In the beginning, there was an Idea.
Just a small one, the tiniest inkling of a concept that teased around the edge of my awareness for weeks. Months, really. Every styling, every blog post would leave me with a sense of ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ depending on this indefinite sensation. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do about it at the time, having no idea why I felt the way I did.
I know that I write a fair bit about inspiration and how it applies to styling in Second Life, how we can pull from experiences both in-world and in the real world to form a concept that is relevant to NOW. Sometimes we hit the mark, and sometimes, uhm, we do not. The point is that we think about what we do… and why we do it.
I blog because I love styling and taking pictures. Over the last eight months or so, I’ve been working harder on these images, taking more time in-world to build sets that appeal to me and then in Photoshop to add focus and definition. I feel like it’s paid off and this makes me very happy. My grandmother was a painter, and in some small way I feel closer to her when I’m creating art of my own. There’s a very large part of me that’s a storyteller too, however, and sometimes the images themselves aren’t enough.
This is the idea I mentioned at the top of the page. I’m a role player, a writer, without much time to write, and this is a thing that’s frustrated me for months. Every picture I take hints at a story because that’s the way I find my inspiration, but when every picture is a chapter (at most) within that story, it leaves quite a lot unsaid.
It wasn’t until I really sat down and went through the full VOIDAR storyline that I realized what was missing in my own work on Mask and Mien. Those of you familiar with Ashley Carter’s journey (from flickr, facebook, twitter, and the VOIDAR blog) will understand. For those people who aren’t as familiar, I urge you to follow any of these links (there’s even an in-world group you can join!) and learn a little bit more about this Voyage Of Immense Danger and Reward.
For me, I’m looking to start something similar (and I hope that’s okay!). I want to bring a larger story to my own body of work. As for how… I don’t really know, not yet, but we’re starting right here. Right now.
Mwah!
Credits:
Skin: Lara Hurley-Fae natural/Rose Pale ~ Lara Hurley
Eyes: IKON Sovereign Eyes – Quicksilver ~ Ikon Innovia
Mesh Body: Maitreya Mesh Body – Lara ~ Onyx LeShelle
Ears: [MANDALA]STEKING_EARS_Season5 ~ Kikunosuke Eel
Hands: Slink Avatar Enhancement Hands – Elegant1 ~ Siddean Munro
Feet: Maitreya Mesh Body – Feet ~ Onyx LeShelle
Lashes: .: Mai Bilavio :. Individual Lash in Morocco ~ Mai Bilavio
Makeup 1: Arte – Eyeliner – Cat eyes – long 1 ~ Miriam Lemondrop
Makeup 2: (NO) High Def Cosmetics – Fluorescent Eyeliner – Blue ~ Nylon Pinkney
Makeup 3: [PF] Lipstick <Light> – Matte (red) ~ Mochi Milena
Hair: [LeLutka]-LANA hair – Pitch ~ Thora Charron
Outfit: !dM deviousMind “Iset” **SILVER** EgyptianSilks ~ Chandra Meehan
(Shown: armBands, SilkTop, SilkWrap for Maitreya Lara; Not Shown: Wings)
Wings: Blueberry – Oakley Wings – Silver ~ Blueberryxx ~ Gacha Item
Crown: .aisling. Eunice Headdress RARE Silver ~ Gacha Item ~ Damian Kleiner
Armbands: .aisling. Eunice Arms Silver ~ Gacha Item ~ Damian Kleiner
Bracelets: .aisling. Eunice Bracelets Silver ~ Gacha Item ~ Damian Kleiner
Hand Jewels: .aisling. Eunice Hands Silver ~ Gacha Item ~ Damian Kleiner
Earrings: MG – Earrings – St Tropez Hammered Disks – Silver ~ Maxi Gossamer
Collar: *OAL* Bliss Collar (with ring) RARE ~ Gacha Item ~ Discovering Destiny
Anklets: *OAL* Bliss Ankle Cuffs SILVER ~ Gacha Item ~ Discovering Destiny
Pose: *PosESioN* Africa 9 ~ Dahriel
Light Orbs: E.V.E {M/C} Big Bubble {White} ~ Noke Yuitza
Dancing Lights: E.V.E {M/C} Dancing Fireflies {White} ~ Noke Yuitza
Temple: 22769 ~ [bauwerk] The Sacred Fountain ~ Paco Pooley
Statues: meadowWorks ~ Egyptian Bastet Cat White UNcommon ~ Gacha Item ~ Garvie Garzo
Trees & Foliage: Heart – Heart-VR- WILDWOOD Giant Oak Forest ~ Lilith Heart
Foliage 2: Heart – Forest Undergrowth – Horsetail & Hosta – Purple, Green, Red ~ Lilith Heart
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