The Returning by Marcus Inkpen

The Returning, a full sim installation at the Linden Endowment of the Arts by the incredibly talented Marcus Inkpen of The Looking Glass (with Sharni Azalee). Marcus has an incredible talent in the use of light in Second Life, no easy task but painstakingly considered and implemented, particularly in his remarkable interior spaces.

Come over and wander the sim while you still can...and find all the mysterious items scattered over the landscape.

Visit at http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LEA17/227/34/22.

More photographs can be found in this Flickr set.

Virginia Alone by Bryn Oh

Byrn Oh's latest installation on view at Immersiva and part of the Santa Fe New Media Festival. Virginia Alone is about a woman who is over 80 years old, blind with cataracts and lived alone in a remote farm house in the Canadian countryside.

For more information, visit Bryn Oh's blog.

More photographs from this installation can be found in my Virginia Alone Flickr set at http://www.flickr.com/photos/pj_trenton/sets/72157630501128630/. 

This work, along with work by fellow Second Life artists  Artistide Despres, Haveit Neox, Tyrehl Byk and Ultraviolet Alter are all being featured in Santa Fe.

Designing Worlds Returns to Insilico

Designing Worlds hosts Saffia & Elrik take a grand tour of the dark and beautiful city of Insilico.

Linden Endowment for the Arts Announces Land Rush Residency

The Linden Endowment of the Arts is an official Linden Community Partnership program whose purpose is to help new artists, cultivate art in SL, and foster creativity, innovation, and collaboration within the art community.

The Linden Endowment for the Arts (LEA) has just announced its Land Rush Residency. This initiative gives artists an opportunity to “claim” 1/8th of a region for a period of 2 months to mount a virtual art installation. Limited spaces are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The first round will be held in two phases on October 30, 2011 at 10:00 am and 4 pm SLT. A total of 16 parcels in two regions will be given away.

For complete information on the Land Rush Residency, please visit the official LEA blog at http://lindenarts.blogspot.com/2011/10/linden-endowment-for-arts-announces-its.html.

Earlier this month, LEA announced that it had negotiated with Linden Labs for the creation of 20 new regions for the arts in Second Life. Of these:

• four regions will be reserved for exhibitions curated from LEA sandbox art,
• two regions will be allocated through the above noted land rush, and
• fourteen will be allocated by application (deadline for submission of applications, which must be completed online, is November 1st)

Exciting things are already afoot on the LEA sims with the first monthly installation of the LEA Full Sim Art Series; Rebeca Bashly’s Inferno, inspired by Dante Aligieri’s Divine Comedy Inferno (slurl). For this series, each artist/group of artists will have a full 15,000 prim SIM for 1 month from the 1st day of the month, till the last day of the month. As such, Rebeca’s installation will be available until October 31st so be sure not to miss it.

This is certainly very exciting times for the arts community in Second Life!

Designing Worlds at Burn2

Saffia Widdershins and Elrik Merlin take a tour around this year's edition of Burn 2 and meet with artists and organizers of this popular annual festival.

Check out my set of Burn 2 images on Flickr.

Metaverse Arts at Burn2

Host Tricia Aferdita returns to a new season of Metaverse Arts with a big visit to this year's Burn2 exhibit in Second Life. Guests include Karima Hoison, MenuBar Memorial, Briawinde Magic and Trill Zapatero.

Photographs featured in this episode of Metaverse Arts can be found in my Burn 2 Set on Flickr.

2nd Annual Boobie-Thon Art Auction Opens Tonight!

October 1, 2011 marks the launch of the 4th Annual Boobie-Thon in Second Life. This annual Second Life event runs in conjunction with the Bloggers Boobie-Thon which is now in it's 11th year.

Second Life's Boobie-Thon is the result of the dedicated work of Eva Bellambi and Serra Anansi who have organized a wide-range of events since introducing this fundraising initiative in Second Life.

Funds raised during the Boobiethon in SL go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure as well as an annually selected charity.

While a serious subject, one of the hallmarks of the Boobie-Thon is to raise money and raise awareness in a fun, educational and irreverant way. Some of the events are downright saucy!

Opening Party, October 1, 2011 at 6:30 pm SLT
Tonight's opening party is at the Cliffs of Skye (6:30 pm SLT), the Second Life home of Eva Bellambi. Please be sure to join us at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Magna%20Carta/81/212/37 with music by DJ Frequency Picnic.

Art Auction Opens, October 1, 2011 at 7:30 PM SLT
Tonight marks the opening of the 2nd Annual Boobie-Thon Art Auction. is being held at Rowan Derryth's RoHaus Gallery right next door to Eva's at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Magna%20Carta/156/177/29. The auction runs until Thursday, October 6th with final bids at 8:00 pm SLT.

We are very excited about this year's auction which features 40 works by 37 artists! The auction has been organized and curated by Rowan Derryth and myself. I am so very proud of the massive support shown to us by all of the great artists who have donated a mixture of regular, limited edition and unique works for your bidding pleasure.

This auction includes some incredibly unique works, in particular a one-of-a-kind mesh sculpture of the Venus de Medici by Pumpkin Tripsa; whimsical Nipple Trees by Maya Paris; an amazing Bee Queen by claudia222 Jewel; a beautifully crafted image by Callipygian Christensen; and a really fun sculpture by Glyph Graves.

With 37 artists, it is impossible to mention every one of their submissions in this blog post so I encourage you to come and see all of their amazing works for yourself!

The full list of artists includes:

• Alexx Fenstalker
• AutopilotPatty Poppy
• Bobbi Laval
• Callipygian Christensen
• Cat Boccaccio
• Cee Edman
• Chrome Underwood
• Claudia222 Jewel
• Douglas Story
• Elin Egoyan
• Eliza Wierwight
• Floraclayflower Beeswing
• Fuschia Nightfire
• Glyph Graves
• GM Nikolaidis
• Gracie Kendal
• LadyDawn Starbrook
• Maya Paris
• Miso Susanowa
• Misprint Thursday
• Monty Streusel
• Nino Vichan
• PJ Trenton
• Pumpkin Tripsa
• Ragamuffin Kips
• Rowan Derryth
• Sledge Roffo
• soror Nishi
• Starlash Sweetwater
• Stephen Venkman
• T.S. Carson (RL)
• Texanna Schumann
• Tricia Aferdita
• Trill Zapatero
• Wildstar Beaumont
• Winter Nightfire
• Ziki Questi

Starting bids have been set at $1,000L for unique works, $500L for limited edition items and $100L for regular items. First bids are set at $100L less than opening bid prices so that the initial bid will be at the starting bid prices. Auction winners will be advised once bidding is closed and will receive their work(s) upon receipt of funds.

There will be an auction closing event on Thursday, October 6th from 6 - 8 pm SLT with last bids due at 8 pm.

Read even more about the auction at Rowan Derryth's blog I Derryth.

For a complete list of all of the events planned during the 4th Annual Boobie-Thon in Second Life, please visit Eva's blog at http://redroseofcaledon.blogspot.com/2011/09/once-again-we-work-to-save-second-base.html.

Designing Worlds Visits Isle of Wyrms

Hosts Saffia & Elrik get a tour of the legendary place in Second Life where dragons live. Welcome guides Orlith Nightfire, Skylarian Isachenko and Talarus Luan to the show and learn about the rich history and tradition.

For more photos of this fantastical set of sims, please visit my Isle of Wyrms set on Flickr.

You can visit Isle of Wyrms by visiting http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cathedral/125/142/102.

Designing Worlds Visits the 2011 Home and Garden Expo

A tour of the 2011 Home & Garden Expo can only show you a tiny part of the amazing things to see and visit. A major Second Life event all to benefit the American Cancer Society Relay for Life campaign. Your hosts Saffia & Elrik take us on a whirlwind tour and run into a few friends along the way.



More photos of the Expo can be found in my Flickr stream.

Designing Worlds at Fantasy Faire 2011

Elrik and Saffia visit the 2011 edition of Fantasy Faire in support of Relay for Life.

Metaverse Arts Episode 10

Episode 10 of Metaverse Arts on Treet TV sees Tricia interviewing Alexx Fenstalker about her installation Apartment 5B and Trill Zaptero and her Afghanistan Museum. Featured gallery this episode is Artropolis.

Cao Fei Second Life Segment from Art: 21 on PBS

Watch the full episode. See more ART:21.

Prim Perfect Issue 32 On Newstands

The latest issue of Prim Perfect featuring Greater Ireland is now available. Read about this gorgeous region created by Jules Artful and Derric Foggarty with a collection of articles featuring this region.

Learn more about creating an Irish garden, dealing with inventory loss and meet some of Second Life's most interesting designers and content creators in this jam packed issue.

Congratulations to Saffia Widdershins, magazine designer Winona Wiefel and all of the great writers and photographers I am fortunate to have as colleagues.

The fabulous cover photo is by Raven Haalen and one of my favourites!

Get your copy of Prim Perfect in world to take advantage of the links to advertisers and the great gifts. You can also read it online by visiting http://en.calameo.com/read/0000042343fc7f65ffc8e.

Homage: An Exhibit of Works by PJ Trenton

My latest exhibition of works is now up at the Pirats Bourbon Market Gallery and is certainly a departure from my most recent exhibit work. In terms of the types of works I usually create for exhibition in world, this show is definitely a bit of a departure for me. While still abstractions, these works are more creative documents of the the work of artists that inspire me.

Fortunately, over the past number of months, I have spent an increasing amount of time exploring the works of some of Second Life’s most creative and talented artists and builders. While I have always been keenly interested in the Second Life arts community as a participant, supporter and promoter, I have really found joy in exploring and documenting some of the grid’s more immersive installations and builds.

I have always considered myself a digital documentarian and historian, using my virtual lens to capture and record people, places and events from around Second Life and other virtual worlds. My work for Prim Perfect and Primgraph Magazines as well as Designing Worlds and Metaverse Arts on Treet TV certainly allows me the opportunity to do just that. This aspect of my work has become incredibly important to me because, as you’ll note below, several of these works have already disappeared from the grid. This particular show is comprised of images taken of installations and creations by various artists and builders. The works in this show are not for sale, but created to celebrate, promote and encourage the ongoing creativity of digital (and postdigital) art...a community I am proud to be part of.

The artists that I pay homage to in this show include Scottius Polke, Eliza Wierwight, Bryn Oh, Blue Tsuki, Alizarin Goldflake, DB Bailey, Noke Yuitza and the artists from Mysterious Wave (Cherry Manga, Anley Piers and Elfe Imako).

The Pirats Bourbon Market is located at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Bourbon%20Pirats/186/64/22.

While the works are not for sale, if anyone would like a copy of any the works, I would be pleased to give you one in consideration of a donation to the Pirats Art Network.

To view more of my photographs of some of these artists, I invite you to view the following sets on Flickr:

• Vessel by Blue Tsuki
• The Docks by Scottius Polke
• Aria by Eliza Wierwight
• The Rabbicorn Story by Bryn Oh

Designing Worlds Visits Winterfell!

Take a tour of the dark and mysterious lands of Winterfell with owner Serra Anansi and captain Wildstar Beaumont. Your hosts Saffia Widdershins and Elrik Merlin discover the beauty and dangers of this Second Life region.

Originalia Artists on Metaverse Arts

Tricia interviews Rag Randt, Em Larsson, Scottius Polke and Eliza Wierwight as their installations at Amase Levasseur's newly relaunching sim Originalia.

Prim Perfect Garden Special

Prim Perfect is please to announce the launch of a special publication on gardens and gardening in Second Life. Featuring reprints of garden-related articles from the magazine and additional photographs from various master creators, this special issue is a must read for enthusiasts of plants, flowers and trees!

For more information and to access this publication online, visit the Prim Perfect blog.

A great design by Winona Wiefel...nice work!

Calas Galadhon on Designing Worlds

In the latest episode of Designing Worlds, Saffia and Elrik visit the beautiful region of Calas Galadhon. This area is comprised of 9 gorgeous sims with incredible natural beauty and Victorian goodness. Created by Tymus Tenk and Truck Meredith...get thee to Calas Galadhon (slurl.com/secondlife/Calas%20Galadhon/14 2/230/23)



To see more, be sure to visit my Calas Galadhon set on Flickr.

Primgraph #15 on Newstands

The latest issue of Primgraph is now out. Check out this great Valentine's and romance-inspired issue brought to you by some of the most talented writers and photographers.

Find out about some of the most romantic places in the Steamlands and plan future excursions to some really great locations.

Congratulations to Saffia Widdershins and the team...in particular Terry Lightfoot for yet another gorgeous magazine design.

Be sure to check out our special Quest for the Golden Prim lost journal pages written by our very talented actors. I am extremely pleased with their layout and hope you enjoy them as something a bit different between volumes one and two.

You can read the issue online by visiting http://en.calameo.com/read/00000423405a72ca73652. Better still...get a copy in world for special gifts and links to a myriad of advertisers and their products.

Prim Perfect Issue 31 (February 2011) On Newstands

The latest issue of Prim Perfect Magazine is now available. In conjunction with a great article this month from Annechen Lowey on tidying up your inventory, Prim Perfect is giving away – with the inworld Intellibook version – a special texture organizer (don’t worry, it has a ‘help’ button) as well as our own branded (and copiable) box to fill with storage items. And make sure you look out for other gifts and landmarks to our advertisers’ stores!

The Region of the Month is the very lovely Skybeam Estates which I was very fortunate to get to photograph for Jed Dagger's great article. Skybeam Estates is owned Charlene Trudeau who is also the Design Team for Relay for Life.

Congratulations to Saffia, and the team for another great issue. Excellent design and layout by the fabulous Winona Wiefel.

I was privileged to supply the cover photo for this issue.

Be sure to get the inworld copy of the magazine which has the great gifts in it. You can also read it online by visiting http://en.calameo.com/read/000004234f04985adf0ea.