Sensuous Soulstar: I definitely want to thank you for taking the time out to share a bit about yourself. Let’s just jump right in to the questions. Without revealing too much personal information, tell me a bit about the person behind the avatar. Do you find that your personality influences or shows through your artwork? Dantelicia Ethaniel: Thank you for your interest in my work. To make a long story short, I’m French, I grew up in Paris though I have been living abroad these past years, Brazil being my home now. I have been drawing, painting and doing photography in first life for as long as I can remember but always as an amateur. I suppose everything I do create is an extension of the person I am, the way I perceive or imagine things, pretty much like the words one uses when speaking give clues about one’s personality. SS: With your background in art in your first life, what led you to get into photography in Second Life®? DE: I started taking pictures in SL® after a close friend, a Flickr addict, talked me into it. It was shortly after I joined SL, I gave it a try and got hooked very fast. I discovered so possibilities through
many that
medium, that I invested more time to develop my technical abilities from the shooting to the editing. It became a creative outlet. Many persons, many things have inspired me to create; I grew up with photographs of Doisneau, Lindberg, Roversi, and Sarah Moon plastered all over my walls. I spent long hours at the Louvres and Rodin museum losing myself into beauty. Even in SL, the works of talented individuals like Bryn [Oh], Juliette Herberle, Ariel and so many others have been feeding my creativity. I think at some point, creating images becomes a necessity, it’s just who I am and how I express myself. SS: Think back for a moment and tell me about the first piece that you ever shot after deciding to try your hand at photography, and how you felt it turned out then? How do you feel it compares to the incredible quality of your pieces now, and would you change anything about that first piece? DE: (Laughs) Oh that was pretty bad, I used to hang in a Flamenco club and was attempting to capture couples dancing; it wasn’t quite Lois Greenfield or Degas material. It was a hot mess, but I was thrilled by it, by the process.