The Travelfish : A Bugs Life

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. 

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".

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. 

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

Visit Yooma Mayo's " Under the sky" exhibition at LEA17 

(Linden Endowment of the Arts)

The Travelfish : A is for Aardvark

D thought it would be an interesting idea to explore ways of travelling in SL instead of going to the usual places - to try and find some of the paths less trodden. So to that end the alphabet challenge was devised. D would key in the first word from the picture dictionary into SL search and see what would come up. That would in theory be 26 new places that Ourfish might never have visited before… *Types in search* A search for Aardvark unfortunately yielded very few results for travelling purposes. *Sad face*

Screen capture of SL search © Linden Research, Inc. All rights reserved
This image is used for illustrative purposes*

And so Ourfish's next stop was Abacus.

Screen capture of SL search © Linden Research, Inc. All rights reserved
This image is used for illustrative purposes*

The Island of Abacus is currently home to [[ Blue Goose ] Designs

[Blue Goose ] Designs is the current occupant of Abacus Island.

A possibly interesting thing to know about this place is that it was formerly known as NLimbo.
This shop has a generous footage of space and a pleasant layout that's easy enough to navigate.
Through its central doors,you are greeted with a rather noisy reception area but the arrangement of goods is such that you are able to tell the departments straight off at a glance.
Blue Goose specialise in Poses, Skin, Tattoos and Clothing.

As it seemed rather rude to take photos of the poses within the store D did not, but there are some quite interesting ones and we purchased.

The store also has a loyalty program which enables you to gain up to 50% off on its goods
"For every purchase that you make with us starting on 6-5-11 (excluding single poses  purchased off pose stand however pose pack for the singles are included) you start earning credit to move up to your next discount break" and tabled by percentage it can come up to a good bit
amount spent          % of your discount

   2500                                      5%
   5000                                   10%
   7500                                   15%
 10000                                  20%
 12500                                   25%
 15000                                   30%
 17500                                   35%
 20000                                   40%
 22500                                    45%
 25000                                   50%

The skins and clothes are of a decent quality although somewhat templated.
The average price of a pose is $L250 which isn't horrific but not competitive as there are many decent pose makers out there offering similar goods.

In all, an interesting enough visit and worth a gander (pun intended)



 *Linden Lab Official : Snapshot and machinima policy

The Darkfish : **** **** (18.01.2012)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/jan/17/stop-sopa-or-web-will-go-dark

The Fashionfish : The Price of Fashion

Second life haute-couture has a visual price that is usually paid by the boyfriend of the star blogger. Little making of, just to give an idea of the weight to bear...

The Artfish : Good Morning .. or is it?

Good Morning - by Dita

D of Ourfish is really having a creative spurt on Flickr and is still exploring the phenomena of pile ups as the digital equivalent of the found object as a medium. The original for this idea is by Carmy Mirabeau and can be found here

D always finds it slightly odd to talk about her own work and thinks that how an image is to be interpreted is something that should remain open. 

" In the broadest sense, I find it interesting to create work in a medium that is fickle and frivolous - Using that background as a canvas seems appropriate commentary for the age."

Some more distinct art references as follows :

Landscape_XV  -HR Giger

Painted Plaster Mask - Rene Magritte

Pierre Gobert [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The Fashionfish : Two looks for one hat.

1

2

1a

2a

1b

2b

Styling notes :

1 is

Modal Shaped by Dita's Diabolique

[sYs] DOLL skin

2 is

Modal Shaped by Dita's Diabolique

Pulse VF #3-Skin-Blonde & Ash scalp/brows *

1

Wears

[[AV]] Dress Circle White by Awram Viie

JENNIFER Hat Pink by Donna Flora

B@R Toe Shoes by Bare Rose

2 

Wears

SILVANNA Blush by Donna Flora

JENNIFER Hat B/W by Donna Flora

::PG:: locked ankle boots by Party Girl

* is a library skin! (Just look for it in your library inventory as it's already there)

The Kissingfish : Second Love

"Only girl"(in the world) - Rihanna

Is virtual love any less real?

The closing of the day marks the passage of exactly 365 days from when D met A and became digitally smitten.

D's never been comfortable with long treatises about her really personal feelings so there won't be any huge declarations or testaments here. Still, it seemed somehow appropriate for D to try and capture the ephemeral moment, if not in words then in the following and the borrowed words of some other:

"We found love" (in a hopeless place) - Rihanna

Yellow diamonds in the light 

And we're standing side by side

As your shadow crosses mine 

What it takes to come alive

" You da one" - Rihanna

And Yes I'm kinda crazy, 

That's what happens baby, 

When you put it down 

You shouldn't give it to me 

Good like that, 

Shouldn't hit it like that, 

Had me yellin' like that 

Didn't know you would've had me coming back

The Fashionfish : TUD II - That Unforgettable Dress

Rem from Empyreal Dreams told D a little after New Years that the second of the dresses in the series (Three unique pieces in total) would be ready soon.

Ourfish really do feel most privileged to work in collaboration.*
 *In the sense that an image produced wearing his dress alongside some other of my own personal choices for styling, is a collaboration between model and designer.

Of these series of photos, D says the following :
I've kept the shots of the dress true to exactly as it would appear in world without any photoshop jiggery pokery - Just windlight setting adjustments and croppage in order to try and show how detailed the dress already is.

The Raven (Dress) is the accompaniment of the Exhibition at Empyreal dreams on a poem by Edgar Allan Poe of same title. For New Years, I had reviewed the first of these dresses which was white and romantically seemed to engage a feeling of the hope of love within the poem. 

This black version, with its victorianesque feel perhaps most embodies its mourning aspect. Set amongst dark fading satin panels - shifting imagery, numbers and quotes flicker in and out of the dress against the ticking clocks which seem to mark out the passage of time. The dress is complete of its own accord with shoes, belts (with working clocks), skirts (and separate versions with/without lag for more user friendliness) and millinery.

"And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain Thrilled me…" from The Raven, by Edgar Allan Poe 

The rest of the styling notes is as follows

(D had a sort of prim palooza)

** Denotes all items available free.

Wears

The Raven (Dress) by Empyreal Dreams

Lace Jumpsuit by Boudoir

Body

Dusty Beehive (Hair) by ploom

SLAP Mothlace Makeup by Dita's Diabolique

Black Tears by Akasha Vanistok **

Accessories (Top to Toe)

Sprung (Glasses) by Crie Style

Tainted Love Lip Piercing 2011 by Fiction and Chaos**

Vintage Victorian Earring (left) by Dark Mouse

Black Silver Earring Chain (right) by Maya

Rusty Feather Collar by Deviant Girls

Long Luxury Necklace by Hamis

Reaper (Wings) by Favole

Nail Guard 1.0 beta by Dita's Diabolique (not on sale)

The Artfish : Collaborations and such lark

D had a rather creative zap recently and has been churning up a couple of these :

QOH - by Dita
Original Image by La Bouchère

Pheromonal - by Dita
Original Image by Seashell Dench

Smoking Haute/Hot Couture - By Dita
Original Image by Mavi Becks

Ghost Lake - By Dita
Background is kindly provided by Whimsy Winx from Here Original Image for this pile up is by AMidnightPoison Here : www.flickr.com/photos/57095021@N02/6677628379/in/pool-599…

A Little Bit Magic - by Dita

Original Image for this pile up is by Lilly Von Schtupp Here : www.flickr.com/photos/lilly_vonschtupp_solo/6682711601/in… 

 These photos were all edited for the SL Picture•Pile•Ups group (with permissions from their respective creators) See something you'd change? join the group, download the pic, and edit it your way

The Fish Tale :Toy Story ( Also Titled 'If you love someone don't set them free')

1. Introducing Dita Doll

Once upon a time there was a much treasured pale,precious doll that lived mostly in a glass case.

2.The Case Gets Broken

One day, quite by accident - the maid tipped the glass case over whilst dusting…

3.Dita Doll Enters The Big Bad World

Discovering that the magical enclosure she had once lived in was broken, Dita Doll stood up…

4.Dita Doll Lost A Contact Lens

The world seemed vast in comparison to the gilded cage in which she had been given a home….

5.Dita Doll Peers Over The Shelf

Dita Doll peers into the abyss that is the floor below so seemingly vast and endless…

6.Dita Doll Is Broken

Unused to being without the protection of her enclosure, Dita Doll is overwhelmed…

 

The End.

 

What do you do with a bunch of hunt trinkets, a kitchier than kitch efelump, a TDR steal and a dolly case? Well if you're D - it's story time of course!




Credits : 

A Toy Story Starring  Dita Doll, Elly Phant and Big Circus Ball.

Dita Doll 

is

Modal Shaped by Dita's Diabolique

[sYs] DOLL Skin

Poetic Colors - Autumn Moon (Freebie Eyes)

Wears 

Steam Bound Drosselmeyer Doll (Steam Hunt Prize)

D!va Hair 'Diva' Mercury (Diamond Is Mine Hunt Prize)

Poses

Using Animare 

with TeaSoup - Emotional Set

Props

Youmeshoujo Elephant

Ballerina Doll Case by Clarissa Milena  

The Kissingfish : A Season in Love or SL

" Love is a many pixelated thing"

" I dream I am awake with you"

The Artfish : Forgive and forget (Tempus Fugit)

ORIGINAL IMAGE capture by Cecelia Levee.  This photo was edited for the SL Picture•Pile•Ups group.

In making art, D is always shadowed by a sense of futility ie. "Does anyone get what I am trying to say" and " Is what I am saying, worth saying at all…" It's quite an interesting state of ennui, which D likens to being like purgatory for attention seekers.

Beauty (and art) is in the eye of the beholder - so here in the continuance of this blah is all about why D made it this way. 

However, for arts' sake this image should be regarded just like song lyrics.

Sing how you like and what sounds good in your ear even if the original song writing does not really contain your lyrics. 

What you think it says or more so.. what it says to you is always tons better!

D's Artistic Statement

In my off-line work, I've always found an affinity for working with found objects and my interests in the creative process had long since moved off canvas. Thus coming across flickr 'pile-ups' is very tantalising for its virtual equivalence.

I've always been fascinated by the idea of a containment of and for 'art' as well as for visual language. 

This piece embodies my pet subjects on many different levels in terms of the history of its origins as a question about reality, continuity and decay.

The Fashionfish : Gothic Lace

The kissmet nature of second life is endlessly intriguing to Ourfish as it is how we met and meet people. It is also how D discovered Athan Selidor which became the backdrop for this style shoot.

A slow kinetic sculpture is the central focus of this grotto, in which several shiny spheres orbit
Athan (39, 115, 22)

 Light floods in from a single source within this space

Fashion Direction :
Vero Modero - Adile Uni Gown (Sans Prim Parts)
Leezu - Jean Van Dark (Jacket, Sleeves and Belt)
HOC - Noir Boots
Glow Studio - Fiori Set (Bracelet, Earrings)
D!va - Satomi Hair (Platinum)
Elikatira - Glory Hair (Blonde02)

Location : Athan Selidor… beyond the island Athan

The Artfish : Copyright issues or Pile Ups II

So recently having discovered this creative game to play, D fashioned this image from an
ORIGINAL IMAGE capture by ☆ ღ Skip Staheli ღ ☆
This photo was edited for the SL Picture•Pile•Ups group. See something you'd change? join the group, download the pic, and edit it your way


However, being that the modifications to the image were for all intents and purposes - not something that is obviously, glaringly different from the original; D started to idly wonder about claiming the image as a new original piece of art…

What makes art to begin with? Well that through the course of a rather lacklustre meander in tertiary education - is no easy thing to answer. In essence, art is an activity that humans engage in as an expression of sentience. Art for the masses captures the zeitgeist of the age. Art is changeable in interpretation and differs from creator, to audience, to curator. It alters perception and is powerful given context and purpose. It can also be whimsical and frivolous. Although art speaks, not everyone has the inclination to listen.

Nonetheless,  this isn't written as a treatise on what may or may not be art; but just a short blub into what intellectual copyright is and when those rights are waived for the sake of allowing new "art" to be created.

These are certainly different times and most people do not actually bother with; or are otherwise often ignorant about copyright licenses. It's a sticky issue given how global the internet is and how such legalities seem irrelevant that is until they become relevant.
Say for example, if an image of yourself or of your creation is otherwise replicated or misappropriated.

Some relevant jargon :

Public Domain - is used to describe works available to be used without license owing to any of the following reasons

1. An expiry of intellectual property rights
2. A forfeit of intellectual property rights
3. Where such works are not protected by intellectual property laws

Copyright - is a legal term meaning " The right to copy" and refers to the concept of exclusive rights to  the author of an original work as their intellectual property for a defined period. It also expresses the right of the copyright holder to be credited for a piece of work; and to bestow on them the right to determine other uses of such a work as they may be adopted, modified or benefitted from and etcetera.
In most countries copyright is regarded as a private right and automatic for the originator of the work to claim for his or herself.

Cue a relatively modern invention called - The Creative Commons Licence
In short, it is a legal disclaimer that enables you to control the way in which your intellectual property or copyright may be licensed. It makes clear for abundant reasons how others may treat your creative works although this may or may not become relevant in the general scheme of things.
It is still just a good little thing to know...

The Discoveryfish : Pile Ups

Ourfish is new to the world of flickr, and D came across this fascinating thing to do on it. Called a pile-up, (not a pile-on as F so kindly points out)

Cue music :

It's like a round-robin of image-connivance where an original author puts up a work to start. Someone-else adds or subtracts things from that image and the idea is that this continues ad infinitum... And the original pic

By Kota Buck

Which struck D as being almost as elfin like as the Icelandic pop princess.
Thus resulting in this pile-up and image-agitation.

"Seed"

Which came first? The video or the imagery? Actually,after playing around a bit with the original image D found herself seizing on the seed like danglys of the model's earrings - and the idea (pun intended) just grew from there. The video though similar, was added only as an afterthought.

The Artfish : Swan Lake

The nice thing about Second Life is that it is an instantly accessible medium for creating visual imagery. Today, D decided to interpret Swan Lake. Swan Lake as we know it, has its origins as a Russian composition (1875 - 1876 according to Wiki) by Pyotr Tchaicovsky for the Bolshoi Ballet.

It is a tragedy that centres around two women whose features are so alike, they are mistaken for the other. Princess Odette is enchanted by the evil Sorcerer,Von Rothbart - and cursed to live out her days as a swan. She inhabits a lake that was magically formed by the tears of her grief struck mother.
Together with her companions, who are also cursed alongside her, Odette is only able to regain her human form at night. The enchantment can only end with the power of a vow of true love; however if such a vow were alas to be broken, then Odette would be twice cursed to remain forever a swan.

Odile, the black swan, is the rival of Odette

One day, a young Prince Siegfried happens to venture deep within the forrest, coming across a beautiful swan that he first intends to shoot at with his new cross bow - when low and behold the swan transforms into the peerless Princess Odette. So moved by her beauty and story is he that he offers to take her for his queen - inviting her to the castle ball so that they may marry. They dance the night away together falling deeper in love till the dawn breaks and Odette is once more forced to resume her swan form.

The next night at the ball, Prince Siegfried anxiously awaits the arrival of Odette whom he tragically mistakes for Odile - the daughter of Von Rothbart who is herself enchanted by her father as a trick. The sorcerer's plan is to make the Prince break his vow so that Odette would be in his power forever. It is a plan that  succeeds as the Prince recants his love for Odette and declares himself in love with Odile. He fails to tell the difference between the two women. Nor does he notice the appearance of Odette at the castle window trying to warn him to be faithful to her. 

Odette was forced to live by a lake formed magically from her mother's tears

The only way left for the curse to be broken is with the death of Odette who has no desire to live without Siegfried. As dawn breaks, she throws herself into the lake - and Siegfried who now realises that he has been tricked, follows his true love. With their sacrifice, Odette's companions are freed and the magic broken as Odette and Siegfried rise up to the heavens together in spirit for all eternity.

Related Links : Yinka Shonibare MBE

Fashion Direction :
Body Suit and Feather Collar from " Behind the Mask" by Bare Rose
Tutu by Canimal
Hoodie by La Rosa (Midnight Angel)
Nails by Mandala
Necklace by Miamai
Lace Jumpsuit by Boudoir
Makeup by Niju