October 16, 2008
I see it's been about six weeks since I posted here, and two and a half months since I first entered OpenSim. I have 35 regions there now, and here is an updated map. There are many that I haven't worked with yet.
Here are some pictures of the build on Nova Mystery. I haven't made huge progress there but some. Mostly I've worked on other things.
Looking out from what will be the living room. the pattern of this home was inspired by Incanus Merlin's Grey Manse in Second Life, though I've changed the look of it.
Going back to Second Life, next is a rendition of the Halliwell Manor from the series Charmed. It was created by Fatima Ur from whom I have bought other homes. I added the climbing roses and pumpkins.
Inside I have a painting with rain and thunder sounds. I can hear it as I watch the rain at twilight from the solarium.
 |
|
|
|
| Posted by Amy Lynne at | | | |
|
September 04, 2008
I have been continuing to work in first life (that some people call real life  ), and I've been working in second life and in opensim. I have other worlds that I work in, but they aren't worlds I can take pictures of. After my last entry about building in a standalone version of opensim, I got onto the opensim grid.  I've registered 25 regions. Here is an image of my regions on the opensim grid map. For anyone who plays second life, each region is the same size as one sim, or simulater - 65,536 virtual square meters. Here is an image of all my regions on the grid, including my most recent, Nova Recovery. You probably can't read the names, but you can see which ones I've started to terraform. The round spots are the island as it first appears before anything is done to it. I'll have them all integrated as I go along. Now I'm just trying things out. 
Here is an image of what I was working on this morning in the region of Nova Mystery, where I expect to have my home base. Not much there yet but the landform, the base to a new mansion, and a few trees. The round islands in the distance are regions I haven't terraformed yet.
Now I'll switch to a different world, the one of my past. One of my brothers recently took a trip with his family to look at some of the old places we lived when growing up. One was a cabin in Michigan. We only lived there for times in summers as it was our summer getaway. I didn't know if it still existed. It was in the family for many years and then my mother sold it. At the time she sold it, the logs were just about destroyed by termites and it was in very poor repair. I never knew what happened to it until now. I wondered if someone fixed it up or if it got torn down to make room for a new development. He found it, much to my excitement! and it has been partly rebuilt, but in it's original design. Here is a cabin I loved. There used to be a useable pump well there with a bucket, but I see it has been closed and covered over.
I had many wonderful times running around and exploring the wilderness there and boating with my family on the lake. The land is far tamer and cultivated now than it was then, but still beautiful. Here are some more photos of the path to the lake. From the view above, the pictures are to the left and down the hill.
 |
|
|
|
| Posted by Amy Lynne at | | | |
|
August 07, 2008
Beginnings of a log cabin.
This next one shows the beginnings of two of the homes I've started. The textures will likely change. The stone one will likely be a log cabin and can be seen in the image above. Foreground is a first floor with two rugs.
Looking down to the lake from the front of the cabin.
 |
|
|
|
| Posted by Amy Lynne at | | | |
|
August 04, 2008
I read about OpenSim a few weeks ago, and originally decided to pass it up until it gets a little further along. This week I decided to give it a try. After a couple of days of having problems getting in, I succeeded in seeing it for the first time. OpenSim is an open source virtual world environment that runs like Second Life, but it is free and you don't have to pay anything for land or building materials. According to their web site, it is still in the development stage and not ready to go public, but people can try it if they wish and especially if they want to help with developing and bug repair. Their site is at www.opensimulator.org. Right now I'm running it as a standalone, but plan to connect to a grid soon so that I can connect with others.
Overall, it's been working fairly well. Here is the island I saw when i got in for the first time. I didn't have my graphics on optimum here.
It's all mine . The whole region is quite a bit bigger than the island and was made up mostly of water. I did some exploring and tried out various controls.
The next day, I went back and started landscaping. I had no plan in mind, just went where the spirit moved me. After playing for a few hours, the island arrangement that I had was this:
First from the air looking down. I've started building a house on the isle on the upper left.
Here is how it looks on the OpenSim map.
Here is an image taken from that upper left island and looking south toward the middle one. The forground texture is one I was trying out. The rest is all default land texture.
This next room is under the foundation of the house. It's underwater and I think I'll leave it. Avvies seem to have no trouble surviving in virtual water. I had the textures for this in my image resource file. It will do for now.
Here is another, closer, pic of the islands from the air.
I added some pine trees to one farthest east on the earlier map. Now it might need some wolves, more trees, and a log cabin. In another area, I'll put some fruit trees, and as of now I plan to have a different house on each island. I've been having fun in Second Life building houses I used to live in, and also some in my paintings, and started a castle, too. I've really wanted to create in 3D for a long time, so I'm loving that part of it. It is not possible yet to transfer assets betwen OpenSim and Second Life, but I'm sure that's not far away.
I'm just getting started with the land, but it's fun to walk around on. Things like waterfalls will have to be created and scripted, whereas in Second Life, everything is available if a person has the Lindens to buy.
Overall I think that many people tend to be too hard on the ones who provide the virtual worlds. I hear people sometime criticizing the Lindens when things go wrong, as some used to do with Uru. It's so easy to criticize someone else for not delivering a perfect product. I hope if/when MORE appears, people can go easy on the criticisms when things aren't as we might want them to be.
|
|
|
|
| Posted by Amy Lynne at | | | |
|
July 16, 2008
I've already posted some pics of my new old mansion on the Isle of Fatima's Beauty and I have a few more ready. Seems I couldn't stay away from these islands and community. I let go of half of my land in Little Goa today and have moved the gallery part over to the sky above Eagle Hills (images in previous post). First a couple pics of the new gallery in the sky. It is a little bigger than the last one, but same design. There are still paintings and plants to add. The ferns and roses are Fatima's creations. Here it is at night with the stars above and the ocean below. Seems like it might be a good place for dancing on the roof.
Here it is at sunrise. and maybe we'd still be dancing.
The new old mansion on Fatima's Beauty is the loveliest house, nestled between the ocean on one side and the trees on the other. It stands tall in that little corner on the cliff amid living land where creatures find shelter. It needs some good high waves crashing against the rocks, and that will come. J
The house sits somewhat unaligned with the land, which makes lining things up inside harder for someone who lives there. I wonder if maybe it just had some ideas of it’s own about how it would like to be there, how it would like to relate to the sun rising and setting, to the moon and stars, to the patterns of wind and the call of wild things.
The house tells me stories, whispering that it used to sit on a smaller hill. It was then a smaller house with white siding and blue shutters. And…a pussy willow?… in the yard. It’s older now and bigger, with more rooms, more mysteries. Children and pets have grown and left, so I found some kittens to play there. I even discovered a robin and a bluebird hanging around together, flitting and singing among morning glory vines. Can’t help but wonder what will break out of the eggs. Much is possible.
I’m happy with this house and it’s happy with me and we are all changing.
I want to mention that Fatima and Incanus, creators of these sims, changed the way this island was divided and I was fortunate enough to gain more land. I am very happy about this, as I felt sad leaving my earlier mansion and land on Fatima's Smile. In some ways it's like getting it back, only better. The land in the distance on the right is Far Horizon. No one has settled there yet.
Sunset
Midnight
Dawn
 |
|
|
|
| Posted by Amy Lynne at | | | |
|
July 7, 2008
I keep trying to get all the pictures I want to post together so I can post them all at once, but it isn't working. So I'll put them up today as I find them. The first is a place I've rented on an Island called Eagle Hills. It's a new island owned by an avvie named Mandrake Araw. I wanted my land to be in the hills so that I could sit high enough to see both the sunrise and the sunset. Here is the sunrise, and there I am sitting on top of one of my flower meditation cushions.
Here is sunset, and Manny's castle that he built with little shops around.
I've been thinking about the efforts in my life to move from a turbulent, tension-filled, angry environment into a more peaceful, sustaining, cooperative, and nurturing one. It seems the pictures that I post and the paintings that I do reflect that effort. I'm not sure how much good it does or how much the beauty helps to relieve the fear and pain that there is so much of in the world. But at least it is a good experience in itself. To fill our moments with beauty at least gives us moments filled with beauty.
I used to spend a lot of time in nature, but now an illness prevents me from doing things like travelling or hiking in the woods. They say if you don't use something, you lose it; but I always used my body to walk and climb and dance and swim, so I don't know exactly why that all gradually disappeared for me.
I have been uploading and selling my art in Second Life. Recently I was invited to participate in an art exhibit featuring water. It is at Angel Dorei Museum, another beautiful build in Second Life. The curator of the museum and organizer of the exhibits is Mariposa Upshaw.
For this month's theme of water, there is a constantly flowing water pattern on the floor, and the sound of bubbling water.
Here are two of my paintings in the exhibit - Guided and Ships At Sea. My showing is on the second floor.
Last for this entry are a couple of pictures of my new/old mansion on the Isle Of Fatima's Beauty - couldn't stay away, hahah. I have received four homes from Fatima and now one from Incanus. Here is my wonderful new cliff house that I bought from Incanus. I am slowly redecorating and turning it into my new home and art gallery.
If the roof in this next one looks raised, that's because it is . I made the attic roof higher and plan to put in some narrow windows.
 |
|
|
|
| Posted by Amy Lynne at | | | |
|
I have taken so many screenshots of places I've been with the intention of posting them, and then never got to taking the time to put them up. I'll try to catch up a bit, as I believe that many of these places are worth seeing. I'm putting them up in the order I find them, not in the order I did them,
The first is a place called Woodstock. There was a concert there, but I don't remember now what was played. I have found ways to have my avvie in one place and travel all over with my camera...so I could sit in the audience and listen to the music and still explore the island. I set the time of day to night and went exploring. These lights were traveling over the water, moving by, very exciting.
|
|
|
|
| Posted by Amy Lynne at | | | |
|
26 June 2008
There are a lot of people in Second Life - well everywhere - doing a lot of different things. Some groups are doing what they can to improve the state of the world. One such group is Aloha International. They have been working in first life for many years and now have a presence in Second Life. Among other activities, there is a group meditation for peace and healing once a week. Here is a pic from this last Saturday.
A turning globe of the Earth is in the middle, and we focus on sending blessings, peace and healing energies. The circle is called the "Eye Of Kanaloa." Kanaloa is a Hawaiian word and represents (sort of) spiritual oneness and being centered. The person who started Aloha International is Serge Kahili King. He is the persona I meant to introduce into our AJF story as "Sage," but as you know if you followed along, that person took on a completely different character as the story developed.
I have tended to stay away from certain words that have become too stereotyped and literalized in western society, such as "Eye Of Kanaloa," but I'd rather talk about some of the things that have meaning for me than not talk about them.
In the next, there are a few of us left, but we are getting highly charged, lol. The light show is made by "wearing" a particle emitter.
And here I am after the gathering, resetting in the backyard of my gallery on Little Goa. I bought the land, but am currently planning on selling it again. On the right is a lovely blossoming tree with falling petals. I photoshopped the groundcover. It's not perfect, but still pretty.
There is another group that I sometimes join for healing and meditation. They have a place called Spirit Mountain and have "spiritual art" and poetry readings and talks. I enjoy going there. There are actually many groups focused on arts, culture, healing, environment, music, and other things that I enjoy.
This is on Spirit Mountain. The circle filled up after this, and there was peaceful music.
 |
|
|
|
| Posted by Amy Lynne at | | | |
|
June 21 2008 Saturday
It looks like I missed posting in May. I started, but got interrupted and didn't finish. I like having this record over time, even if there are breaks in the entries.
Much has happened since I left my island at Fatima's Smile. I miss it sometimes, especially when I look at old pictures that I took there. But I can still go there, or just about anywhere, so it's not like it's gone. After being away for a time, I rented another house there, on Fatima's Love. I'll post pics of that soon. I also have a shop on Fatima's Desire, but needed a place to just experiment with some things.
I was able to take my mansion with me and re-establish it high in the sky over my new property on the isle of Little Goa. I've been playing with it there, including adding a third floor and an open attic. I don't know if I'll ever use all that space, lol, but it's fun just to create it! I'll post pics of it later when I get it to a more finished stage.
Here are some pictures of the Little Goa property as I've developed it. My space is between the walkways and there is ocean at the back and a bay in the front. This image is from when the backyard was still open. There was a nice willow tree there, dream tent, and the roof of the gallery was not finished. I have an easel on the roof and use it for a studio. Ground cover is photoshopped, trying to transition it through different textures that blend into the sand near the beach.
In the next image, I've removed the tree and tent to make room for a wonderful structure by Julia Hathor called DreamWeaver. It is so full of magic, this picture doesn't do it justice, but does show its beautiful and graceful lines.
Next is looking toward the sunrise from the gallery roof.
And finally, the gallery itself, from the front. This was taken after I moved the DreamWeaver up so that I had a clearer view of the sunrise again.
Reflections and a dip in the water. I want to develop the sand bank and it would be fun to have some living things there, too.
A view of inside - the paintings. the one of a peacock on the far wall is one I bought, not for sale.
Two Companions
|
|
|
|
| Posted by Amy Lynne at | | | |
|
April 15, 2008
I've decided to start a catalog of my paintings here. I'm starting with the images that I have uploaded to my galleries in Second Life. Anyone who might be interested in purchasing something either in first life or second life, feel free to email me. Since I have few things ready to go in inventory in first life (which some call real life), there may be a wait time for orders. All originals in first life (mostly oil on canvas) have been sold unless otherwise stated, and are available only as posters and prints. The nice thing about second life is that copiable inventory automatically replenishes itself.
I've created different categories for painting types, second life, and thoughts on life. You can find the archived categories listed on the right. Just click on the name to bring up all entries in that category. For example, click on Paintings-Scenery to bring up all entries in that category.
The first of the paintings here is called
Hidden Valley.
This next could also be categorized under Flowers or Animals, but i'm putting it here because I like the way it looks with Hidden Valley. If I had more time and more prims, these would make nice environments for SL.
Egret and Bougainvillea
|
|
|
|
| Posted by Amy Lynne at | | | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
