Tuesday 25 December 2012

The Flying Fish : It's X'mas again!

Wants Pressies! Nuuuuuuuu
Isn't it scary some how time seems to just zoom by? Particularly when you are in a time suck like Second Life! In digital land, it is also Chrimbo and D & A were decked in our X'mas finery. Ofcourse D is Pastafarian but kept her pirate regalia at bay for the day. D would like to wish everyone a Happy Chrimbo and if you're digital - that you didn't pig out too much on your festive bytes ;-) or that your memory will never be replete.

Tuesday 18 December 2012

The Lucky Fish : Prize Fishing....

So you didn't get a Panda hat...
Admittedly D is a bit of an SL hoarder and gacha addict...
But they're all so cute! And they come in so many different styles!
And they're transferable! And...

Sway Dench is the maker of many props that have appeared in D's photos over the years and her creations have been part of what D knows of SL. D still fondly remembers her very first Bunny Hop hunt and the prize from Sway was an amazing bird house replete with tweeting bird that was one of D's prized possessions!  X'mas time being the season of good will, D wanted to wish Sway the very best luck for a tough road ahead; besides how can D ever pass up on the chance to show off her latest gacha loot?


So you didn't get a Panda hat...
So you didn't get the Vespertine 'Fawn' chair :
These organic tree glasses come from [KIK] just going to prove
you can still get the look!
So you didn't get a Panda hat...
This cute little rabbit doll  playing with a boiled sweet spoon comes from Naminoke
and is a Spoon for mouth Gacha with several variations and dolls.
The little angel earring comes from  Bliensen + MaiTai on MP for only 10L! 
So you didn't get a Panda hat...
Still, quite a bit of D's gacha horde comes from The Arcade with these birdy glasses
from the Glow Studio gacha . The very cute patchwork  cats are from Nonino
They have a little shop on Sway's land and come as a gacha prize!
So you didn't get a Panda hat...
So you didn't get a Panda hat : This one isn't the MiaMai Rare, but I still adore it!
It's also from Naminoke and a Gacha win! Sway's creations come as gachas too!
Such as the white pig tip jar and the mittens on a string.
The blonde arts and crafts angel is also a Sway design, specially made for Together With Sway 

Saturday 15 December 2012

The Fashion Fish : Leather and Leggings

Finally! Some bright spark has created a mesh system of play wear and come up with this harness that has some cool scripting in it as well as great design; inspiring today's LOTD.


Harness

harness2

harness3

Having a play with different and more surreal environment settings in these as well.

Téide wears 

Body
Skin : Dutch Touch Yri (Fudge)
Shape : {Ps^} Phiona
Eyes : Insufferable Dastards Liquid Eyes (Dark Blue Green)
Hair : Lelutka Trend (Soysauce)

Styling
Leggings + Bustier : Q
Harness : [H]arsh
Boots : Duck Nipple (from Motor Grl)

Kitsch
Necklace : Max Gossamer Love Teddy Bear Bronze (Gacha)

Wednesday 12 December 2012

The Fish Market : Gatcha Madness

Alice in Gatcha Land...
"Alice In Gatcha Land"
" I say Alice, fancy a spot of tea luv?"
"I say Alice, fancy a spot of tea luv?"
These images are part of a series I created from things I got in the DEC round of The Arcade
The Arcade in second life is a seasonal event themed around those salty old seaside games machine halls. In this virtual one, the hall is filled with gatcha machines dispensing all sorts of goodies that seem to get better with each round.

D spent a ridiculous amount feeding these machines for the goodies they cough up in the hopes to stumble upon the one payout of a rare or a model type you'd like. There's a whole trade around Gatcha goodies with yard sales full of other people's Gatcha collection addiction.
D managed to swap out other gatcha things in order to make the above photos. Although D secretly still hopes to chance upon a sleepy eddy UK gatcha bag, her Brit haul this round wasn't too bad too as in the following captures for LOTD London :
London LOTD
"Taxi!"
Photos taken in Mayfair : SLURL : Mayfair
http://secondlife.com/destination/mayfair
Dita wears : Classic Blow-up mini skirt ' Zipped Blue Denim',  Anymore - Sex Pistols Top (White)
*GF* Short Lace Boots [V2], EC Katia Black Nylon, Peppermint Blue Casual Lingerie, MI  Mesh Socks

London LOTD
Dita wears : Standby retro headphones 'London', Teefy cassette radio 'British'
LouLou&Co Bracelet - French Kiss KOSH infinity bracelet
 Page 3 - Heart belly piercing, GB two strand necklace, B&B spirit simple hoop earrings
Sissy Crown (platinum), Pekka crystal lipstick 4, cheLLe (eyeshadow) Sparkle Capt America.
There's an ugly side to this Gatcha madness and that is the increasing number of Gatcha scams going around. What happens is people pretend they have a rare Gatcha by naming an empty box with the rare object title so that it appears to be the article in your inventory. Only when you rez it , it neither contains the rare nor is the object you desire. In exchange you might have already paid the person for it or swapped out a rare of your own.

This business is quite miserable and unfortunately there is not much that can be done about such fraud. So best practice is to trade on rezzable land so you can see what the product is. Get the other person to set it to "buy original"and swap that way. If you think you might give The Arcade a go, here's every wish of good luck to you!

Tuesday 11 December 2012

The Artfish - Relating to that flight

This series in order : Relating to that flight Taken @ Spencer Museum of Art Renee Skin by Glam Affair (from recent Arcade Gatcha) Harpy in Black Swan + Behind the mask by June Dion (Bare Rose) ID. eyes November Gift (Brown) Hair Natum in white (Hair Fair 2012) by [INK] Harpy 1. " Ultimately, it starts with a creep towards the edge ... a peer into the abyss" Relating to that flight... " Sometimes when you jump, you fall..." Relating to that flight... " Sometimes when you fall..." Relating to that flight... "... you fly." Relating to that flight...

Sunday 9 December 2012

The Fashion Fish : Love & Peace


D the fashionista peeks out again with these two  ways of wearing the same dress and style just with two different hair styles

Love & Peace
(Names of the two hunts from which these items mostly come from ie. With love again hunt and Peace on earth hunt)
Love & Peace
Love & Peace
Love & Peace
Love & Peace
Skin is [PF] Alyx <Ivory> - Pony (dkbrow) (from WLA Hunt for L$10)
(Details : http://www.chic-management.com/)
Eyes is :SP: video Purple
Shape is PS^ Peace
Jewelry :
MG Necklace Paris Black Diamond (Combo All) (from WLA Hunt for L$10)
(Details : http://www.chic-management.com/)
Chop Zuey My heart in yours Blk Earrings

Dress is a combination of
Snowpaws - Serenity Ballet Outfit for POE5
(Details : http://peaceonearthhunt.wordpress.com/poe-hunter-hints-instructions/)
Etchaflesh - Holiday Wishes Corset + Skirt (Mesh) for Womenstuff Hunt
(Details : http://womenstuff.stuff-sl.com/hunters/)

Love and Peace 1 - Hairoin - Ferocity White Tiger (From Jul 2012 Hair Fair)

Love and Peace 2 - D!va 'Marie' Type B (Platinum) (Group Gift)

Thursday 24 May 2012

The Salted Fish : Alas D is a terrible blogger...

Tis true, D is failed blogger, she simply gets far too interested in making things and forgetting to write about them.

So what has D been busy with since her last blog?
Well as if one failed blog wasn't enough, D has started another to record her progression on a pet project that she's been keeping on the boil for quite a while.
paperhaus3_001
If all the world was paper
And all the seas were ink
If all the trees
Were bread and cheese
What would we have to drink?
ditaspaperhaus.blogspot.com/
Although at the time of this writing, it's still a blank canvas.

D's also been a bit busy with actually have a small virtual job doing graphics for one of Second Life's inworld periodicals  Moolto and More Magazine.
Here's a sneaky peaky at one of the layouts that is upcoming for the month of June.

Moolto's More Magazine JUNE (Explore Page)


D has also been fashioning more products for her little virtual hobby store called Dita's Diabolique
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/41927 and most recently put this up in it as a complete freebie!

dab_gumball
Dita's Dance Any Place Gum Ball Machine


D still does pile ups over on Flickr with her latest being

Inverse Pinocchio (or Pileup Nº 34)
Inverse Pinocchio (or Pileup Nº 34)
And so that is all you wunnerful fishlettes 'caught up' on the latest of Ourfish News!
 

Friday 9 March 2012

The Fashionfish : Of Frocks and Friendships

Journal : Gowns, Stethoscopes and Cigarettes Day
Of Frocks & Friendships
D is  not always the sanest friend in the world to have, and things around her have been a little more than off kilter. It's always nice to find yourself returning to an even keel, or about as even keeled as D is going to get anyhow...

D loves these shots for being a little bit Ab-fab (British award winning sitcom created by Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French) 

Journal : You, Me & Dodo
"Is it Lacroix darling? Is it? Is it?"


D is wearing :
LMD Lacey Mesh Dress (By Leri Miles) sourced at  Whore Couture Fair
Nikotin Lady Yellow Cigarette Holder
Stethoscope by Casey May
[elikatira] : Blonde 02, Soft

F is wearing :

Gown: -AZUL- Calypso /Nude
Shoes:  NX-Nardcotix Edna /Nude
Nails: MANDALA
GWD  Stethoscope 2 v1.0
[Dolly] Cigarette Holder
[LeLutka]-AWE hair - IrishRed

Tuesday 14 February 2012

The Fashionfish : World's End Garden

Romance Le Noir
Romance Le Noir from World's End Garden
La Reve Illusoire
La Reve Illusoire - The illusory dream
It never ceases to amaze D just how talented and generous some designers in Second Life are. One such star is Lucia Genesis - creator of World's End Garden.  WEG sells an eclectic and moody assortment of props, landscaping items and apparel that can perhaps best be described as romantically surreal Victoriana.

With the exception of two gowns which D bought ( Sois mon valentin and Bernadette), the rest of this collection were picked up as group and board gifts. Inspired by the ephemeral nature of Second Life, and the beautiful surroundings of WEG's three destinations 

D wanted to create a series of prints that captured the title of each dress as well as to portray a sense of decay in the following series of images.

Nicole
Nicole

Sois mon Valentin
Soi mon valentin - Be my valentine
The techniques used to create the polarised look of each image, is an attempt to fashion an imitation of an effect that occurs in antique photographic plates. There is a fascinating article on this phenomena in http://cool.conservation-us.org/jaic/articles/jaic41-02-002.html (D qualifies that she finds it fascinating and others might find it nerdy)

Bernadette
Bernadette

Bernadette was the first in these series of images of several overlays, fades, gradations, solarisation, inversions, vignetting and imprinting (using photoshop brushes from brush directory)

Le Jardin de la fille
Le Jardin De La Fille - The girl's garden
Le Dernier Lamento
La Denier Lamento - The Last Lament

Fashion Directions : 

Romance Le Noir  +
Vikka Lace Gloves layered with Dita's Ribbon Gauntlets (Long)
Earrings by SN@TCH
Maddison Mesh Boots by Deco
La Reve Illusoire +
Nicole hair by Burley

Nicole +
Widow gloves from LWL
Runa hair by D!va

Soi mon Valentin +
Hawthorn Milky Way set from Mandala
Gloves by Bare Rose
Hair from Purple Moon Head to Toe prize
Fox Stole by Anya OhMai

Bernadette +
Zippered leather gloves from XTC leather

Le Jardin De La Fille +
DIMH prize hair from D!va
Parasol from Risk City 

La Denier Lamento +
Pearl Rain Jewelry Set from Mandala

Thursday 9 February 2012

The Soundfish : Heart's A Mess.

D is starting to realise a lot more that this blog is not very much about fashion. In truth, D thinks she isn't terribly fashionable. So there it is - the idea that by the time you get to reading this entry it would probably be out-modded and old fashion.

Since first hearing  "Hearts a mess" by Gotye, D has gotten quite fond of the band and recently discovered :


Which inspired the following :

The Artfish : Art imitates Life imitates Art II. (revealed)
Art imitates life imitates art (revealed) - Dita

The Artfish : Art imitates Life imitates Art I. (obscured)
Art imitates life imitates art (obscured) - Dita

Although the images look simple, it's not so easy to produce the same in second life as in the video the  paint is directly applied to the two stars. In world, it would have to be textures uploaded and made into clothing that in turn would have to match the background.
As D was only doing stills, the images were instead manipulated in photoshop although the background was drawn and then uploaded to SL with the models posed against it. This was painted in post.
The other technical problem was to try and figure out how to make the 'paint' look painted onto the figures.

In general, D was quite pleased with the result.


Friday 3 February 2012

The Storyfish : A Collaborative Project

D does really apologise to you our faithful fish-fans for taking a gap year between blog posts. D says :" I really am terrible at being consistent but I shall try to make sure that I post a blog at least once a week. However I am still pleased to say that I have for most parts kept to fashioning at least one art thing a day. (Even if that art thing is making a very artistically arranged salad for lunch!)"

So… what has Ourfish been up to?
Apart from being a regular flickerite , D has been trying to start a new collaborative project to create and enact "The Story of O" using second life as a medium.

Wanted : Models, Muses, Artisans...
D 's attempt to search for talent
You might ask why this story in particular…
Written by French author Anne Desclos under the pen name Pauline Réage, The Story of O is an ode to a woman who would do anything to keep the attentions of her lover.
The book was very controversial for its time (1950's) and despite it winning French literature prize Prix des Deux Magots the following year after it was published ; The French authorities still brought charges of obscenity against its publisher which resulted in the book having a publicity ban on it for several years after.

Story of O : O's lover, René, brings her to the château of Roissy
At the beginning of the story, O's lover René brings her to the château of Roissy
D really has a soft spot for  good love story - but not only is the story of O itself rather intriguing, it has also been used as subject matter in some incredible art, such as italian artist, Guido Crepax for his graphic novel of same title in 1975.
From Guido Crepax' Story of O :  O's lover René brings her to the château of Roissy
In 2001, the book was also adapted and interpreted in a series of images by Doris Kloster , a world renowned artist/photographer and curator.

The Illustrated Story of O page 32
D feels that it would be an interesting experience to collaborate with other artists to create an interpretation of this timeless story in second life and to record this efforts in a series of images to be published as an in-world and online book.

Story of O : The women of the chateau
The women of the château -  by Dita 2012.
In her website, Doris Kloster writes " … I wanted to photograph the story in locations that evoke the mystery and fantasy that is the Story of O. The novel is set in Paris and its environs, the most romantic locale in the world, and the home of the Marquis de Sade."

The art question here sits in that interesting space of self identity, sexuality and a definition of reality.
The book itself drew inspiration from Desclos's personal letters to her lover who has a keen interest in the writings of De Sade. It was a treatise in her ability to write erotica with the same libertinism as a man. It is a curious question, in an environment such as Second Life , the possibility exists here to create some semblance of a fantasy made virtually real.

Notes :
The setting for this collaboration has been created by the lovely Sugar Bumblefootfor her SIM titled " Roissy Reborn" If you would be interested in collaborating for this project please don't hesitate to get in touch!






Thursday 2 February 2012

The Artfish : Not Everything Is Plain Black & White

nbw : White Room (The Start)
The White Room : At the start and end of the art space.
'Not Everything Is Plain Black & White' 
by Fuschia Nightfire Exhibition 
runs from 20th January until 20th February 2012 
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/MetaLES/56/62/30

What has always been the most attractive quality about art in second life is the creation of immersive, interactive environments to examine an art idea.
In Fuschia Nightfire's 'Not Everything Is Plain Black & White' - this quality is very much explored through a series of virtual spaces within the art environment.

The exhibit starts you off in what resembles a ready room. The space is almost blindingly white. Behind you is a small stall offering vendors for free skins, clothes and tattoo layers in black, white and shades of grey to entice you into becoming one with the art.
Thusly inspired, D decided to  go exploring as a mythical winged zebranoid.
(Hair by KMADD, Wings by Black Lace, Boots by Boudoir, Claws by Dita's Diabolique)
nbw : Into the Void
Into the Void 
You wander along a path through several key stages in the exhibit. Clever use of textures and animations make the environment uneasy, disorientating and jarring in some places.  Straying from the path leads you to some other more static exhibits that are equally curious and thought provoking.



nbw : Zebra meets zebra crossing
Zebra meets zebra crossing
It very much employs the engagement of wonderment in an alice down the rabbit hole sort of way. 
Fall through the void and into an ocean of stars….
Dance through the stars to a planet that condenses into a city which wobbles like jelly…


nbw : Amongst the herd
Amongst the herd
Travel through a surreal mirror lake with its own box gallery that shimmers like a mirage in a greyed out savannah…


nbw : Big Bissous
The Big Bissous
The above are just a few choice points along the path. More pictures can be seen in Ourfish's Art Aquarium

Additional Information :

Wednesday 25 January 2012

The Travelfish : A Bugs Life

A Bugs Life - Exhibition at LEA17, Under the Sky by Yooma Mayo
D of Ourfish takes a snap while giant ants go about their business.

Second Life is, if you can suspend belief and immerse yourself into it, an amazing universe of worlds. It is a vehicle in which you can take a ride in the imaginations of others. As the plains of Second Life are not defined, they are vast and it's hard to navigate. 
SL Stock : A Bugs Life V
Under The Sky - by Yooma Mayo at LEA17

If you are an intrepid traveller and have no fear of creepy crawlies - then one place you may just like to visit is the exhibition by Yooma Mayo in LEA17. Titled " Under The Sky".

SL Stock : A Bugs Life VI

Here,  'Giant' opalescent insects inhabit the surrounds of a stalk of lilly that grows in the center of a shallow pool. The bugs fight over what one can only guess at as a colony of ants to's and fros around the landscape of this epic battle. 

SL Stock : A Bugs Life II

Some fall by the wayside whilst others soar into the sky ...

(Linden Endowment of the Arts)