Thursday, May 28, 2009

Menhirs and Sheep




Today was a foggy gray day. There was the finest kind of mist, off of the sea and lacing the air with a briny smell. One forgets that Boston was a harbor town, buttressed as it is by the giant glass sentries that make up the financial district. Anyway, I was craving the smell of a peat fire and the bleating of sheep and searched all day in sl for some virtual gorse and an Irish view. I have an innate passion for ancient standing stones and have spent some time doing field work, at a sanctuary that may pre-date Stonehenge by about two hundred years. Needless to say, there aren’t too many talayots in New England (though evidently there’s a site in New Hampshire that I’ve been too skeptical to visit).So, to get my prehistoric kicks, like any good archaeologist, I logged on...
I made my way to the Empress and Hierophant sim, currently under construction by Immortalis and Alchemy Cyannis. The tp landing presents a stunning view over rolling hills and rock walls. I wanted to embrace it, feeling like I had been transported to Derrynane, Ireland. Immortalis was busy building, holding a sheep in his arms. The Cyannis’ are planning a bed and breakfast, and from the looks of the site so far, I’d make plans for an extended stay. The stones at Empress and Hierophant are finely crafted, warm and lichen covered. I ran up to one menhir and imagined placing my palms on its surface. Rambling up a hill I got those butterflies in the tum when standing too close to a ledge. The waves below churned bright and blue and I felt compelled to walk and walk along the worn paths winding ‘round the island. Instead I tp’d my fellow intrepid explorer Wyatt and we sat among the blinking sheep, totally absorbing the countryside.

In this kind of place, your mind goes meditative, and we let our minds wander and ramble like our bodies had done, contemplating our environments, both inner and outer. Empress and Hierophant is extraordinary. Read more about it here.

I can’t mention megaliths without mentioning Julian Cope. For you stone lovers, you must purchase a copy of his book The Modern Antiquarian.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Stokame!

my neighbor SarahtheRed's Puppy (above) & working on my show

After a hiatus I’m back at work on another exhibition for the H.G. Wells Library in Caledon...content & title to be announced soon. I have to thank Halfpint Pennell for providing an inspiring work environment at the Stokame Artist's Colony....a big lofty skybox to build in, a shack on the beach to mull in, a shop to show work in. A good patron knows how to keep her artists happy, and Halfpint shows she knows the artist’s mind by providing a bakery, market square, windsurfing, cozy nooks, even a drive-in theatre. I’ve such happy memories going to the drive-in on Cape Cod – was where I was first traumatized by Jaws. There’s a real Provincetown vibe in Stokeham. I’ll keep my eyes peeled for dreamlanders Cookie Mueller (one of my heroines) and John Waters...



Sunday, May 10, 2009

Moving House


Moving House

”Once you open your mind to the possibility
you're lost.
At least some part of you is.
You flirt with infidelity,
abandon the perfectly acceptable place
you've lived all these years
for a dingy photograph in the property finder
that promises an easy walk to the beach,
or a level lot with good sun.
Your mind turns...”
-by Mairi

After two years I’ve decided to part with the place that kept me in SL in the first place, Stormhold in Caledon. A few notecard exchanges after I posted my ad on the real estate forums, my house and other possessions were lobbed into my lost and found folder before I could blink...no turning back. Wouldn’t it be brilliant if one could shift as easily in rl? Such good practice it is, learning how to not talk oneself out of making a move.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Anthropomorphy


When I was 16 I went to my first sci-fi convention somewhere (I think Troy, NY). I drove there in a red VW van full of D & D players, including a guy who spent hours in his garage making chain mail armor (when he wasn’t crafting sundaes at Friendly’s). Besides the thrill of getting away from home and staying in hotels with my boyfriend, I was thrilled with the characters we met along the way. One of my first memories of the con was skulking down a hallway, around 3 a.m., and coming across two people in white bunny suits. One was slumped against the other, receiving a shoulder rub. S/he turned to me, with big black eyes and drooping whiskers, and offered me a slug of cherry brandy. They were so striking, and so strange to me (in a good way). The memory is kinda hazy now and reminds me of Aphex Twin’s vid for Donkey Rhubarb.

Furry fandom is a whole scene in SL, and one I’ve hardly explored. For those of you that don’t know, furries are role players, artists, writers, and other appreciators of anthropomorphic animal characters with human traits. The scene is noted for its anime styled artwork, handcrafted customized fursuits, and, some think, kinky sexual practices (I have to read up on plushophilia). Anyway, a friend of mine is writing a paper about furry fandom so I offered to make a reconnaissance mission into Luskwood, the capital of SL furrydom, to see what I might learn. I donned a steampunk tail and ears and landed in the middle of a small dance party. No one greeted me, and, like most anthropologists making first contact, I felt a bit like an intruder. Then I got to thinking, most animals don’t talk....After a few minutes however, there was some chat, mainly about cheeseburgers. I began scrawling in my notebook and snapping pics of a lovely large chested red fox with a serpent’s tongue, a foxy white wolf with swinging hips, and a twee little raccoon with librarian’s glasses and a brownie camera round her neck. I noticed that most of them were from Texas...then I started imagining W having a secret life as a brandy sipping bunny and got distracted...Luskwood definitely warrants more investigation. Stay tuned...