Welcome to the November 2020 issue of Kultivate Magazine! I am coming off a great Thanksgiving this year, despite the coronavirus and I hope that you and your family in both worlds had a great Thanksgiving as well! This issue features artist & musician Suzen Juel, The Let It Snow! Sim, the new game Squee!, family locations photo essay, an update on the Linden Labs transition to cloud servers, a photo essay on the Aqua Breeze sim, 1920’s Birmingham 3D exhibition, the Travel and Present exhibition, the first SLEA grant recipients, Coiottolina Xue's Bots and Blossoms exhibition sim, and another “riddle me this� photo essay. While the pandemic rages on, we hope that you and your loved ones in both world s have demonstrated how thankful you are for their love and support. We can only hope that tin times like these, companionship can see us through the darkest of times. There are many things to be thankful for of course: ones health, family, friends, and strength to make it through these dark days that seem to be never ending. I am very thankful for both my real life children, family, and friends, as well as my SL friends. I am also very thankful to have the love and support of my beautiful other half, Tempest. Without her on some days, life would not be the same and I love her to bits! Tempest and I hope that you enjoy the issue and would like to thank the many artists, galleries, advertisers, friends, and family members who support us at Kultivate! We appreciate all of you tremendously! Sincerely, John, Owner & Publisher of Kultivate Magazine
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
KULTIVATE MAGAZINE—NOVEMBER 2020 CREDITS
Johannes Huntsman, Owner & Founder
Tempest Rosca Huntsman, Photographer Liaison Veruca Tammas, Gallery & Sim Manager Jessii Warrhol, Marketing Manager CONTRIBUTORS: Inara Pey, Lead Contributor Johannes Huntsman Tempest Rosca Huntsman Grace Sixpence Veruca Tammas Ricco Saenz COVER PHOTOGRAPHY: Suzen Juel
FEATURED ARTICLE: SUZEN JUEL PAGE 42
INSIDE LOOK: LET IT SNOW! 2020 PAGE 72
GAMING SPOTLIGHT: SQUEE! PAGE 90
TRAVELS WITH TEMPEST PAGE 102
SECOND LIFE: CLOUD PAGE 120
AQUA BREEZE PHOTO ESSAY PAGE 132
NOVEMBER 2020 - TABLE OF CONTENTS
1920’S BIRMINGHAM 3D EXHIBITION PAGE 148
TRAVEL & PRESENT EXHIBITION PAGE 164
SLEA’S FIRST GRANTS
PAGE 180
COIOTTOLINA XUE'S BOTS AND BLOSSOM
PAGE 192
RIDDLE ME THIS PAGE 210
FEATURED ARTIC
ARTICLE: JOHAN
PHOTOGRAPH
CLE: SUZEN JUEL
NNES HUNTSMAN
HY: SUZEN JUEL
I
am fortunate to know Suzen Juel as one of the
talented musicians at Kultivate Music Management! In addition to performing live music, Suzen is also a very talented artist! I was able to sit down with Suzen to discuss art and more!
JOHN: So tell us about yourself. How did you first discover Second Life? SUZEN: A friend and I played TSO for quite awhile and in 2004 he mentioned Second Life and thought I'd like it...So in 2004 I joined...didn't like it, quit and several months later (in 2005) I received a message from another SL player who mentioned Live Music on the grid....so I joined again in 2005 to hop into the music community and shortly after...the art started coming into focus as well.
JOHN: And what made you pursue art in Second Life?
SUZEN: Because I can. Really...I had no idea it was possible...didn't really even consider anything 'art' to be anything serious! I was coaxed a bit into presenting my art, and I can thank Filthy Fluno and Cylindrian Rutabaga for that (Jeff Lipsky in RL...Fantastic Artist) .. Cylindrian saw my art in SL and wanted it for a texture on a lamp. I thought she was NUTS and after meeting Filthy in SL it just went from there, from the wonderful artist housing in SL that he had along with an eclectic group of other artists.
JOHN: I noticed that you are a real life artist. Have you exhibited in real life? SUZEN: I certainly have. Minneapolis at various expos, art crawls, coffee shops ... I hope to be doing that again soon!
JOHN: Tell us about your art style. What influences your art? SUZEN: Sadness, pain, hurt, love, regret, curiosity, broken hearts, anger (because anger is really hurt)...empathy to what is around me, sometimes
they just need to release all that 'fizz' inside. I vessel, although our approaches may be very doubt I'm the only one, has break my heart so different. I can write a song about you JOHN: You are also a musician, does your music influence your art and vice versa? JOHN: Do you create any artwork that is SUZEN : Interesting question, John. They often based in Second Life? go hand in hand ... however, not necessarily SUZEN: Yes! I'm always trying new things and I the hands of the same body. Music and Art certainly have SO MANY new things to try, still! are a form of expression for me, not a 'thing' I Uploading my real world paintings into SL gives Do for anyone...or someone...there just aren't me the ability to merge them with some other ways to express some things. transparency to create something new. There's so many tools in SL to create new art Music expresses with little words and Art out of our current art...so much we can add to expresses with what words don't have homes for....the colors, the flow, the textures are all it. another form of expression. JOHN: What are some new and upcoming projects you are currently working on?
There have been several times that a song I've written inspires the painting or creating that I do.
SUZEN: I'm working with the Charge Syndrome Sim doing 'Region Design' for events they JOHN: Do you have any upcoming exhibitions have. Also, keep your eye on the SLEA in Second Life? If so where? blog...until then I've been instructed to be hush hush, sorry. SUZEN: Altered. Duvall Street Pub. (After Dark SL) these aren't exhibitions, they simply have JOHN: Do you have any tips for new artists? some of my art up, except for Altered Art Lounge, that's my tiny gallery to play in and SUZEN: Art is 1 thing, yours. The rest is up to show the RL works that I do. I'm also you to show it, share it or keep it to yourself. designing and theming a sim for Charge Art IS expression, never doubt your self Syndrome, in SL. It is only 1 of 4 Linden Lab expression. Never concern yourself with approved Charities in SL, completely LL vetted. others opinions, know that and trust that you KM expressed something only you can VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU TO SUZEN FOR THE express....the rest isn't up to you, it's truly in INTERVIEW, SHE LEFT THE FOLLOWING the eye of the beholder. Oh, and by all means....RELISH your experiences, bad, good, STATEMNET FOR EVERYONE: I LOVE SL photography and really enjoy posting things sour, disgusting, blissful, and express that. I'm working on, landscapes, the process of After all, it IS your built in therapy. creating with region design etc.... FLICKR https://www.flickr.com/photos/suzenjuel/ JOHN: Who are your favorite artists in real life? SUZEN: Pablo Picasso, his colors, his expression...LOVE his art! 'Monet' ... t he haze of his failing eyes certainly made for some amazing art. I really love the art of "Noma Falta" (Vallery in RL) her art is like licking all the candy in a coloring box of expression. Gayle Christopherson .. Bold and Wonderful...I think her and I tend to flow down the same
INSIDE LOOK: LET IT SNO
ARTICLE & PHOTOG
OW! 2020 IN SECOND LIFE
GRAPHY: INARA PEY
W
ith winter on our doorstep, Milly Sharple has
once again opened her annual Let It Snow! winter / Christmas themed region for Second Life residents to enjoy, and Caitlyn and I once again received an invitation – although I’m still playing a lot of catch-up on general blogging due to the physical world occupying a lot of my time at the moment, so it has taken me a fair few days to get to the point of writing about it. I’ve actually been covering Let It Snow! on an annual basis since 2014, only stopping during the years Milly took a break from presenting the region, and have always enjoyed our little pilgrimages to see what seasonal delights Milly has served up – as an artist, she has an eye for framing photogenic series of vignettes across her chosen region, often with touches of whimsy design to bring smiles to the faces of those visiting. A visit to the region starts on the north side, where a little village square awaits arrivals, a pavilion offering the warmth of an open fire, a gazebo a place for dancing and, for those seeking something a little warmer, a cozy cottage. Overlooked on one side by a large and warmly-furnished house atop a rocky table, the village is a short walk to a frozen pond ready for ice skaters. Cut by channels of frozen water spanned by bridges, this year’s Let It Snow! follows Milly’s previous iterations of the region by presenting within its snowcovered landscape a series of interlinked vignettes and scenes, each of which stands on its own whilst also being linked to the rest of the region. To describe all of these settings here would be to spoil the opportunity for exploration and discovery, but there are various points within the region I found particularly attractive. Chief among these is the manner in which Milly has combined The Chapel Ruins from The Looking Glass with pieces by Paco Pooley and Krystali Rabeni to create the site of a ruined chapel, complete with a stained glass window by Milly as a romantic setting with an ethereal edge to it. Whimsy is added here and there, as with previous designs – such as the snowball-throwing snowman lurking under a tree, while seasonal touches come in the form of the decorations adorning the rooms of the
large house, the lights hanging on the trees around the skating rink and so on. As well as ice skating, the region offers signs where sleds can be rezzed, plenty of opportunities for dancing, and even the opportunity to play chess with a companion. The best way to explore the region is to go where your feet will take you – there are no formal paths (just steps to get up to and down from he raised portions of the landscape). However, when visiting I do recommend you use the region’s environment settings to appreciate I to the fullest – and the sky dome Milly has placed over it – to the fullest. With plenty to see and do, and with lots of opportunities for photography, 2020’s let It Snow is as captivating to the eye as past iterations, and more than worth the time taken in a visit. KM YOU CAN VISIT LET IT SNOW! AT THE FOLLOWING SLURL: http:// maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/ Peace%20Angel/131/200/26
•
GAMING SPOTL
ARTICLE & PHOTOGRAP
LIGHT: SQUEE!
PHY: VERUCA TAMMAS
G
ames and gaming are popular in SL and I
recently had the opportunity to speak with Azimuth Somme, the creator of a game called Squee. Azimuth has been a resident of SL for almost 15 years and joined at a very early age. I sat down with Azimuth so he could teach me how to play the game (I’m rubbish at SL table games) and found the game very easy to use and well designed. There are some cool sound and particle effects when you play the game and the base table texture can be changed or even customized. I easily picked up the rules within about 5 minutes and actually won a round (not bad for someone who still can’t understand how to play Greedy)
him to create a game based on the RL one and so Squee was born. It took about 3-4 weeks to create the game and work out the details. It’s a fun game to play as teams or individuals. The player is dealt a series of cards and tokens which they place on the board trying to create a sequence connecting 5 tokens of the same color. The opponent attempts to block them sort of like tic tac toe. The game can accommodate up to 9 players or 3 team mode. Four people playing as a two person team is the most fun.
What are challenges to creating games in SL? Fighting SL script limitations. Marketing the games and getting the word out to the SL community. I’ve gone to a few places to give out sets for free and I’m available to help customers with instructions. One place the game can be played is at Club QQ TNT What made you create a game in SL? http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/ I like playing games in general and joined SL so I Tangna/175/181/74 could create games in a virtual world. I wanted to create a game that people would like to What are you working on next? play. I tried other platforms but taught myself I’m working on two more games. One is a battle programming while in SL and have subsequently game based on the RL Magic card game and the taken programming courses in RL but learned other is an asymmetrical game with detectives the basics form SL. When I first joined SL I trying to hunt down a criminal as the suspect would tweak scripts for guns and motorcycles so evades them and they all move around the map I could shoot faster and drive faster. in pursuit. KM What games have you created? My first game was a miniature tank game which was totally created solely for SL called Tank City. Squee is the latest game which is based on a RL game called Sequence. A friend wanted
TRAVELS WITH TEMPEST PHOT
PHOTOGRAPHY: TEMPE
TO ESSAY: FAMILY LOCATIONS
EST ROSCA HUNTSMAN
SECOND LIFE UPDATE: LL CONFIRMS SE
ARTICLE & PHOTOG
ECOND LIFE REGIONS NOW ALL ON AWS
GRAPHY: INARA PEY
channels (RC channels) and then, in the last couple of weeks, the bulk of the regions as they sit on the SLS “Main” channel. While there have been hiccups along the way – n Thursday, November 19th, and after most notably with teleport problems and group several months of very hard work in order to chat / IM failures, together with some performance degradation in other areas – on manage things in an orderly and as nonthe whole, the entire transition of the grid has disruptive manner as possible, the last been remarkably smooth and problem-free. remaining regions on the Agni (the Second Life main grid) were successfully transitioned However, this does not mean all of the work is over to running on Amazon Web Services over: as LL would only be quick to point out (AWS), thus placing the entire grid “in the themselves, there are still a number of back-end cloud”. The announcement can first via Twitter, and systems to transition to AWS, and after that, there will inevitably be a period of “bedding in” from April Linden, the Lab’s Systems everything to get things running, before work Engineering Manager, Operations, who can start on the “fine tuning” of all the various announced: services. (there are also some regions still running in the Lab’s colocation facility in Arizona to help people with workarounds for specific issues, but these are perhaps just a handful, including a couple of public regions – Debug1 and Debug2.) .
O
Nevertheless, this is a huge achievement, and marks a hugely significant The Lab actually started transitioning regions milestone in what has thus far been around a 3several weeks ago, and without fanfare, first year project to get all of Second Life safely moving a number of regions only accessible to transitioned over to AWS, so congratulations to Linden personnel, and they carefully widening all of those at the Lab who have been working things to include selected public regions on the very hard to make this happen, and without Mainland, and – subject to the estate owners causing KM initially keeping quiet as well – private regions that experience assorted loads. These initial transitions were more about testing certain aspects of simulator operations, rather than marking the outright start of any region migration process; the Lab wanted to gather data on simulator / region performance on AWS and investigate how simulators with a wide mix of avatar / content loads behaved. However, these initial moves quickly gave April and her team, the QA team under Mazidox Linden and the simulator development team, the confidence to start broadening the “uplift” process further, extending things first to the simulator release candidate deployment
AQUA BREEZE
PHOTOGRAPH
PHOTO ESSAY
HY: INARA PEY
3D ART EXHIBITION SPOTLIGHT: A TOUCH
ARTICLE & PHOTOG
H OF 1920S BIRMINGHAM IN SECOND LIFE
GRAPHY: INARA PEY
E
ngland’s Birmingham City may at first glance
appear to be an odd choice for a parcel theme; the city today is typical of modern conurbations and to those from beyond its borders perhaps seemingly unremarkable and famous only for a particular motorway / trunk road interchange. However, the city has a long and notable history, one that dates back to at least Anglo-Saxon times as the settlement for a local clan from which its name is derived – Beormingas (“Beorma’s People”), although whether or not Beorma was an actual clan leader or a mythical character associated with the people who settled there isn’t actually known. As a center of commerce, the city flourished from around the mid-1500s, which in turn gave rise to a certain level of wealth flowing into it, such that by the mid 18th-century, it was the center of the Midlands Enlightenment that allowed Birmingham become a center of literary, musical, artistic and theatrical activity and, as a result of that, a major driving force behind Britain’s industrial revolution. However, for their VOIR Gallery parcel build, Simone (SimoneFiore) and Frenchy25, have selected the Birmingham of the 1920s as a founding theme. This was the era of the Birmingham Boys, a notorious gang who controlled horse race betting across the majority of England in thrall. Occupying 1/8th of a full region, the parcel packs a lot into it without ever feeling overcrowded. Sitting on a sky platform, it offers the aforementioned steam train (admittedly of American design, but that’s the nature of SL when it comes to available content) and canal. Large commercial buildings (including the façade of the parcel surround) mix with rows of (oddly flat-topped) worker’s houses. To be honest, I’m not really clear how the Birmingham boys fit into the setting as noted; in walking the parcel, I didn’t see any overt signs of their activities (betting shops, etc.), and as a result, did find myself wondering if the reference
may be the result of the TV series peaky Blinders, which offered a fictionalized glimpse of a least one of the founding members of the gang. However, influences don’t really matter here, as there is much to commend the location to photographers, both outdoors and in (notably the pub and warehouse converted to a blues club). Given this is a gallery space, the art with the parcel can be found discretely parked along two of the façade walls, one of which is occupied by images by Lula (Lulalali) and the other by images by Ness(?) Several of the pieces deal with adult themes, so may be considerer NSFW. In addition, one of the warehouse building looks as if it in the process of being readied as a gallery space, so more art may be added in due course. KM You can visit 1920’s Birmingham at the following slurl: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/ Fireball/47/64/3302
ART EXHIBITIONSPOTLIGHT: TRA
ARTICLE & PHOTOG
AVEL & PRESENT IN SECOND LIFE
GRAPHY: INARA PEY
O
wl Dragonash has been a long-term patron of
the arts in Second Life. She has supported artists through her curation of multiple art spaces, including most recently her own Hoot Suite Gallery, and she has done much to promote live music in Second Life, as well a providing huge support for a range of arts groups and locations in -world. Owl has also been a keen SL traveler and blogger over the years, capturing regions, parcels, arts events and more. Over the years, it’s been my pleasure and privilege to come to know her and to experience first-hand her support, so it is will a genuine sense of pleasure that I hope I can help turn the spotlight on Owl’s own work as a Second Life photographer and recorder of places to visit and appreciate through her new exhibition that is open through until December 2020, Travel Past & Present, which can be enjoyed at the Bare Rose Art Gallery. This is a small exhibition that offers 10 of Owl’s pieces to appreciate, making it a cozy visit, despite the relative size of the gallery building. Taken within some of SL’s most popular public regions – some still available today, other now passed into the mists of time – these are pieces that offer us an engaging view of Second Life through Owl’s Eyes. All ten are wonderful pieces, bearing a light touch of post-processing for a little added depth without in any way being over-bearing. Several of them have been rendered in the yellows of a late afternoon sky which not only bathes them in a warming glow, but also offers a natural reflection of Owl’s own warm nature. Even those that offer a sense of colder air – Elvion Crane for example – or are presented in darker tones – such as Stones at Sarawak – have an unmissable warmth to them. A small exhibition this may be, but it is nevertheless rich and color and personality both in terms of the images and the artist. As such, Travel Past & Present is a rewarding exhibition well worth visiting.
You can visit Owl’s new exhibition at the following slurl: http://maps.secondlife.com/ secondlife/Bare%20Rose/247/19/30
SECOND LIFE: SLE
ARTICLE: & PHOTOG
EA FIRST GRANTS
GRAPHY: INARA PEY
UPON THE INITIAL REVIEW IT WAS REALIZED n Friday, November 2020, the Second Life THAT A GRADING SYSTEM WAS NOT NECESSARY AS EACH ESSAY WAS CLEAR, CONCISE AND VERY Endowment for the Arts (SLEA) announced the DETAILED AND EQUALLY BEFITTING OF A first group of artists who have been awarded GRANT. AS THE PROCESS CONTINUED, IT WAS grants to use the new SLEA art facilities in the NOTED THAT A VERY INTERESTING PATTERN first six months of 2021. WAS EVOLVING. OUT OF 19 APPLICATIONS NOONE REQUESTED A ONE MONTH GRANT WHICH As I reported in September this year, the SLEA MADE THAT REGION FLEXIBLE FOR A LONGER is the successor to the former Linden PERIOD. THE MAJORITY OF REQUESTS WERE Endowment for the Arts, which ran from 20091 MADE FOR 1/4 REGIONS, 8 TO BE EXACT. through until 2019, when the user committee IT WAS AT THIS POINT AS COORDINATOR OF responsible for running it decided to close it SLEA, I MADE WHAT I BELIEVE TO BE A VERY down. At the time of the closure BALANCED, MINDFUL DECISION TO FILL THE announcement, moves were initiated to try to FIRST 6 MONTHS FROM JANUARY 1, 2021 keep the LEA afloat, which transitioned into THROUGH JUNE 30, 2021 GIVING EACH OF THE discussions with Linden Lab to develop a APPLICANTS THE CHANCE TO SHOW US THEIR successor – the Second Life Endowments for the ORIGINAL CREATIONS TO BE ON DISPLAY FOR Arts. OTHERS TO ENJOY, APPRECIATE, BE INSPIRED, LEARN FROM AND MOST OF ALL REPRESENT Operating on a smaller scale than the original THE ARTS. LEA, offering an initial group of five regions for art installations: four for region-wide In addition to the awarding of the first grants, installations and one offering quarter-region art Tansee has announced that the SLEA regions spaces, all of which are supported by a central will officially open to the public on New Year’s hub and a sandbox. Grants for the use of the Eve, December 31st, 2020, with a special spaces run for between one to six months in “ribbon cutting” event that will include duration. fireworks and particle display, held
O
simultaneously across five regions together with The first set of artists selected for the opening live music, DJ’s, and dancing. round of installations are as per the table below, There will also be a special SLEA Grand Opening and include artists who will be also be on Sunday, January 24th, 2021, featuring a presenting on the core SLEA region (“Region 7”) special 24-hour Celebration of the Arts. Any – presumably using the SLEA theatre or the Art artists wishing to participate in this event Challenge space. should contact Tansee . Congrats to all of the Commenting on the selection, Tansee Trillium participating artists. KM stated: RATHER THAN FILLING OUT A SPECIFIC FORM TO APPLY FOR A GRANT, SLEA REQUESTED THE ARTIST RESPOND IN HIS OR HER OWN WORDS THE CONCEPT OF THE SUBMISSION.
SCENIC LOCATIONS: CIOTTOLINA XUE’S BOTS
ARTICLE & PHOTOGRA
S AND BLOSSOMS SPREAD HOPE AT ‘THE 22’
APHY: RICCO SAENZ
O
f Bots and Blossoms is the new exhibition
by Ciottolina Xue that opens today, November 14, at The 22 art space in Bellisseria. It combines two different sets of virtual sculptures by the artist. In one set, it shows robots in scenes that may be, at the same time, somewhat funny and poetic. The other part is presented as a garden in which blossoms are associated with a symbolic field that encompasses the ideas of birth and motherhood. The exhibition was conceived as a way to integrate sculptures with the surrounding environment without, at the same time, taking the focus out of Ciottolina Xue’s pieces. In order to do so, Randy and I chose another house model for the gallery, different from the one that was used for the past exhibition. The model that we are using now allowed us to play with both the space inside the building and the surrounding area. We also opted for being extremely economic about the use of props – after all, attention is on the sculptures. So, inside the house, integration relies mostly on colors and on the positioning of the works, placed by Ciottolina herself. Outdoors, Randy and I built a garden that mingles the artist’s pieces with plants and flowers which help to build an atmosphere meant to enhance the effect of each sculpture without being excessive.
Ciottolina’s robots are shown either performing mundane human activities (such as painting or reading) or in some surprising scenes (interacting with a flying fish, for example). In any case, they can refer to us in our daily routines, which includes dreaming, and subvert those routines by replacing people by machines. It is interesting to notice that, in general, the artist’s bots seem happy and, in any case, very expressive. As the observer moves towards the garden, the exhibition turns into a different way to experience joy. The sculptures now relate to birth, care and rearing. They explore a link between blossoms and the idea of nurturing
life. Of Bots and Blossoms runs until February 14, 2021. It is, thus, the way Randy and I chose to celebrate, at The 22, the transition between this year and the next one. That choice is, itself, a message of hope that we’d like to spread. Our wish is the public will be touched by it. KM You can visit Of Bots and Blossoms at the following slurl: https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/ Grenouille/60/33/35
RIDDLE ME THIS PHOTOGRAPHY BY: GRACE SIXPENCE
Ristorante Kandela is the free and self serve restaurant on the Kultivate Sim! This v couples intan so you can enjoy a romantic date out with your loved one! The restau Huntsman a notecard in world with the booking date and time and any other specia 20Haven/95/221/28
venue is decorated in an Italian rustic style and features crooner music and a urant is also available for private events, free of charge. Simply drop Johannes al requests. SLURL: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Water%
KULTIVATE MAGAZINE
VOLUME 5, ISSUE 11 NOVEMBER 2020 WWW.KULTIVATEMAGAZINE.COM