Windlight Quill and Pen - Volume 1, Issue 1

Windlight magazine is owned and run by Johannes1977, one of our Galleria Kakku artists. When I saw that they were collecting short stories and poems for a new literary journal, I was excited but very nervous, as I had just started writing fiction in English, and did not feel very confident. But to my absolute delight my story made it!

Windlight Quill and Pen - Volume 1, Issue 1 is now out for free as an ebook on Smashwords and on Issuu, and it will be available in Barnes and Nobles, Kobo, iTunes, and Scribed, soon.

The book was edited by John Herring, Inara Pey and Eleseren Brianna and features stories and poems by R. Crap Mariner, Eleseren Brianna, Glitterprincess Destiny, Kamille Kamala, Dawnbeam Dreamscape, Sabreman Carter, BayJoy, Judith Cullen aka Caledonia Skytower, Huckleberry Hax, Hobby Writer, Journey McLaglen aka Cindy Landers, Bryn Oh, Inara Pey, Ahn Avion, Pieni Resident, and John Herring aka Johannes1977 Resident.

Suzume Zuki, Kayly Iali and Silas Merlin featured at Small World Art Gallery

Suzume Zuki recently joined Galleria Kakku and is now showcasing at a new gallery as well! She sent me the landmark and soon as I had a free moment I hopped over for a look. You may know her works from Art Walk, and her recent exhibit at Raglan Shire Tree Gallery. She has a gallery of her own by her store in Raglan Commons.

This new showcase of hers will not disappoint. I was glad to see such a sizable selection of her works.

Small World Art Gallery is owned and curated by Mikey Jefford. It had it's official opening on June 4th, 2016. There is plenty of space on land level and in the sky. You can find both 2D and 3D works of art.

The gallery has been already blogged by two big art bloggers Ziki Questi and Inara Pey, Questi being one of the featured artists herself.

I did find some other familiar names, too. Silas Merlin has a beautiful location for his art with a view out to the garden from one window and towards the sea from another. A new selection of his works always brings pleasant surprises. You can find both his sculptures and paintings here.

The industrial look of the gallery building really makes the earthy colors of the paintings by Kayly Iali pop. Plenty of light to show all the every day treasures she makes so inviting for us. She is constantly producing new works and I recommend you follow her real life blog to keep up to date.

Make sure to visit both the landlevel and the skybox galleries. And look around as some of the sculptures are on the grounds and around the public spaces.

(adult sim)

Special treat: images by Minie Rainbow from Holly Kai Art Park

(click image for a closer look)

Special treat: images by Minie Rainbow, the Blog Intern, from Holly Kai Art Park and it's surroundings. This is an Epilogue for the blog post about Shorelines and Solitudes, as said above.

Derry McMahon and Bear Silvershade exhibit at Holly Kai Art Garden: Shorelines and Solitudes

As a gallery owner I get asked sometimes about how taking snapshots in Second Life is supposed to be same as "real photography". Well yes you can just go and take a picture of something someone else made and not do anything to it, not have any new angle to the subject matter, not have anything to say about it, and then call it yours, and that can feel a bit hollow to the viewer. But you can also produce images such as those by Derry McMahon and Bear Silvershade, who tell a story with every shot, every piece. So if you get asked this question, I recommend you send the person their way.

Derry McMahon and Bear Silvershade have a shared exhibit called "Shorelines and Solitudes" at Holly Kai Art Garden, curated by Inara Pey, until 5th of April, 2016. Side by side, their artworks are set up in two terraces of the garden, complimenting and contradicting each other, as was so well said in the gallery's blog post.

Derry McMahon took this exhibit as a chance to enjoy her favorite views by the water, in Second Life, while her real life surroundings were made uninviting by a series of bad weather events. "Down the Shore Everything’s All Right" she quotes the song Jersey Girl by Bruce Springsteen. And her images transport you with her to a world of fresh air, open skies and the wonderful feeling of freedom.

Bear Silvershade shares with us his imaginations of the difference between solitude and loneliness. Being alone does not necessarily mean you feel lonely. Sometimes some time alone is needed. You can step outside of your daily routine and let your mind work on the intricacies of the universe, and depths of your own being. While Bear quotes Jean-Paul Sartre: ‘If you’re lonely when you’re alone, you’re in bad company’, and Derry thinks of the song by Springsteen, I feel like they are both talking about a very similar need for some air. Fresh thoughts, fresh viewpoint. Clear you mind and your schedule. Enjoy the beauty of the world around you.

You can see their work also at their own galleries in Heron Shire, and in their Galleria Kakku booths.