so cool. especially the art and music scene. They told me I should bring my paintings in. So I came in, and loved it. I think they regret telling me. (laughter). ... but I needed it at the time. I was suffocating in real-life, and this place let me breathe, weird as it sounds.”
“I was working on my Masters degree, living with my Mom and Stepdad at age 33. I had my own place, but was going to study abroad for a year so moved in with them to save money. Then that fell through so I was stuck living with them. It was very stiffling. Then my Dad passed away. It was tough all around. ... I can say SL saved me. But luckily I am finding my way back.”
Of her experiences in Second Life, “I had the usual heartbreak, blah-blah-blah. But it has been an amazing experience. I went to Europe and met some Second Life friends, which was so very cool !” Of her previous work, her most noteworthy was her "My Life as an Avatar" project, “which is what I did my Masters thesis on. That is about my personal relationshiop with my avatar. And before that, in Second Life I was known for my paintings. (smile)”
As time went on, more avatars came by. One appeared as a winged demonness, “since it’s Halloween.” Eventually when the last person on the platform had their picture taken, Gracie began putting the new photos on the highest row of blank boards. When a row was filled, she put a new one over it. And as more people arrived, she resumed taking pictures, staying until her shoot was over.
Some more scenes from the Relay for Life Walk on July 17 & 18th.
The Passionate Redheads, at least those visible through the lag, going past the Roma camp. In ancient times, surgery to remove tumors was sometimes done, though without the benefit of painkillers.
A lady from Roma, dressed to kill, making her walk.
A dwarf and a human from a Fantasy RFL group.
One of the few feral avatars on the track, this little critter hopes to "ferret" some donations.
Sim down due to lag. Too many Redheads on the track?
One of the karjia (servants) from the "Goreans for Life."
Meeting with the lioness Kamiliah Hauptman, Vicerine of Caledon, at the Caledonian camp.
A child avie makes her way down the track.
Another feral running down the track, flag in hand, or rather jaw.
With the lag, sometimes it seemed like you were the only one on the track.
One advantage of the Relay on Second Life, the only TP you had to worry was there stood for "teleport." A lady dressing up for the "Caring & Curing" hour on Sunday morning. "Helllllooooooooo nurse!" A cancer survivor at the Redhead base, Sunday morning.
This picture was contributed by one of the Redheads, showing the display of fireworks at the close of the Relay for Life Walk.
