The Basaltic Herd: A transformed bay at Accentaury.

The field of houses leading up to the Paper Tower Court in the distance.

FILM
I recently made a film about the city center discussed in this post. To watch, please click here.


GLUE

     The land rumbled. Buildings and trees shook. All around, living beings held their breaths, was it an earthquake?

     A fault line has skimmed the ancient Paper Tower area of ACC Alpha since a mishap in Second Life years ago, which returned many residents’ mega prims. The base and ceiling of the arena was one of the victims. Fearing future disasters, the scientists have been squeezing high quality glue into the cracks of the faults. Skeptics challenge its efficacy. Two days ago, an architectural glue was applied: a web of houses now expands over the bay like a binding blanket. The idea of the overlapping, similarly sized houses, comes from a natural formation in Iceland, where one finds basaltic hexagons covering a large area of land. They look like human constructions, but are in fact wholly sculpted by Nature. In the case at Accentaury, the square and rectangular floor plans take precedence over the hexagons for a particular reason; their geometry is easier to read as they overlap one another. And overlapping is key, for this giant bib spanning the bay is indeed a bridge. If the visitor is careful, they may avoid falling through open spaces to the bottom of the bay. For those who do sink to the seafloor, there is plenty to see under the waves.

Looking onto the Basaltic Herd with Medusa Locks in the center and right background.

AND IF YOU FALL BETWEEN THE FLOATING HOUSES... 

IF YOU SINK 

TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA, 

WHAT MIGHT YOU FIND?

Looking up, underneath the Basaltic Herd from the seabed.
Most of the so called paper buildings at Accentaury have translucent interiors,
please step inside for some unusual visual views of the city.

Entrance to the remodeled space under the Paper Tower Court. This part of
the museum is under the sea. Its name is "The Dead Mariner's Treasury".

The Dead Mariner's Treasury plans to rotate exhibits every three months. Installed now,
through March 2017 is the portrait work of Paradox Messmer.

WHAT IS BEHIND THE NEW RETAINING WALLS?

"Venice Under Glass"

Lilia visiting the new installation of what used to be the ancient aquarium.
The enormous colonnade called the 'Golden Corridor' dates to 2010.
It is one of the oldest structures on the sim.

Tour the art in Venice Under Glass with the hydrobicycles. Just click to RIDE.
Artworks are generally installed on the outsides of buildings. 

Riding through the canals, this cycling avatar notices the visitor standing
above through the glass ceiling. The standing man is on the Paper Tower Court.

     With the application of the ‘housing glue’, the Paper Tower Court is now more solidly supported. The circular colonnade which forms the lower level has become enclosed to such an extent, as one might call it a cave. The new walls do not shut out the light, to the contrary, the glass bottom floor of the Court allows the sun to illuminate a new scene where the giant aquarium used to be (the ancient sharks now live under the sea). Venice Under Glass is a gallery of canals, as this building which houses it has always been part of the museum. There is a hydro bike which visitors may ride for a slow tour along the canals of the gallery space. If you step off the bike in mid water, you will find yourself sink into yet another gallery beneath the sea. Of course, the city of Accentaury tends to favor layers, so the whole is rather like a labyrinth.

THE HERD

     Crossing over the basaltic inspired housing, flocks of animals cross the bay in large number. 

This first herd of centaurs, a couple deer, and many hares cross the bay carrying
their ship high above the water to prevent it from getting wet. 

They are quick, but sure footed.

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MENAGERIE COURT

The new lawn makes the park feel more open, but if you cam beneath the blades
of grass, you will see the original landscaping which endures year after year.

     The old House of Accentaury, established in this building in early 2012, had once been a shop, then a meditation hall, and now a restaurant with the new name: Menagerie Court. Not only was the interior redecorated, but the park which it faces has also been simplified with a wide open lawn. Conforming to the theme of the sim, more animals find their home in this quarter of the city. The restaurant is set up with seven tables so there is plenty of seating for visitors, a stage for entertainment and / or lectures, and even a special soy turkey! When clicking on a chair to sit, the guest will see a menu, for which they can choose a meal. You can find the restaurant at the ACC Alpha sim, on the high plateau in the city.

Dine in comfort, and enjoy the peacock entertainment. You can pet the tigers
at the fountain. Once seated, click your chair for a menu of meals.

     I made a film of Menagerie Court HERE. Many thanks to the people who arrived on the sim to be included in the video. It was a wonderful couple days.

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Art Diva! fashion show. "Baroque Dreams"

Click here to watch the video.

     Eleseren Brianna and John Brianna from Kultivate Magazine had invited me to create a runway for the Art Diva! fashion show, which celebrates the first year anniversary of "The Edge". After all the months of preparation, it gave me great pleasure to see the whole event come to life. The exquisite fashion of Lyrical Bizarre brought much grace, color, and style to the show. Before her line of clothing, the AIM agency presented a segment of ballet, descended from the clouds, after A Midsummer Night. It was a great surprise to me, as I hadn't been told the programme. The finale was a firework show that painted the scene in color and light as you'll see in the film. After the fashion show, John and Eles had also arranged a special opening focused on my build, where we were entertained by the great singing of Dimi, and we danced to celebrate this unique event. I was very much a member of the audience, not knowing what was coming next while I filmed. The build will remain in place about 4,000 meters up in the sky at the Water Haven sim until the end of November.

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Fallen Gods Ninth Anniversary

     One of the spectacular sims I'd discovered in my newbie days in Second Life was Fallen Gods. Signs indicate that it has just undergone a major remodel in preparation for the anniversary which starts tomorrow. I walked around in awe, as if I were a newbie once again. It remains one of the finest examples of artistry across the grid. I'm quite excited to be able to participate in the hunt. Below you will see two gifts I made for the event. But first, the hunt includes a schedule of exciting events listed here.

Schedule of events held at Fallen Gods 

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There are superbly beautiful areas to discover all over the sim.

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A plateau above the Fallen Gods store hosts a market area, and this is where
my vendor for the pavilion is set up. 

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I made a variation of the Steward's Pavilion at ACC Alpha for this anniversary
at Fallen Gods. It's a gift when you click.

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I also made the lady in the background as a gift for the anniversary. She is the
Herbal Medusa. This is in the heart of the ACC Alpha sim, right at the entry
to Paper Tower Court. The serpent and egg ring in the foreground figure is the
key to obtaining the Medusa gift.

CLICK HERE for your taxi to Fallen Gods in SL.

CLICK HERE for a link to Fallen Gods for more information.

Let the entertainment commence! 

Gem Preiz' Fractal Works at Accentaury

Inside the large gallery room beneath the Library of Darkrodin.
The spiral staircase between the paintings leads up to the Library.

     In the previous run of LEA exhibits, Gem Preiz had set up his new works, as well as a retrospective of his past installations. Lilia and I explored all of its wonders. I took particular interest in a new series he calls “WRECKS”. The awe inspiring fractals, meticulously worked in detail, are complemented by a fine story Gem wrote. Each room, and these were enormous rooms to accommodate the monolithic canvases, included a panel with a page from the tale. The surface of the canvases are comprised of around 20 cubes (I haven’t yet actually counted them) so that when you approach the artwork, you see increasing degrees of detail. The story itself is on a large scale, yet intimate, and beckons the visitor to walk into this environment of outer space, all the walls aglitter with stars enlivening the eternal black upon which the canvases float. I made a film tour of Wrecks which you can watch by clicking HERE.

     Recently, after having the good fortune to acquire some of Gem’s new pieces, I terraformed a small section of Accentaury’s mesa, to create a new ramp leading to the underwater gallery directly beneath the Library of Darkrodin. Remodeling the massive room, I placed five large works by Gem in the new space and the area leading up to it. All but one, are from his installation WRECKS. It’s easy to find the entry. A loggia with many pillars is the only building along the beach on the east shores of the sim. The reflecting pond beckons the visitor to enter. The story is not posted in this gallery, but the whole of it can be read on the film mentioned above.

The Gem Loggia on the beach in the East side of the sim.
Descend the reflecting pond inside the building to access the exhibit.

XXX 

SL13B

Second Life 13th Birthday.

The foreground build by Lilia Artis and me,
with the bright and delicious mega cake by Mikati Slade
extending into the background for miles and miles and miles.

     It's ENORMOUS, and filled with great curiosities. I've toured several times on the pod vehicles, as well as walking and flying around, and still have barely scratched the surface. There are art galleries, services, hunts, interviews, etc... a wide variety of exciting things to explore.
     Lilia Artis and I worked on a piece together. It's on the lower left corner of the sim "Captivate". Our theme is a variation of the Centaur Ball that we'd built for Fantasy Faire 2016. This being a build to celebrate the specialness of SL, we chose to highlight the warm experience we had when a good number of people gifted us with their arrival on our centaur sim as centaur avatars. I describe this in more detail in an earlier post about Fantasy Faire. It touched us very deeply, and we wanted to bring it back to some degree for the birthday celebration. Of course, we added new elements to it, and remodeled it extensively, so there was something fresh for the SL13B build.
     I highly recommend celebrating Second Life at its dedicated birthday sims.

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MARINE GARDEN at Maze Gardens

The Marine Garden is not the first underwater garden at ACC Alpha sim. But it's
the most primmy! The other three submarine gardens have been
the unfortunate casualties of  widespread prim deletion,
to the end of needing those prims
for land development. 

     The old river running its course down the slope at Maze Gardens since 2010, had quite naturally ended in the sea. But not long after it appeared, the beginnings of the museum had begun. The base of the building, also started in early 2010, simply placed a low stone bridge over the river that now flowed under it. A wall blocked off the flow of the river, so once you walked under the bridge which supports the museum, you came to an anti dynamic end of the river: a little enclosed space without issue. For years I've wanted to address this area.

Standing at the new addition to the stairs, leading to the river.
The museum hugs this scene.

The Baroque Steps.
The flowing stairway extends itself right down to the river, where you can
now follow its flow into the ocean, and the Marine Garden.

     The past week or so, I've been remodeling many areas throughout the city of Accentaury. Maze Gardens sees the widening of its entry, a cypress tree lined allee, and hedges give more privacy at the plot called Centaur Garden. The stairs that introduced visitors into the terraced suite of gardens is now greatly expanded, sweeping down the gentle slope like a frozen lava flow. The stairway is entirely rounded to fit the surrounding architecture of the Topiary Fortress... that structure of retaining walls which supports Maze Gardens. The staircase is called Baroque Stairs. One of the key features of the Stairs is a small part which leads down to the river. It is the first indication of something worth wading into the water for. And this brings us back to the new Marine Garden.

Entering the first chamber of the Marine Garden with Fantasy Faire mural.

View within the Marine Garden. Advanced Lighting Model is turned on.

     Following the river under the old bridge which supports the Museum Court, we dip below the rushing surface ripples into the calm blue cast light of Linden water. An entry hall greets us with a ship mural of Poseidon's Abyss, the sim I'd build for Fantasy Faire 2015. Indeed, the floor itself is curved like the rounded hull of a ship... an abstract concept of ship wreck. Continuing on, we reach another tunnel, inside of which we get a view onto the main room filled with sea life and vegetation. It is very much a garden, as well as an art gallery. The double function by virtue of its location directly under the museum. In my opinion, ACC Alpha looks better without the ALM (Advanced Lighting Model) checked in preferences, but the Marine Garden is an exception. Last night I purchased a projector which beautifully covers the surfaces of the garden with animated light reflections... the kind you see in shallow waters or in a pool. If you are unfamiliar with ALM, it is simple to get there:
Open your Preferences (for me this is under my viewer's tab AVATAR). Then follow this path:
Graphics > General > then click the Advanced Lighting Model box. Wait about 10 or 15 seconds because your computer takes a breather as it registers the new setting... then you will see the checkmark appear in the box you ticked. Click the button "OK", and you are done. To get out of that setting, do the same proceedure, and uncheck the Advanced Lighting Model box, once the check disappears after a 10 or 15 second wait, then hit the OK button.

     There have been many additions applied to Maze Gardens recently, (as well as Equus fields near the Cabinet of Curiosities, by the way). Here is a map of Maze Gardens. They are also posted in various areas of the gardens.

The Marine Garden is not on the map because it's UNDER the Museum Court (A).
Just follow the river down, and you will naturally arrive there.

Update, June 18 2016:

     The largely abandoned garden under Paper Tower Court had suffered many of its prims being removed over time. But this space is not that far from the Marine Garden, so I decided to join them, and went about digging all day yesterday, to connect them. In order to get the prims needed for this remodel, about 50 prims were taken in at the Golden Corridor. Though that corridor has much less detail than its original look, the sparser plantings look clean and attractive still. With these available prims then, I was able to bring a garden effect to the large space below Paper Tower Court. The fantasy plantings are mostly by Elicio Ember of Cerridwyn's Cauldron, and the fantasy deer is the creation of Krystal Rabeni. Other of her deer are on land at Equus Fields (the fields that lead to the Cabinet of Curiosities).

Rejuvenated underwater garden beneath Paper Tower Court.
Krystal Rabeni's fantasy deer. Elicio Ember's plants and green slime river.

XXX