Chevron

The chevron is a product of the industrial revolution, a symbol to tell a tale of speed and modernity. Half a century (and more) later, there remains a certain retro charm to the once cutting-edge and now mellowing materials used. This is what I have tried to catch through shape, texture, virtual 'materials' and sheen in this jewellery set. When thinking these up, I had in mind old car badges, and my dad's shed which still has them all randomly bolted to the walls for decoration.

So here I am, hanging out at home with my favourite scooter, the D-Hello 1.06 by PaintO Jie of 19MC, so similar to a much-loved Vespa. (And actually, home doesn't look a thing like this normally. Poor Want left me an offline-"omg I logged in to see a sea of glowy blue in the loungeroom and landed on your scooter...what on earth have you been doing in there?")


"Just lounging about.... as you do..... on the floor.....next to random objects."








(As with any picture here, please click for a larger view.)



And here is the full range, available inworld at Eclectica, or on the Marketplace.

Turquoise

Pearl

Garnet

Bloodstone

Agate

Lapis lazuli

Mesh

Many wonderful things are happening, or so it feels to me. Mesh has been in closed beta, but now we can all be involved. I've been preparing, learning a bit, reading the blogs, aware of the criticisms. It's interesting how they always pop up, and I do always listen to them initially, give them a hearing, and then decide afterwards, alone in a calm room, or with one calm person. I do not agree that mesh is elitist as some claim--we can all learn it. Nobody needs to invest money--Blender is free if you choose, despite the fact that we'd all probably like Maya if we could justify it. Yes, it will require a time investment, just as it ought. Yes, this is a wonderful opportunity that we can all embrace.

This is a piccy of my first ever mesh prim, a blob, with a really impressive mesh prim in the background, a dragon, by Feivl Footman. His puts mine to shame. I will say no more :)

I really regret that I was deterred from learning Blender. A year ago, the first tutorial scared me silly, and every group chat that's popped up since has been full of how impossible Blender is. Popular wisdom may tell you this, and do not listen. Blender is actually easy, and surprisingly logical. I am no master, but found that after a few hours I could actually get it :) I have a long way to go, but feel really confident.

There are a zillion online tutes. I am still bewildered as to what to take on next. Anyone who reads this will hate me, but do the tute here http://cg.tutsplus.com/tutorials/blender/a-detailed-overview-of-the-blender-interface/ Yes you will hate me, and you may hate this tute, but this guy, Karan Shah, is really really good. You may fall asleep as his voice is very hypnotic, but I love the system he shows, and how logical the hotkeys are. If you get to the end, you are a champion, and your basic Blender skills will be complete. See why I never got a job in sales!

Wright

And here is Wright, a set of jewellery based upon a person whose buildings I love, and whose flat glass work I have grown to love more. I've been fortunate to get to know some of these windows well, and something about the design has rubbed off on me. It's the combination of verticals, interposed with diagonals. The elegant weighted pendant as a design motif. The way a diagonal cuts into open space, making life very difficult for a glasscutter. The structured linear design. I like structure.

Sculpted gems add some depth to these pieces, and all the metalwork is made from tortured prims.

If you want to know more, and be involved, check out The Frank Lloyd Wright Museum of SL. Explore some of his buildings on their sim...can you imagine actually walking through a FLW home? These guys are giving us the chance to explore and know more about where FLW was coming from, and it's simply one of the things that makes SL great.

Verdigris

Ice

Gunmetal

Champagne

Jazz

In a very belated effort to learn something about blogging by doing (which is one of the best things I adore about Second Life- getting to try things out of my usual field), I'm finally jumping in the deep end here. I have no idea how these bloggy things work, but do know that I need a place to point people to when they want to know more about what I do. A place to keep a store of designs and explanations, perhaps.

I'm very much a prim mangler, and not much of a writer, and so really will have a bit of catching up to do. So starting close to the beginning, where it all began, is Jazz. I really have a thing for the 20's, and am finding SL to be a place to indulge this. It creeps into much of my jewellery, what I wear, and lately where I spend time when not creating. I have far too many bobs in my hairdo drawer, and love them all.

Chinoisserie

Celadon

Bakelite