ECLIPSE Magazine May 2017

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Contents 20.

Through the Lens

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Trending Now: Men

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The World of Roleplay

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The Proust Spotlight

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The Artist Highlight

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Trending Now: Women

The talented and renowned blogger, Vin Cinquetti, takes the concept of “Spring Evening” into six unique stylings and photographs.

For this edition, the light shines brightly on Wicca Merlin, a top model, stylist, photographer, blogger and designer!

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The gentlemen of ECLIPSE show us how to style up those “Jackets Around the Waist” and the best way to rock the “Caps” for spring!

From the Whispering Sands Live Promotions management company, we feature their artist Jack Slade.

For this monthly installment, Ahn Avion goes in depth and explores, “Remnants of Earth,” a unique roleplaying game.

The ladies of ECLIPSE style up and take show us their unique take on “Ruffles” and the best way to wear the “Single Shoulder Exposed.”

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ECLIPSE Magazine is dedicated to not only offering an aesthetically pleasing publication, but to also be considered a platform that offers rich and relevant content. Each month, we showcase residents and groups that have taken the concept of “your world, your imagination” to such great heights that they have impacted the culture and lifestyle of the Second Life community.

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Cover Story Skip Staheli Cover Photographer Lessthen Zero

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The Art Perspective

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Voices from the Grid

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The Adventures of...

Writer: Cajsa Lilliehook

Oema investigates the world of art, this time featuring the work of Bryn Oh.

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Each month ECLIPSE asks residents a question, see what they have to say.

Miele Tarantal takes us on a photographic journey, exploring Le Sixieme Sens.

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I have a severe aversion to change. Don’t get me wrong, I know that sometimes change is necessary and doing the same thing over and over again... may not be the best thing to do. Nonetheless, I find a certain level of comfort in the monotonous. This is also the same level of comfort I find in defining myself by what I do, rather than who I am. I feel this way because identifying yourself through what you do is infinitely less intimate. Showing the world who you are and continually standing up for what you believe in makes you all the more vulnerable, and that is not easy.

There is concurrently on average at least 40,000 people who are logged into Second Life at any given time. You would think that with that many people feeling lonely should be an impossibility. It’s not. I feel it is easy to hide away on your platform in the sky. Even easier to unpack boxes and put together outfits you will never wear anywhere. Even easier than that is to talk to people through IMs. Eventually, it becomes an an almost mechanical monotony. About a week ago, I decided to have a game night and invited a few friends. It’s incredible how so many people can feel the same thing and rarely ever verbalize or try to change it. Maybe it’s time to change it.

On a much more upbeat note, I am thrilled to feature the talented Skip Staheli on the cover of this edition of ECLIPSE Magazine. The emotion conveyed through his work is truly inspring. This issue also marks the highest level of participation with our “Voices from the Grid” piece, where each month we poll resident’s and ask them the same question.

Our question this month is “What did Second Life teach you?” Be sure to check out the rest of the issue, as we continue to explore the lifestyle and culture of our shared virtual world.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms, and happy reading to all!

letter from the publi

isher

executive team

trouble dethly Publisher

Taylor Wassep

Zzoie Zee Dethly

carley benazzi

Cajsa Lilliehook

Creative Director

Lead Stylist

Creative Director

Copy Editor

the c

writers

photographers

models

Ahn Avion Cajsa Lilliehook Gabriella King Miele Tarantal Isadora Fiddlesticks Novaleigh Freng Oema

Anderian Sugarplum Daffodil Crimson Kess Crystal Lessthen Zero Miele Tarantal Sungyoung Jang Taylor Wassep Tempest Rosca Wicca Merlin WrenNoir Cerise Xandrah Sciavo

AnnaG Pfeffer Cubito Smith Lua Vendetta Scarl Darkmatter ShazneyValentine Tadeu Gartner Wicca Merlin Winter Jefferson

guest stylist & photographer Vin Cinquetti

interested in advertising with eclipse? have an idea for a great story? looking to start a new career in second life? email trouble@penumbra-eclipse.com

contributors

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Through the lens

VIN & ALICIA CINQUETTI show us “spring EVENINGS.” Photography by VIN

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N CINQUETTI.

Hat: SORGO - Flat Fedora CAMEL Top: BlankLine - Cotton Cardie NEW @ TMD May Pants: sharp by [ZD] - ALLISTAIRE Pants Beige

Outfit: MINIMAL - Harvey Suit Darkpurple @ May TMD Shoes: Deadwool - Formal shoes Black Page 22 | ECLIPSE May 2017

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Vin Cinquetti Glasses: GUTCHI - Sunglasses Premium Top: etham - Gareth Jacket NEW @ MOM May Pants: Just BECAUSE - MG Leisure Slacks Cream Accessories: SORGO - CubanLinks Chain Alicia Cinquetti Hair: Rezology - Voluminous Topknot Outfit: Pumpkin - Strapped Jumpsuit Arm Accessory: Kunglers - Barbra Bracelet Head Accessory: LODE - Forsythia Wreath & Crown Hand Accessory: LODE - Forsythia Bouquet

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Vin Cinquetti Hat: David Heather - Audran Brim Hat Black Outfit: Gild - Disturded collar shirt and pants White NEW @ Fameshed May Necklace: FLI x Blupr/nt. - Culture Diamond Necklace Platinum Backpack: Mr.Poet - Leather Backpack Black Alicia Cinquetti Hair: Unorthodox - Sierra Hair Outfit: Blueberry- Breeanya Dress Accessories: Mandala - Haramta Bangle Bag: Fame Femme - Soyana Leather Clutch Footwear: Essenz - Paramaribo

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Bowtie: Caboodle - Haru Bowtie Brown Gatcha NEW @ TMD May Pants: Caboodle - Haru Pants Brown Gatcha NEW @ TMD May Top: Caboodle - Haru Vest & Button Down Gatcha NEW @ TMD May Shoes: Gabriel - ZIP Wing tip

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Vin Cinquetti Shirt: F.A.T - Kichi Shirt Grey Stripped Pants: A&D Clothing - Patrick Pants NEW @ May MOM Shoes: Ascend - Triple Monk Shoes Necklace: FLI x Blupr/nt. - YRN Diamond Necklace Platinum Watch: VEX - Luxor Diamond Watch 18k Gold Alicia Cinquetti Hair: Stealthic - Prisma Outfit: Pixicat - Enticing Dress Accessories: Maxi Gossamer (MG) Damasc Bangle Footwear: Essenz - Germany ECLIPSE May 2017 | Page 31

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visual poetry

written by cajsa lilliehook. photography by lessthen zero & sk

kip staheli.

Photograph by Lessthen Zero

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“Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.”

One of the most fruitful pastimes on Flickr® is scrolling through the Favorites of Second Life® photographers you like.

People who take good pictures tend to choose good pictures, so you will be looking at the curated crème de la crème. You will most likely be looking at several pictures by Skip Staheli as he is a respected and well-liked by many in the world of Second Life art.

Staheli is a generous promoter of Second Life art as well, sponsoring a quarterly photo contest to promote other artists. offering a prize every quarter for a photo contest, as he remarks, “I’m interested in others talent and new secondlife talent always….”

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Staheli prefers to call his work digital painting rather than photographs because he spends a lot of time in PhotoShop™ achieving the romantic images that create a visual sort of poetry reminiscent of Édouard Bisson, the French fin de siècle painter who focused on feminine beauty.

Staheli describes his work as “soft, dreamy, romantic, with a real life feel to them..Very detailed,

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captivating and emotional.” When I look at his work, I think of the academic painters Édouard Bisson and William Adolphe Bouguereau or John William Waterhouse, the Pre-Raphaelite. While their work is in various styles, they all share what Georgiana Burne-Jones, wife of another pre-Raphaelite described as “the desire to see a poem lived.” Like them, Staheli finds the apotheosis of beauty in portraiture.

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Staheli joined SL® in 2007 after reading an article about. He was curious and logged in. He didn’t like it much and after several months, he again logged back in. His second foray was also inspired by something he read, though perhaps even more because the company he worked for at the time started a project in SL. It seemed a good time to explore some more.

He borrowed his first name Skip from a neighbor’s son who spent a lot of time around him. His second was chosen for assonance. He explains, “I always have loved his name, and I just love the kid… For the last name, I just searched through the names available and did choose the one that also got a S and I in it, for a nice roll of the tongue and easy to the eye…. I still love my SL name!”

He soon discovered that Second Life was a fertile ground for artists. ”Someone showed me Flickr, and there I saw so many fantastic works, that pulled me into it.” He stresses that he was no overnight success and continues to strive for improvement. “It took me all these years to get where I am now, it’s an ongoing learning process, it’s in my eyes never good enough… Also I love to try new stuff, try new things…”

His advice for others who want to

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follow in his footsteps is exactly the same advice experts give to anyone.

Work at it, keep trying, practice, practice, practice. “My advice is.. Stay close to yourself, what you want and what you want to achieve. It took me nine years to be on this level.”

While he spends less time on his work than in the past, in the first six years he spent many hours a day working at his art. “I practiced and tried, and failed. .and tried again and again..many hours a day. It’s like Rome, also not build over a night!

So be patient, and do it with your heart…I think you really have to LOVE what you’re doing, cause I think that shows in your work.”

More specifically, he suggest aspiring photographers take their time, keep your goal and your client’s purpose in mind, and make sure they have a graphics card. He further advises, “I shoot on ultra, high resolution and shoot big files (5004x2741) that gives a good quality raw snaps. Makes it also better possible to crop them later on. Play a lot with windlights/ phototools. Try loads of angles, play and enjoy! Good poses are important if you photograph avatars. And talk with your client/model, cause I think.. Funnily enough a good energy between photographer and model shows in the photos.”

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His studio is called Purple Cows–a whimsical name that demands explanation. It came out of a brainstorming session with a first life friend around the kitchen table in his home. “I wanted something Dutch. Cows are very Dutch, and I love cows. I wanted something that points to fantasy and creativity. So cows in a color. Purple Cows sounds fun and captivating to me.”

With all his skill, it is somewhat surprising that Staheli has not taken his artistry into his first life. He has done a few special requests from people in Second Life for specific first life needs, designing a CD cover for an artist and making a few banners for websites. But other than that, his work stays in SL. In his experience, sharing anything about SL has not been well-received. “People find it odd, and fake,” he says. “Not real…So mostly I just keep it all to myself.”

If he could, though, he would describe it this way,

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“

Stay close to yourself, what you want and what you want to achieve.

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Photograph by Lessthen Zero Page 48 | ECLIPSE May 2017

“SL is a dreamworld. All you see there is build by the people who are playing it. Whatever you can imagine, you can realize it in SL. It looks a lot like your RL, only in a digital way. It’s like you’re sucked into a cartoon/animated movie, and you have the main role!” However, he is not going to evangelize. For a long time, he tried to explain SL to people in his RL. In his experience, though, they are not accepting. “I stopped long time ago to wish for stuff like that, for me SL is SL.. and RL is RL…So I don’t mind anymore if they know about it or not, or what they think about it.”

with a virtual world/game do not recognize avatars on paintings.” He believes the appeal is limited to those who are into virtual worlds and gaming.

The fabric between first life and Second Life is an open weave with many spaces for real life artists to bring their talent, vision, and creativity into our metaverse and realize their wildest creative ideas.

Going the other direction, the fabric is a bit more like Gore-Tex. After all, even art colleges distinguish between digital art and fine art or digital art and studio arts and many digital artists struggle to Of course, Staheli does not accept that get their work appreciated as art and not art from SL is not art. “I sure do think also as marketing graphics and illustration. virtual art can be respected.. Art is art...I If digital artists struggle to get respect don’t think it’s easy to have SL work realized in the world of art, then the struggle for in RL, cause people who are not familiar virtual artists is even harder.

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Second Life has had a deep effect on his life. He joined SL at a difficult time, when he was ill and partially disabled so he could not work full-time. This gave him a lot of time for exploring his creative side, to put the hours into photo editing.

“Now I’m grateful I had this opportunity to discover this part of me. That’s a gift to me. I found lots of peace in creating and Page 50 | ECLIPSE May 2017

gained loads of self esteem too…Maybe one day I will start RL photography and start doing what I do now in SL, but then in RL, who knows.. Maybe it’s possible…I’ll never stop wishing and dreaming! “ Staheli is enthusiastic about Second Life and the creativity it inspires. He enthuses, “The sky’s the limit. I enjoy live

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music gigs, I love clubbing/dancing... exploring new sims, art galleries... spending time with my wife, family and friends...Shopping, building/styling/ decorating…But most of all, I like to make photos. What a surprise, huh?”

Staheli is a successful, respected digital artist in Second Life. He is a visual poet.

His subjects become mythologized in his work. It seems that the real world needs to open up that fabric between virtual art and “real art” because at the moment, they’re losing out–not just on the lyrical romanticism of Staheli, but on the many wonderful artists of Second Life.

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Skip Stah Follow him on Flickr, Tum Check out his Flickr contest group

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heli Links: mblr, Twitter & Pinterest. p, in-world and DeviantArt page.

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the proust spotli

photography by wic

The Proust Spotlight is our monthly feature where we highlight one of the many creative residents of Second Life®. Utilizing the Proust Questionnaire, whose namesake comes from the late 19th century French writer, we will offer a glimpse into what makes them tick.

This month we showcase the extraordinarily talented Wicca Merlin, a top model, stylist, blogger, photographer and designer.

She shares with us, “What is more to the point is that I do what I love in SL. I love fashion, I love blogging and I love teaching, I love being creative with styles and I just discovered a new love: Designing & Making Poses. I am proud of what I have achieved. Not because it tells me what a great person I am. It shows that you can really succeed doing what you love and how you think it is right. I worked hard, had fights and there have been people trying to tell me what to do – or what not to. I surely picked the harder way, but in my eyes it was worth it.I’d rather have one person I admire say WOW than a thousand half-hearted OKs. The WOW is the benchmark in everything I do. I owe it to myself and to the people I represent as a designer, model, blogger, stylist, photographer or teacher.

ght

ca merlin.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

Patience... First of all it is something that I hated since I was a child and in the end being curious is in a human nature ;) If you need to wait too long for something mostly you loose the interest.. at least I do as I search for other things or directions then, to not get frustrated.

If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?

I would love to be the wind... not bound to anything, sometimes sweet and sometimes like a storm. Free to choose where i go and what I wanna do and as well invisible but to feel for everyone.

What do you most value in your friends?

Honesty Which historical figure do you most identify with?

Helena Rubinstein What is your motto?

Live every day as it would be your last.

What is your most marked characteristic?

Being a little rebel in all kind of situations.

For more information on Wicca and samples of her work, check out her Blog, Plurk, Google+, Moolto and Flickr.

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Trending now

The gentlemen show us their “caps” AND “jackets around the waist.” photography by sung

gyoung jang.

Cubito Smit in “Caps” TOP: Lapointe - Swear Blazer Pants: E-Clipse Design - Columbia Jeans SHOES: ILLI - Galliano Slip-ons CAP: Egoisme - Sport Cap Page 74 | ECLIPSE May 2017

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Scarl Darkmatter in “Caps” Cap: TRUTH - Joel Jacket: GizzA - Randy Denim Jacket Pins: Digimbyte - Button Badge Shorts: Ginger Peach - UDT Shorts Footwear: The Oak - Apollo Sneakers

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Tadeu Gartner in “Caps” Cap: Xen’s Hat Lincoln Flat Cap Striped Oufit: -David Heather-Vigo Outfit Loafers: ..::ILLI::.. SLink Ralph Loafers Page 78 | ECLIPSE May 2017

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Winter Jefferson in “Caps” Hat: Besom x Flite - Jackson Piercing: CerberusXing - Snakebite Necklace: Luc - Forward Amulet Jacket: Realink - 4NGH4H Bomber Hoodie Pants: Represent - Formal Mohair Shorts Socks: Matt Kungler - Adverse Shoes: Gutchi - Doze Sneakers Page 80 | ECLIPSE May 2017

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Cubito Smit in “Jackets Around the Waist” TOP: Cold Ash - Tyler Tank PANTS: Legal Insanity - Clay back shorts with shirt SHOES: Versov - JUMPOV HAIR: Exile - AJ Sunglasses: Sorgo - Astoria ECLIPSE May 2017 | Page 83

Scarl Darkmatter in “Jackets Around the Waist” Tank top: Fe Style - Weigel Jacket: DIRAM - Justin Jacket pants: ODDITY - Pioneer Worn Leather Footwear: monso - My Combat Ankle Boots Glasses: David Heather-Lotus sunglasses Necklace: Swallow -Three Crosses Necklace 01 Bracelet: Pure Poison - Xavier Bracelet Page 84 | ECLIPSE May 2017

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Tadeu Gartner in “Jackets Around the Waist” Suit: Gabriel - Half length Jump suit Boots: David Heather - Gnak Boots Jacket Around Waist: Infected - Jeans Jacket Around Waist

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Winter Jefferson in “Jackets Around the Waist” Glasses: 187 - Vintage Glasses Tattoo: Nar Mattaru - Ov Khaos Piercing: CerberusXing - Snakebites Bracelet: Rama - Screwed Top: Boys To The Bone - Ingenting Crop Jacket: FakeIcon - Nopun Waist Shirt Pants: Wonton - Dropped Overalls Shoes: Moda - Andre Leather Sneakers

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artist highlight

photography by wic

ca merlin.

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Jack Slade is one of the many talented live artists with Whispering Sands Live Promotions and has been with them for about a month. When asked how he became involved with the Second Life live music scene, he shares, “My first day in SL I was kicked out of a church and wound up in Dublin. I walked into the Blarney Stone and they were having a live music event, so I asked how i could get started and someone gave me a notecard with different venues ...after asking around for a bit, I got my first gig and started singing in SL.” He considers his career as going very well and, he is “constantly amazed by the amount of people who come to hear me when there is so much great talent in SL.” These are his top five favorite songs to sing “Ride” by Lana Del Rey “I Wish It Was True” by The White Buffalo “Addicted” by Mark Stephen Jones “Candy” by Paolo Nutini “Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran Shedding insight into his musical background, he tells us, “I am a songwriter of over 30 years and also play many original songs at my shows in SL.” Listen to his music.

Check out his website.

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the world of role

this month we feature “remnants of earth.� written by ahn avion. photography by temp

play

pest rosca.

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It is the year 2130. The Earth is crimeridden, depleted, polluted, and overrun with mutants, aliens, and rejects. The rich control the weak and poor from the stars above. This is the story of Remnants of Earth.

Remnants of Earth first opened in April of 2014, inspired by Shadow Run, Blade Runner, Cowboy Bebop, and Elysium. “I wanted to make two things, a tabletop roleplaying adventure, inside a 80s style cyberpunk fantasy world. Originally I was going to make a Shadow Run sim, but wanted to avoid copyright problems and wanted to make something original that was -minethat I could potentially do something with outside of SL later,” Melna MIlos, owner and creator of Remnants of Earth (RoE) begins.

I confess to knowing nothing about tabletop games so there is a definite curiosity for me to know how that works within the framework of Second Life. Melna explains, “We built a pretty simple hud that makes dice rolls and tracks a character’s stats for them. We are constantly working on it and making it more advanced and smarter to be able to track more things, so players can sit back and just post, then hit a button. As with any tabletop game, it’s difficult at first, but once you play it for a week or so, it becomes second nature. Ours is actually designed to be watered down compared to other real tabletop games.”

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Milos has been approached several times about making RoE into a tabletop game and has been exploring that possibility, looking for an artist and a publishing service to move that project forward. “I am not getting my hopes up for anything to take off though. I need to be realistic.

However, I am adding RoE to me and my Mesh artist’s portfolio for jobs in art and gaming fields.” How great is that! Citizens of RoE could someday turn their virtual world experiences into other worldly ones. We could all meet up at the next convention!

With a variety of races, gear, organizations, cultures and expanding lore, there are many opportunities to make every character different.

Remnants of Earth has quite an extensive array of information sites, an extremely useful set of tools for all players, from novice to intermediate. There is the main website, the wikia, the forum, and YouTube. The first thing I saw was the YouTube video and, though I noticed a lot of nekos/Mytharii in the video, they are not the most abundant race.

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“We actually have a stat tracker system where we can view things like how many credits or items are in the system, and we can also see what our population is. Checking it as of today, in order of most popular to least popular it’s Mutants > Cybernetics > Splicers > Humans > Mytrharii > Drevii > Shivan > Hi’Vaa > Verga’an.” With 750 active players, that lends to a very diverse and intriguing population, especially when you learn about each character type.

Any character can become a mere peasant, a legendary warrior, or a wealthy ambassador. Choose your destiny, and seize it, it’s yours!

Click on the links of the character types to learn more about each one via the RoE wikia site. Each page contains insight into whether or not the information you are about to read about any given race can be considered in character (IC) knowledge, longevity, language, planet(s) of origin, appearance description, personality, civilization, and political aspects just to name a few. When Melna decided to create a multi-verse, she wasn’t messing around! Anshiri, Cybernetic, Drevii, Human, Mutant, Mytharii, Shivan, and Splicer.

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One of the most challenging aspects of starting a new roleplay sim is getting the word out. Not only did Melna start a new sim, but she did so with a concept of her own creation, one without an already established fan base.

Advertising couldn’t have been easy. Or maybe it was!

Melna was featured on the Second Life front page for some time, and advertised on YouTube with an advert. It got attention from PC gamer, Kotaku, and Rock Paper Shotgun, as well as some other SL magazines. She doesn’t have to advertise much. The sim’s reputation and population advertises itself. “I don’t mean to sound like I got my head in the clouds, but I never really did any major advertisement other than announcing we were open. However, I am planning on tearing down everything soon and doing a completely new mesh 100% original build, and putting out a new promo video to update the old one,” Melna says with well earned pride. She adds, “It’s actually already started and is an ongoing process.” They are doing the sim one step at a time and just finished the new wastelands area [small demo video showcasing that new area]. She expects the new city area to be done this summer, perhaps around June or July, August at the latest.

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Melna designs eve the sim and is the p credits her friend, S the sim’s builder. In builder, she has oth Game Devs help he and balancing gam There are admins w rules. And to help n is even a team of m dedicate themselv players learn the ro

As if designing and wasn’t enough for an active player. “M for the Government as EarthGOV as a se type of character. I c data that I share wi My character is a M cold and collected. S in the military as a m fought during the w for the government She works for the ev corporation; EarthG

Regarding the new are currently unde plotline to tell the they will be movin explain the new bu make the new buil to make it more im is also working on the sim’s fantasy fe magik. The extensi filling up with new dynamics each day some day make the expansive as Star W

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erything seen in project lead. She Skye Flaks, as n addition to the her staff as well. er with scripting me functions. who enforce the newcomers, there mentors who ves to helping opes.

d organizing her, Melna is also My character works t agency known ecret agent spy collect intelligence ith the police force.

Mytharii. She’s very She was originally mech pilot and war. Now she works t. She’s evil for sure. vil corrupt mega GOV,” she explains.

w build, they ergoing a huge story of why ng to a new city to uild. She wants to ld part of the lore mmersive. Melna a plot involving eatures and ive wikipedia is w world expanding y. She hopes to e universe as Wars.

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With all the information available about RoE, it can be a little intimidating to know how or where to start. Melna offers this advice, “Don’t get too wrapped up in the items. Remember that roleplay should come first. Some people put items and equipment before having fun and just roleplaying. It’s both a MMO [massively multiplayer online game] and a RP sim. Do both, not one or the other.”

Interested in trying your hand at survival in Remnants of Earth?

Drop into the hub, grab the HUD, pick your race, type up your own backstory, select your traits and you’re ready to play in minutes.

To become a citizen, the first thing you’ll have to do to get an ID chip is to visit the Colony Security Station and roleplay with an officer there.

With a roll of the dice, you can seal your fate. The world is dangerous, and anyone or anything could be watching to take advantage of an opportune moment. Make sure you’re armed and ready!

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Trending now

the talented women of eclipse show us “ruffles” & “single shoulder exposed.” photography by tayl

lor wassep.

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AnnaG Pfeffer in “Ruffles” Hair: Analog Dog - proud mary Glasses: Baiastice - Bridge Sunglasses Earrings and Necklace: Kunglers - Miele Blouse: fame femme - Lisa Blouse Pants: Lavian - AW1516 Shoes: Juju - Dolcevita Bag: Gizza - Ruffle Bag ECLIPSE May 2017 | Page 123

Lua Vendetta in “Ruffles” Dress: [ZD] - LIVIE BOHO DRESS Boots: Eudora 3D - Vintage Handnag: Azoury - Delicious Hair: TRUTH HAIR - Kyoko Necklace: [ZD] - Zora’s PEARL Bracelets: Eudora 3D - Adis & EarthStones - Morgan Leather Makeup: Zibska Page 124 | ECLIPSE May 2017

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ShazneyValentine in “Ruffles” Dress: Valentina E. - Romance Hair: Mithral - Silver Basket: Zenith - Spring Picnic Rattan Sandals: Fri. - Polly Ring: Mynx - Globe Watch: Izzie’s - Leather & Beads Watch Bracelet Toe rings: Izzie’s - Celestial Straw: FPI - Straw Nom Eyeshadow: Bold & Beauty - Powder Pack April Lips: Pink Fuel - Queen Palette Page 126 | ECLIPSE May 2017

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Wicca Merlin in “Ruffles” Top: ISON - Ruffle Collar Tank Pants: Mutresse - Dupla Ruffled Leggings Shoes: Blueberry - Fire Boots Hat: Lode - Vintage Romance Hair: EMO-tions - Maureen Sunglasses: Glamistry - Sunglasses PU2004 Necklace: Mandala - Hannya Chain Choker Watch: MINIMAL - Christmas Watch Bracelet: [sYs] - POP bracelet Makeup & Lipstick: alaskametro - Fall Essential ECLIPSE May 2017 | Page 129

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AnnaG Pfeffer in “Single Shoulder Exposed” Hair: Clawtooth - Perfect Poodle Earrings: Ryca- Earrings GLS Vest : Diram- Harlette Pants: Diram- Harlette Shoes: fame femme - Heels Laces ECLIPSE May 2017 | Page 131

Lua Vendetta in “Single Shoulder Exposed” Dres: [sYs] LOTUS Shoes: AZOURY - Appia Hair: enVOGUE - HAIR Arianna Jewels: Chop Zuey - The Dark Dweller of Braj Makeup: Zibska Page 132 | ECLIPSE May 2017

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ShazneyValentine in “Single Shoulder Exposed” Dress: Elegance Boutique - Cloak Top: Blueberry - August Bracelet: Mandala - Billionaire Earrings: Mynx - Rose Stud Boots: Kokai - Camden Lipstick: Pink Fuel - Glossy Nudes Eyeshadow: Zibska - Tilia Page 134 | ECLIPSE May 2017

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Wicca Merlin in “Single Shoulder Exposed” Dress: [sYs] - Trianon Sleeves: Moon Elixir - Maiden Leggings: CURELESS [+] - Baroque Corset Stockings Shoes: Blueberry - Celia Boots Hair: .Shi - Quixotic Makeup: Zibska - Noir Pack 06 Lipstick: Zibska - Blacktop ECLIPSE May 2017 | Page 137

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the art perspective oema sheds insight on “Hand” by Bryn Oh, when art becomes education. written by

oema. photography by miele tarantal.

Art is the expression of one’s inner world, of one’s (unique) way of feeling and seeing the world. It is the “eye of the soul,” that amazing artist’s ability to see beyond the visible and to communicate it.

We are addicted to traditional artistic forms, such as painting and sculpture; and now thanks to the digital, new exciting, expressive modes make way for the diverse world of artists. Especially with Virtual Reality, where the two giants Google™ and Facebook™ are taking their first steps by offering fascinating projects, creative possibilities and artistic expression become endless, giving the artist who is open to new communication perspectives a spectrum of gorgeous creative possibilities.

From this point of view, Second Life® appears limited and vague;

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Linden Lab™ is now seeking to bridge the distance to other more advanced platforms through the wellknown and now highly anticipated Sansar®.

However, that project has not yet had its “official opening” to the public as of yet, having “opened the doors” only to the best creators of SL®.

Bryn Oh is among these lucky few.She is a wellknown artist who has been active for several years in the artistic world of SL who has a welldeserved reputation. Oh has been able to explore all the expressive possibilities that SL had to offer, from photography to sculpture, from artistic installation to machinima. This flexibility and eclecticism have made his famous in the virtual world of SL®, making her a point of reference in the field of art.

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The “Hand” artistic installation has long been active on the artist’s SIM, Immersiva.

This is a complex work, both at the levels of construction and communication.

No description can spoil anything for the reader, of course, because the experience that Immersiva offers is unique to each personal journey. Each of us has our approach and draws inspiration, messages, emotions and personal values from her installation into our life experience.

a HUD that is offered on that will be used through and it is critical to captur otherwise be hidden.

The HUD does not disrup fact, you can reduce it to again when needed. The follow the narration. Ano to best enjoy Oh’s experi Windlight settings on arr Firestorm Viewer, this is s The protagonist of the experience is Flutter, also the Windlight settings off called Flit. The visitor will follow her in her story, Whoever uses the officia interacting with her and her emotions through will need to set up the W

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arrival. This is an aid hout the experience re nuances that would

pt the experience, in o an icon and open it e HUD is necessary to other essential aspect ience is to accept the rival. For those who use simply about accepting ffered by the SIM. al Viewer or other Viewer Windlight manually,

following the directions that can be found on arrival at the SIM. The true experience begins when, after accepting the Windlight settings and wearing the HUD, the visitor clicks on the light ball and is teleported to the subway where Flutter is seated with her small suitcase.

Oh has built every aspect of this (extraordinary) artistic installation. It is well known that the Canadian artist uses ZBrushŽ to build, a Pixologic™ software application that is valuable for modeling the human figure and much more.

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I greatly appreciate artists who have the ability to create their environment from nothing, molding their creations from start to finish. And since art is communication, I enjoy even more the artist who can express herself, her way of observing the world, her story, her “personal point of arrival” in this mysterious story called “life.”

Oh has been able to communicate all these aspects of self and has, according to my (personal) impression, reached a “higher level” of communication–education.

Through artistic installation on a virtual platform, Oh educates on values and principles, inviting the visitor to make thoughtful decisions. In this sense, one leaves the experience enriched by new “thoughts of reflection.” Of course, this is not a pure experience, especially if English is not your mother tongue and you are not familiar with it. However, it is worth taking all the time to get the most out of what this artist generously offers us.

Below you will find useful information to deepen your experience of the “Hand” artistic installation as well as additional links to information about Bryn Oh. However, I would advise you to read the detailed explanation provided by the artist of her “Hand” only after visiting it.

Teleport to Bryn Oh’s “Hand” at Immersiva.

Check out Bryn Oh’s Blog.

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Voices from the g

Voices From the Grid is a monthly survey of opinions and ideas of Second Life® residents on the salient issues of the day.

For this month, we asked various people in Second Life, “What did Second Life teach you?” This is what they had to say.

grid

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Till Hapmouche Till Hapmouche is a blogging survivor, former child star, plurk pundit, and recovering mean girl. A resident since 2007, Till has chosen to live out these dark days at several thousand feet above virtual sea level, occasionally posting to Flickr.

Second Life has taught me a great deal of things, some of which being hard life lessons that come with having joined as a teenager and spending far too much time online. I could write about SL teaching me about Photoshop or some other creative aspect, but its real impact on me has been more on the developmental, coming-of-age side.

Before Second Life, I played MMORPGs and approached SL like any other fantasy roleplaying game where the person behind the screen doesn’t exist. The problem with this is that very real emotions, friendships, and finances are wrapped up in this virtual world of ours, and the stakes are higher than I anticipated. Before I knew it, I was completely absorbed into a fictional identity I’d created for myself. There wasn’t even an aquatic animal-based term for that back then, and I was in deep. Second Life taught me how to come clean and move on.

Second Life taught me that when you associate with crappy people, it probably means you’re crappy yourself. I’ve learned about sincere apologies, and accepting that sometimes you really don’t deserve forgiveness. I’ve learned that some people just straight up don’t like you, and that’s OK. You don’t actually have to win every argument, and trying to change someone’s mind is a waste of time and energy for you both. Your virtual reputation should not come at the cost of your sanity.

Perhaps greatest of all, I learned via Second Life that if you nurture positive friendships with good people, those friends will stick by you and you them. I’ve maintained some solid friends for several years now, even hanging out with some in person. If you’d told me this in 2007, I’d probably have scoffed and said that sounded crazy. Good thing I’d be wrong.

Photograph by Till Hapmouche.

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Ryanna Foxclaw Ryanna Foxclaw (ryanna foxclaw) calls herself “The ImageMaker” and is the owner of “ImageMaker Photography”. She likes to write stories and poetry to accompany the post in her fashion blog: Trappings of a SecondLife.

There are many things to be learned if one is open to new experiences. However, person has to want to know and be willing to experience the multitudes of feelings that come with it.

Taking chances and making leaps of faith, even when the way is not clear, is being brave. Second Life has taught me to be brave.

In the real world, I’m an introvert and can be rather shy. As a result, Iwould always restrain myself in what Iwould show people and the things that Idid. What will people say? What will people think? Questions like that always would run through my mind and therefore I’d keep the things that I love buried down inside.

But here, on Second Life, I’ve found it easier to express my passions — though I’m still much the introvert. Being around people who think the way that I do has helped me to step out of my comfort zone, be brave, and show what I have to offer.

I don’t run around expressing myself everywhere and to everyone I come across, but I’m not as afraid to be who I am.

Bravery isn’t always flamboyant, and it doesn’t mean never being afraid. Sometimes being brave is speaking up in a group chat. It’s wearing that outfit you always wanted but never thought you could. Being brave is accepting the person that you are. Most importantly, being brave is trying again, even after you’ve failed.

It’s never giving up.

Second Life is a world where possibilities are endless. You can be whomever you want and there’s nearly no limit to the things a person can learn. What has SecondLife taught me? It’s taught me to be brave.

Check out her Flickr, Blog and in-world location.

Photograph by Ryanna Foxclaw.

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Opale Opale Lily (Opale) is new to Second Life as Opale. She joined just a few months ago, in December 2016. A Frenchwoman, she is deeply interested in photography and fashion. She enjoys events, gachas, and music. Music videos inspire her work. She spends a lot of her time with her best friend Gallatée (Gallatis resident) who owns CARTOUCHE! And is her main supporter and confident.

Well first of all thank you to ECLIPSE Magazine for this interview, I feel blessed and honored to be chosen to answer this months question. I’m in Second Life since a very long time in fact: around 2007. Opale is my last born and I discover all Second Life evolution during those ten last years.

I’m a daily user of this metaverse, and yes, I’m completely addict to the visuals of this world, I must admit. So, what did SL teach me?

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I’ll answer: to be patient in rezz m joking. I learn that there is a lot of of your mood, your envy, each use It’s very funny because you can be who you are. I have met so many p world: Sri Lanka, Japan, USA, and have an experienced point of view mine. Some are roleplayers, photo passengers.

Second Life taught me to be open benevolent with my contacts. Som real, I’m not a robot, I’m not a pixe for our feelings, so you must be ca investing your emotions, because

e Lily

mesh and during teleport? I’m f ways to approach it. It depends er has a different point view of it. e who you want to be, or be just people from every part of the Europe... of course, and they all w from living so different from ographers, designers, or simply

n-minded, to be kind and me said SL is SL but what I feel is el program. SL’s only a small filter areful of you and how you’re e it’s also a social media. So we

must be respectful with each other and sensitiveness because it can turn soon into a mess. We’re all trying to express ourselves in this metaverse in so many differents ways. We need acceptance also when RL calsl you back, because Second Life is only a projection of ourselves by our feelings in the moment. Second Life gives another taste of real life too, because it puts in parentheses the daily reality, and I feel free inside.

Safe path all ! Take care ! Enjoy your friendship relations here !

Many kisses O. Check out her Flickr, and her best friends Flickr and store.

Photograph by Opale Lily.

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Cyrece Delicioso Cyrece Delicioso was born into SL back in 2008. After some hosting at clubs, she partnered with some very good friends in a club that highlighted live performers, now more coomonly known as live music venues. Back then, this was not all the rage! Before long she found her way to SL wrestling and had a few matches but found managing wrestlers was more her speed. It was in wrestling that Cyrece’s passion for SL photography began. After a break from SL Cy came back to find mesh was all the rage and fumbled around until she found her way to a better avi and was introduced to flickr. Since then she has been actively taking photos for flickr and eventually started a blog. Photography is still her most treasured hobby in SL. What did Second Life teach you?

SL has taught me to be more present in the moment.

I’ve been fortunate in my RL to have remained very close to the same group of friends most of my life, in SL, this has not been the case. I think it’s so easy to come and go here without any real tangible consequence that some people just whip in and out of our SL lives like feathers in the wind. I miss a lot of the people who have made imprints on my life only to have disappeared. Many I only knew here and therefore have been unable to contact them outside of SL. I do have a few friends who snuck over to my RL and although they are not in SL anymore, I am still in contact with them. I am grateful for them. I’ve been in this game since 2008, when I look back at all of the friendships and romances that have come and gone, I really miss some of those people, (no, not all lol). In hindsight, I wish I had been more present at times to have a bit more by way of memories to hold on to. I guess you always think there is tomorrow, and that’s not always the case. But maybe that’s the hidden beauty of it all, people may have come and gone but each of them left a little bit of themselves behind.

Take time to appreciate the here and now, looking back it’s so easy to see why.

Photograph by Cyrece Delicioso.

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Merche Decuir Merche Decuir is from Madrid, Spain. She is single and has always dedicate herself to the world of music in SL. Most of her time in SL was spent as a DJ, apart from dedicating some time to building.

She is a loving and cheerful person and has learned to value many things in SL from her ten year in this world.

Second Life, to be honest, has taught me how cruel life is behind a computer screen. Most people who enter virtual worlds do it thinking that they are entering a virtual game, to have fun, to escape their solitude, or just to do something in their leisure time. But people change in SL, everyone changes, there are people who overcome their shyness, others indulge their worst impulses behind the screen, and others simply let themselves be carried away.

I learned to see the evil that there can be in human beings, To see how they use, lie and pretend to be other people who are not. They fall in love in two minutes and say words as big as “I love you� with no feeling behind it. That’s what Second Life has taught me. It has taught me to not trust anyone.

I also met a few great friends but there after many years I have been in SL, it seems we have made SL as it is now, with many defects and few virtues. It is a game totally oriented towards the sexual theme, where people play with sex in every way.

Photograph by Merche Decuir.

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Callie Hamelin Callie joined Second Life in 2008, and walked around like a duck for months before someone took pity and explained about AOs. She now gratefully walks normally (most of the time), and spends the better part of her time taking pictures.

Callie blogs both Home & Garden and Fashion — you can find her here, or on flickr.

There’s a lot I could say, really, after almost 9 years in Second Life, about what it’s taught me. But I think if I had to pick one thing, I’d say that one of the most important things I’ve learned is to explore different expressions of myself, sort of like trying on clothes that were a different style than I’d normally wear – until I found what did and didn’t fit, what was and wasn’t me.

I tried on different personas and characters for a while at the beginning – it was all so fascinating and new – the ability to be anyone or anything. I tried being a neko early on — all rebellious and edgy and sexy. Except I was mostly awkward and confused, and couldn’t ever get my ears to sit right. I was also a “Tiny” for all of a few days – I think I was a little dragon. Also not a fit. There were a few others - some alts - most of them I barely remember. The one character that did stick for years was honestly a little surprising… I joined a medieval/fantasy roleplay sim called Avilion and became a fairy. It still makes me laugh a little, as I’m actually a pretty senior manager who works too much and handles more than I probably should have to. At first, being a fairy was an escape. But over time, it became a way to express something I didn’t have room to really express in my work-heavy world. It became an outlet for a part of me that was playful and mischievous and fun… and I didn’t know how missing that part of me had been until there was a place to express it.

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that character, now is just a part of the whole of me. I’m more of myself in both worlds. I still work an insane amount of hours… but I’m now the manager who walks into the middle of the office and starts singing “Let It Go” when things get too heavy and the mood is low. (No really - I did.) I’m in Second Life now just as myself – but with better hair, and the unnatural ability to walk in milehigh stilettos. Second Life really gave me the platform to discover different aspects of myself that I don’t think I’d ever have had the freedom to explore in real life — and I learned to try things I might not have tried, to step beyond an expression as a character — or beyond the ways I thought of myself in the “real” world.

Photography and decorating started that way for me — I would see people’s pictures in feeds or on Flickr, and wish I could create a scene or a home like THAT, knowing there was NO way I ever could. It’s sort of a family joke that my sisters got the “decorating gene,” but it somehow skipped me. And I think I heard myself say that one day and started to wonder if that was just something I’d always told myself, and that maybe wasn’t necessarily true.

So I figured I’d just try. And then I took pictures. I loved it. I loved every minute of it. Those early pictures — they were honestly, pretty awful. So were the scenes I put together, and the angles from which I’d photograph were all wrong. I had no idea how to use different windlights. Photoshop was a complete mystery. Lightroom still is. I’ve had to remind myself over and over that I’m learning.

But I’ve just sort of stuck with it — and I guess that’s another thing I’d say that Second Life has taught me — to love learning again — learning something new, something outside my comfort zone, and then having the patience to let it unfold until I find my own voice, my own expression. That part is still a work in progress. But I suppose, so am I. Photograph by Callie Hamelin.

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Sedonajane Sedona entered SL, with zero preconceived ideas of what SL was.

Her total and immense surprise at people being able to drive cars, fly planes and be anything they wished to be, was totally liberating.

Within a 4 month span, Sedona became involved in the SL music community and has never looked back. Over the years, she has owned a music venue, managed several venues, managed multiple live musicians, and now is the premier promoter in SL for live music.

Sedona is the owner and CEO of SedonaRocks Promotions which promotes SL live music both on and off world through multiple social media. Recently, over the past two years, Sedona has also been dabbling in photography as a wonderful way of self expression.

When asked “What did Second Life teach you?�

Her response is lively and animated.

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How to begin! Over the last few ye from around the world that I wou meet. Each and every person has life, and even me.

To think in SL you can be anything your heart sing, makes it a one of that we as a community are kind, surprises. I have witnessed this co over the good times, and comfort

I would like to say that I have learn so much more than that. The word is more like embracing, reveling in and yet finding a common thread every avatar is someone just like m

e Silverpath

ears, I have met multiple people uld never have had the chance to taught me so much about them,

g you choose, do what makes a kind experience. I have learned loving and full of wonderful ommunity supporting each other ting each other over the bad.

ned acceptance of all, but it is d acceptance falls very short. It n the differences that we have, d between us. Behind each and me, another human reaching out,

connecting, loving, laughing, crying, living our lives.

Second Life has also taught me to express myself, through my words, my images, and the things I choose to do. With my photography, if I can reach out and touch just one person with an image I am thrilled beyond words. Likewise, I find there are so many incredible visual artists in SL, that I am forever being moved by their work, their passion.

To sum up the question “What did Second Life teach you?�, I have learned so much, from those around me, from being part of this incredible community that I can not imagine my life without it.

Thank you everyone. Love and Peace to All. Check out her Flickr and Facebook.

Photograph by Sedonajane Silverpath.

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Thea Thea (resident: “Highflyer910�) joined Second Life in 2015.

She is a web developer, a tech geek, and a curious person. She is not a photographer in RL, but over the past few months she has become a keen photographer in SL. She spends her free time between this activity and meeting people, as well as experiencing scripting, exploring, and attending Science Circle events.

What did Second Life teach me? That is a good question.

It taught me a lot! But first of all, it improved my spoken English :). Second Life is not a game for me. It is not a separation, but rather an extension of myself. It is a 3D social network that I have only experienced for 1.5 years, and this period of time has taught me many things, most of which I would not have learned during such a short time span in RL. Second Life is a safe place to explore oneself and to find one’s inner self. Because I am an introvert, it is important to me that I realized I can socialize more easily here than I had expected.

I have interacted with many different people from around the world and seen the world through their eyes.

I have learned a lot about other cultures and traditions.

Also, I have made amazing friends and learned their languages. Those languages include Spanish, Italian, Arabic, Portuguese, and some Chinese. I even started to learn Dutch, since people say that Thea is a Dutch name. I figured, why not? :) Now I am a polyglot (that is a joke) :).

Also, I have learned that we are not that different from one another. Even with cultural differences, we all have similar struggles, hopes, ideas, and dreams. I have met people who fight illnesses and people who have daily struggles with identity, sexuality, race, and more. Listening to their stories has made me much more empathetic.

I have experienced some pain and sadness as well, but I have found that all of it was worthwhile because of the lessons I learned. Second Life has taught me that we are all humans and that we all make mistakes. It has also taught me that we should learn to forgive others as well as ourselves.

Check out her Flickr.

Photograph by Thea.

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Myf McMahon With over ten years on the Grid, Myf McMahon has done a lot of things. You don’t need to see the list, you can probably guess most of it. These days, if she’s not shopping or loitering, she can be found taking photographs, or attending to the Kino Haus, a small cinema she uses to inflict her love of film upon the world.

What did Second Life teach me? Okay, right off the bat I have a bone to pick with this question. Not yet though. I’ll get to that but I’ll do some answering first.

To start with the boring stuff, it’s taught me (or more correctly, given me reason to learn) a lot of small skills I’d otherwise have no reason to pick up. I know a bit of my way around Blender, of Sketchup and Daz3d.

I’m fairly familiar with Gimp, with PaintDOTNet, with Handbrake and a whole host of apps I use in prepping films for playback. None of these skill sets would have been of much use without my Second Life activities driving the desire to learn.

More importantly, it’s expanded my horizons. I’ve met and become friends with people from all around the world, from many different backgrounds and walks of life. I’ve gained insights and perspectives from people with lives very different to my own. That includes sometimes learning to check my privilege on issues and questions I’d have otherwise never considered.

And at this point, I want to return to my issue with the question. Yes, it’s a nitpick but it’s an important one and the crux of my argument. “What did Second Life teach me?” “Teach me?” I haven’t stopped learning from Second Life. From the moment I first rezzed, to this moment right now, I’m always learning something and I expect this trend to follow until the day I (or, Linden Lab) move on. You see as far as I’m concerned, the operative word in Second Life is “Life.” This here thing is part of what I do, part of who I am. It’s part of my life and constantly learning is what life is. I’ll stop learning from Second Life the day it stops being a part of what I do.

Check out her Flickr and The Kino Haus in-world.

Photograph by Myf McMahon.

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La Mo La Mouette has been in Second Life for ten years. She has tried a little bit of everything, including building until mesh came along and forced her to reconsider her talents. She turned to photography, thinking it was simpler ... but discovered she was wrong. She envies the technique of those whose renderings are perfect. For her, though, she emphasizes the emotional affect of a photo over the graphic technique.

SL me donne l’opportunité de transcrire mes émotions, mes humeurs, le mouvement de mes sentiments comme dans un poème. Les couleurs, le flou et les nuances dessinent les contours de mon âme.

SL est à la limite fragile entre “irréalisme critique” et réalité. On y frôle le tangible sans jamais pouvoir le saisir. C’est de cet espace

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que se crée le rêve ou le cauchem

Celui qui chercherait à concrétise s’abimer dans la frustration, celu cet horizon inaccessible pourrait d’inspiration.

SL m’a appris que la splendeur d inaccessibilité In English:

SL gives me the opportunity to c moods, the movement of my fee the blur and the shades draw the

ouette

mar.

er absolument ce rêve pourrait ui qui saurait se satisfaire de t y trouver une source infinie

des chimères réside dans leur

communicate my emotions, my elings as in a poem. The colors, e outlines of my soul.

SL is on a fragile border between surrealism and realism. It makes it possible to brush the tangible without ever being able to grasp it.

It is from this gap that magic or nightmare is created. The one who wants to seize the elusive will sink into frustration, the one who will satisfy himself with this unreachable horizon will find an infinite source of inspiration.

SL has taught me that the beauty of a chimera lies in its inaccessibility.

Check out her Flickr.

Photograph by La Mouette.

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Ni Avril Ni Avril was born in September 2010, she is a photographer and creator.

She spends most of her time either taking pictures or creating poses and shapes for her store, L y r i u m. Most of her work is posted on her Flickr, for anyone interested to see.

You can say whatever lesson life did not teach me, Second Life has fixed that.

Second Life has helped me discover sides to myself that I would not have discovered otherwise. As a person, I have grown mentally, and It has helped me realise that I am stronger than I thought, while all along I’ve learned how to control my temper, step up for myself and that it is okay to most importantly, love myself.

I’ve learned that vulnerability is not a weakness. Being vulnerable is the only way to develop deep and meaningful friendships and relationships with others. It’s how we bond and get close, both in real and SL. However, no one had prepared me for the deceiving and hurtful things people behind a screen can do, trust was sometimes my biggest mistake, learning to stop being so naïve was one Page 182 | ECLIPSE May 2017

of the hardest lessons for me. Nevertheless, to trust people has also been one of the greatest things I could have done because, without it, I wouldn’t have had the chance to get to know some of the best people I’ve ever met, while some of them are no longer part of my life, a few of them are still, and have been for over 6 years, a great part of my real and Second Life.

You can say “life is not a sea full of roses” as we express in Portuguese, but let’s try to make the best of it, shall we?

Anyhow, I knew that I was creative, in the real-life, everyone has a potential or at least can paint and draw to a certain extent, right?

That’s what I thought, so I discovered how creative I can be in Second Life.

It brought me a certain kind of distraction and joy to be able to express myself through a virtual life. The pictures I created using Photoshop, the avatar looks and styles, and simply how to be productive. Second Life has taught me new ways of being independent and to rely on myself.

Check out her Flickr and Marketplace.

Photograph by Ni Avril.

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Kake Broek By manipulating the viewer to create confusion, Kake Broek (°2007, Disorientation Island) tries to create works in which the actual event still has to take place or just has ended: moments evocative of atmosphere and suspense that are not part of a narrative thread. The drama unfolds elsewhere while the build-up of tension is frozen to become the memory of an event that will never take place. Again and again, he leaves us orphaned with a mix of conflicting feelings and thoughts.

Oh gosh, What did I learned on the grid!?

Well, I never even considered it and at first this unexpected existential question overwhelmed me, because, indeed, I suddenly realized that unfortunately for my part, the conclusion was that I didn’t learn anything which I did not know already. Yeah, yeah, long time ago someone professed “I know one thing, that I know nothing” or something like that, so faced with this appalling situation of my own Socratic emptiness, rolling up my sleeves I mused to find a way to reply. Then I said to myself: “Dear Kake, the time has come to learn new skills and expand on existing strengths! So, get up and boogie, Babe, move your cheeks and the rest will follow. Right Now!” And so, following a long period of reflection and other freudian introspections, my decision has been made about something that I’ll never do other than in a metaverse context, so I decided to learn cheerleading dance moves. And thus, wearing my best dashing platinum blonde wig, I hitted the road to Cheertopia “SLCS” Second Life Cheerleading Squad school (http://www.slcheerleadingsquad.com/), with a “go, team, go!” state of mind. And so sincerely, it was such a great experience I do not regret, dancing together with all that beautiful, but also intelligent, spirited, professional, and funny sexy young virtual bimbos! What an exciting serious game it is! Enjoying the way the moves feel in my pixelated body, my back arched and my butt up in the air, my Bento boobies and my toes creating some imaginary X-shapes, that was a fantastic and learning experience for me! Chanting all together “Get Out Of Your Head, Get Into Your Hips!”, yelling “SIS, SIS, SIS! BOOM, BOOM, BOOM! Aaaaah!”, shaking my glittering pom-poms all out at full speed, Page 184 | ECLIPSE May 2017

dancing to loud martial techno music and making my (242,19,19) red Itsy-bitsy teenyweeny miniskort twirling like a Houston coast guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter over a Soffe short on fire! Believe it or not but it was a real virtual and edifying revelation, you can’t imagine how much I felt pretty and spicy for the first time in all my lifes, clapping loud and splitting my silky smooth legs in the same way as a pair of electric scissors on bath salts trip. Overall, I understood that, beyond the body language aspect, there are a lot of interesting things that we can learn from cheerleading activity. For example, did you know that a good cheerleader needs to be smiling even when the team is losing, always keeping the grin intact. That good cheerleader’s moves are always tight and rigid, When she’s clapping, arms should be in front of face (about lip or nose height) and should not go past shoulders on the release. That an “Attack The Crowd” is a technique used to get the audience involved in a cheer, dance or song. This might mean cheering with a bit more enthusiasm or giving the crowd the “raise the roof” sign.

Shrewd, isn’t it? And about “V Motion”, that’s a cheerleading motion where both arms are up forming a V. Thumb side of fists faces the crowd. Ya know, while people debate whether or not cheerleading is a sport, it should be known that is a real metaphysical dimension associated with cheerleading symbolic maneuvers, jumps, stunts and pyramids, and it is certainly not just for pretty snobs and pseudo intellectual goddess as some people use to say.

Yes, definitely I learned that being a cheerleader gives you a respectful personality and people see you better. It also opens new opportunities like making lots of QB friends or drinking discounted Diet Coke. But above all, it’s a great school of life, spreading good cheer all around, which teaches about discipline and rigour, honor and incidentally about line depilation too. “The world keeps spinning and your song keeps playing, so you have to keep cheering!”, was the squad lesson of the day that I’ll keep forever in mind.

Check out his Flickr and Kake Broek Retrospective exhibition at Gallery Fermate.

Photograph by Kake Broek.

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DeeDee Deepdene DeeDee Deepdene is a pose creator and photographer with over ten years of ‘practice’ in SL. Cindy Sherman once said “I feel I’m anonymous in my work. When I look at the pictures, I never see myself; they aren’t selfportraits. Sometimes I disappear.” Whilst I don’t claim to be any Cindy Sherman, I have total affinity with her point of view given that I have been both subject and photographer for thousands of shots now. Losing myself in my images as I tend to do these days is a most pleasurable creative experience.

My pose store DeePosed, has been around since 2007 as an offshoot to my image creation.

I create all my own sets, hair is positioned strand by strand and do most of the lighting, shadowing, atmospherics inworld. Poses have been created to suit what I originally had in mind for the image. Although I’m using photoshop a little more than I used to do to embellish the result for the most part the main work in done right in SL with many pieces taking as long as 5 or 6 hours from start to finish.

Thanks for reading this far and please check out my store and flickr stream.

It’s strange, but the question reads as finite, almost as though SL has no more to offer or has closed its doors for good, perish the thought. For me SL continues to give and feed my curiosity. I’m over ten years and counting into my little voyage here, and although apparently wiser with a few virtual wrinkles I am still as inspired as when I squinted my eyes and first stood back to look at my monitor after taking snapshot 001. SL always has so much more to explore when you scratch beneath the surface which has always levitated my attention span long enough to keep me from nose-diving into my cappuccino.

To investigate further I’ve had to get a little nerdier to the detriment of those dear to me and whilst I try not to inflict them with too much pain. the complexities of the learning process of all ancillary resources and software tools to fuel, flower and fluoresce my SL experience has been equally burdened between us.

Therefore, to try and start to answer the question posed, I wish that I could say something a little more outstanding, amazing or uplifting. Perhaps about how SL has cleansed my soul, lead me along the path to Page 186 | ECLIPSE May 2017

cure all known diseases or save the whales, but frankly that’s hogwash and hooey and why I also don’t indulge in stirring life mantras or profound quotations that some people feel obliged to leave on their profiles. I’m afraid that my answer is more pragmatic in its nature.

(Please Yawn now!)

As a child, I drew a lot and was an avid doodler.

Mostly upon walls, and then the furniture and possibly my Grandfather whilst he slept in his chair. I was kind of arty at school and moved onto art college but lacking direction and slightly confused I dropped out. My career before SL was uncreative, uninspiring and unfulfilling. My little creative streak had long been suppressed. Firstly and foremost, and lastly and ‘lastmost’ (c’mon spellcheck it’s a proper word that I just made up don’t do the squiggly underliney thing) SL quickly became my creative canvas that remains a large part of me today. Once through the miasma of dancing camping newness and walking around the grid in just my underwear I cleared my friends list, locked all the doors put the do not disturb sign on the handle and discovered the self-indulgent joy of trying to create images. Along with this came the challenge of set building, lighting, shadowing and posing to name a few and overcoming any other obstacles thrown at me along the way.

“I wonder how I can do this?” is a question that SL has made ask time and time again.

As a direct result of the learning curve that SL has slung me around I began to bring some of the skills gained to other real life creative scenarios through photography and art, which has meant a change of career and meandering into avenues of life vastly challenging and far flung from my position a decade ago.

“That’s life!” you may say, but directly and indirectly without SL I am kind of sure that I would not be where I am now, and that is a very good place I might add. So, what has SL taught me? Life changing skills, a love of art and design, new careers amongst others.

This attribution is undoubtedly diluted with my own will to succeed but I doubt that my little artistic “Eureka!” moment would not have occurred had I had never experienced SL. Check out her Flickr and store in-world and on Marketplace.

Photograph by DeeDee Deepdene.

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Christa Thespian Christa Thespian came to Second Life almost 9 years ago. She’s been known to be an avid roleplayer in the Harry Potter world. In fact, it is there she met her loving Second Life Husband whom she now lives with in real life. They met through a Harry Potter roleplay sim and have been together for almost 5 years which is a long time for any Second Life couple. She also has two loving children that she adores and couldn’t imagine her Second Life without them. On the off chance that you can catch her she DJs at Blithe and is the Blogger/Store Manager for ChiMia. Stores she blogs for: ChiMia, *~*HopScotch*~*, .::Sweet Little Things::., and Ducknipple I believe being on Second Life has taught me a lot, how to try and stay away from drama as best possible. How not to let the little things get to me, or how I have met the love of my life. Though I think the real thing that Second Life has taught me has been how to come out of my shell some more. I was, and still am, a horribly shy person. It was so bad that when I needed help in a store my mom would have to ask for me, be it getting something down from a shelf or even asking for a fitting room at a clothing store.

When I found Second Life, I knew it would be a good outlet for me mainly because I could do things that I normally wouldn’t dream of doing or ever had the courage to do. It’s helped me be more confident in myself and have the courage I needed to go up to salepeople or employees when I need help and ask for help now. True,I am still shy but it’s not as bad as it was. I think had not I not been in Second Life I would still be that shy sad girl that would still need someone else to ask for help for her, but now I’m happier.

I will admit that even though Second Life has taught me that, it’s still intimidating in a lot of ways to go up to people and try

and introduce myself and be as outgoing as I know I am capable of being. However when I am in Second Life I don’t need to worry about that except when I’m on an unfamiliar sim with lots of people standing around. I do get shy and I have horrible social anxiety so that I often find myself leaving the party early and thinking no one would notice or care. I know that sounds sad but I’ve actually always been that way and I overcome it most times which I think is something else that Second Life taught me. I think stepping out of my comfort zone is a huge thing that I’ve been taught by Second Life, especially being as shy as I was.

The one thing majorly that has helped me overcome my shyness and my social anxiety is when I DJ or when I’m a camp counselor.

Being a camp counselor was scary and I was super shy at my first camp, but as I went on to another camp I got more comfortable and I got over my shyness. The same with being a DJ I was so super nervous for my very first set I was scared that no one would show up or that no one would like my music, but I overcame that as well I pushed through that anxiety and shyness and now I think I’m better for it.

So I feel that what Second Life has taught me, how to overcome something as huge as shyness is a major thing for me. I really appreciate how much better my first life has been thanks to my Second Life. It’s been hard to get over my shyness and I never thought it would happen but since Second Life has changed such a huge part of my first life I feel much better in my day-to-day life. As corny as it sounds I do thank Second Life for everything that has happened to me in the past almost 9 years I’ve been rezzed in.

Check out her Flickr and Blog.

Photograph by Christa Thespian.

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THE adventures o

written by miele tarantal. photography by miele

“The Adventures of...” is a monthly feature by Miele Tarantal showcasing some of the most aesthetic places in Second Life®.

Visit Le Sixieme Sens and experience Tuscany, a land of romance and visual poetry. Designed by Yeiyaiel and Natacha Haroldsen, this gorgeous sim offers many picturesque opportunities for photography.

“Delightful Tuscan romantic feeling and peace all around, breathe... You are in love.”

of...

e tarantal.

Visit Le Sixieme Sens in-world.

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www.penumbra-eclipse.com