TUSCANIA Virtual art from the personal collection of FreeWee Ling
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TUSCANIA TUSCANIA was an art gallery on the former island of Artemisia in Second Life®. The building was originally inspired by the image of a country house near Assisi in Umbria (IT). It was an exercise in creating an idealized vision of a home in which I would most like to live. But having built it, I quickly realized that it was not a good place to “live” in a virtual world. Indeed, there is really very little use for a conventional house in a place where weather, privacy, and physical comfort are not an issue. But I liked the design and appearance of the house, and I especially liked the views from the open doors and windows. At the same time, I realized I had a substantial collection of virtual art in my inventory that would be nice to display for a while. In fact, while assembling the exhibition I realized that I had rather more art than would comfortably fit within the confines of the house. I adapted the house for smaller items and those requiring wall space, and expanded into an adjacent space I’d made as a sort of elegant “swimming hole,” making of it a small sculpture garden. Its location on the corner of the sim meant that it had ocean views on two sides, with the large bay just on the other side of the sculpture area. Tuscania closed in January 2013 with the closing of the Artemisia sim, but I still have all the contents of this exhibition in my inventory. The work on display was acquired over a period of several years.* Most of the pieces were either freebies or gifts from the artists. Some were offered as gifts to anyone at a particular exhibition or event. Some were given to me personally by the artists when I expressed admiration for the work. A few pieces were purchases. What they have in common is simply that they appeal to me for some reason. Creating art has many aspects, but I have come to understand that art is a gift. It is a gift to the artist to be able to envision and render a creation. It is a gift to the viewer to share the work for a time. And the viewer’s time and attention and appreciation is in turn a gift back to the artist. I thank all the artists for their generosity.
~ FreeWee Ling May 2015
* NB. As a curator and gallery owner at Artemisia, and as curator of 3D art at University of Western Australia, I have received art into my personal inventory that is not technically mine, i.e., it was given only to be shown for a particular exhibition. I have been careful to separate that work from pieces that belong to me personally. Only the latter were displayed at Tuscania.
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The Work Items are listed as they appear in the book, which follows generally the layout of the work as it was displayed in the gallery. An alphabetical index appears in the back of this book. GROUND FLOOR
Forget me not shadowbox, by Bryn Oh
Potato Sack Rug, by Trill Zapatero
Fire Dance / Danze del Fuego, by Gwen Carillon
Plasma, by Kyra Roxan
Green Future, by Asmita Duranjaya
LINKED, by Harter Fall
Camille Claudel and Rodin, by Fiona Blaylock
Claustrophobia, by Jadeyu Fhang
Coral Christmas hat, by Nexuno Thespian
Figures from Spirit, by Claudia222 Jewel
After the Rain, by Gracie Kendal
Maintes Fois..., by Artée (Artistide Despres)
Rocking horse, by Rose Borchovski
COMMODITY!, by Miso Susanowa Fin de siecle 2009, by Miso Susanowa
UPPER FLOOR
Caerleon, by Lollito Larkham
Ptarmigan, by Pete Jiminy (painting)
Finger hat, by Lollito Larkham (touch)
Ephemeral Love, by Tyrehl Byk
Sot de TERRE, by Lollito Larkham
Specimen Z109 D4, by Harter Fall
Bunnyken avatar head, by Nebulosus Severine
The Path: inventor head by Colin Fizgig, bottle and table by Bryn Oh
Voynich cannister of herbs, by Hypatia Pickens Found Symmetry II, by Dale Innis The Shining Trapezohedron, by Wizard Gynoid Sitting man, by Banrion Constantine (mannequin sculpt by Katinka Soyinka) Taureau de Knossos, by Ub Yifu The Roof Is Gone, by Miso Susanowa and Misprint Thursday
Snow leopard photo, by FreeWee Ling BoobieThon Box 2011, by Misprint Thursday Natural Act, by RAG Randt (on south balcony) My Heart, by Bittitee Benigni The Space between these Trees, by Eves Rodenberger Hidden Tenderness, by Monroe Snook
DragonFly, by AM Radio
Petal, by Monroe Snook
Mariposa by Elros Touminen
The Abandoned Daughter, by Eliza Wierwight
Bouteille AIR des MINES, by Artée (Artistide Despres)
Warm Abstract, by Eliza Wierwight
Pinhole, by Artée (Artistide Despres)
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Log Cabin, Martin County KY, by Liddy Babenco Luisa, Kentucky, by Liddy Babenco
Smiling mask, by Wolk Writer
ID Bird avatar, by Maya Paris
5 prayers before sleeping, by Ariel Brearly
Tribute to FreeWee, by Secret Rage
Keys on a ring, by Secret Rage
Yak (2006), by Light Waves (AKA Starax)
Fuzzy Hicon, sculptmap by Corto Vieria, textures/composition by quadrapop Lane
Show Merkabah, by Wizard Gynoid
Golden Feathers, by Treacle Darlandes Fireflowers, by Alizarin Goldflake Dream, drawn by Eliza Wierwight Intermittent Green #1, by Tyrehl Byk OUTSIDE Holiday Gift, by Feathers Boa Midnight Mechanism, by Scottius Polke Envoutant, by Aneli Abeyante Female Jazz Singer, by White Lebed Wisdom by Cherry Manga Male Bust, by Claudia222 Jewell Time Flies, by Fiona Blaylock
Ship of Fools, by Haveit Neox Black serpent space chair, by Claudia222 Jewel k-sculpt X3, by Thoth-Anubis Mandala 2 bloo 2, by Thoth-Anubis Soror Nishi & the Temple of the Prim Antientropic cube, by Oberon Onmura Spider Flower, by Scarp Godenot Cool Waves, by Brice Bonetto Hangin On, by LawnDart Curtiss Matrix, by Ginger Lorakeet Hood ornament on sky, by Biff Watanabe Life Painting by, Zephyre Zabelin
Dimensional Drift, by Dekka Raymaker
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The gallery was situated among the lush vegetation and undersea life of Artemisia.
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TUSCANIA Ground Floor
View from the front entrance to the gallery. I do not recall who did the amazing calla lily painting I used as a backdrop. I’ve had it for several years and recall purchasing it from a gallery.
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Potato Sack Rug, by Trill Zapatero
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Plasma, by Kyra Roxan
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LINKED, by Harter Fall Harter exploits transparency to create impossible illusions.
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Claustrophobia, by Jadeyu Fhang
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Figures from “Spirit,� by Claudia222 Jewel A gift from Claudia to visitors at her amazing ArtScreamers installation
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Maintes Fois..., by ArtĂŠe (Artistide Despres) A collection of remarkable pinhole photography.
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COMMODITY! by Miso Susanowa Miso sold herself, piece by piece in a UWA entry. I bought her right arm.
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Fin de siecle 2009, by Miso Susanowa An interactive piece that responds to the viewer’s proximity.
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Caerleon, by Lollito Larkham Photo of a large scale 3D installation
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Finger hat, by Lollito Larkham The finger stands up when touched.
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Sot de TERRE, by Lollito Larkham
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Bunnyken avatar head, by Nebulosus Severine The Bunnyken was an actual toy that was a creepy chicken-rabbit hybrid
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Voynich cannister of herbs, by Hypatia Pickens
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Found Symmetry II, by Dale Innis Kinetic sculpture
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The Shining Trapezohedron, by Wizard Gynoid Interactive Halloween object. When touched, the box opens and spews smoke and the rock glows.
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Sitting man, by Banrion Constantine The mannequin sculpt is by Katinka Soyinka
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Taureau de Knossos, by Ub Yifu A well known sculpture in normal prims from 2007
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The Roof Is Gone, by Miso Susanowa and Misprint Thursday Souvenir sculpture and poster from a collaborative installation at Burning Life 2009. 26
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DragonFly, by AM Radio A wearable accessory from 2008
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Mariposa, by Elros Touminen A wearable accessory from 2008
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Bouteille AIR des MINES, by ArtĂŠe (Artistide Despres) Interactive comment on air pollution. (Touch to toggle particle effects)
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Pinhole, by ArtĂŠe (Artistide Despres) ArtĂŠe is interested in pinhole photography. She gets friends and relatives to donate silver spoons from which she makes her own photosensitive emulsions (a highly toxic and dangerous process). The pinhole camera uses a very small aperture instead of an optical lens.
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Forget me not shadowbox, by Bryn Oh A beautiful example of Bryn’s precise and evocative work. This was a freebie given to donors to an event about missing children.
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Fire Dance / Danze del Fuego, by Gwen Carillon
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Green Future by Asmita Duranjaya
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Camille Claudel and Rodin, by Fiona Blaylock I awarded this piece a UWA Curator’s Choice prize in February 2011.
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Coral Christmas hat, by Nexuno Thespian
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After the Rain by Gracie Kendal Holiday gift
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Rocking horse by Rose Borchovski
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UPPER FLOOR
Ptarmigan, by Pete Jiminy (painting)
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Ephemeral Love, by Tyrehl Byk
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Specimen Z109 D4, by Harter Fall
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The Path - Inventor head, by Colin Fizgig, bottle and table by Bryn Oh
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BoobieThon Box 2011, by Misprint Thursday A set of unique original pieces won in an auction benefiting breast cancer research. The set includes an interactive fainting couch, Boobie-Bot mannequin, TITECH animated wall image, and a pair of pink laquer Candlepumps.
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My Heart, by Bittitee Benigni Tee was a resident of Artemisia for a while. This was part of a residents’ show at Galerie de la Vie.
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Natural Act, by RAG Randt (on south balcony) A delightful interactive piece in which you get to juggle the planets. 46
The Space Between These Trees, by Eves Rodenberger Eves makes evocative images at interesting locations. This one is from an installation by AM Radio. Eves had an exhibition at Galerie de la Vie.
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Hidden Tenderness by Monroe Snook
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Petal, by Monroe Snook Monroe creates hybrid images from rl/SL. This was one of my favorites from her show at Galerie de la Vie.
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The Abandoned Daughter, by Eliza Wierwight I was stunned when I saw this at UWA. There is so much to see in it. The images, the textures, all telling a story. Eliza was kind enough to offer me a copy.
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Warm Abstract, by Eliza Wierwight An example of decorative art, this was part of a Xmas gift from Eliza’s PATRON gallery.
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Log Cabin Martin County KY and Luisa, Kentucky by Liddy Babenco Liddy is a former resident of Artemisia who is a wonderful pastel painter. I have a special resonance with these Kentucky scenes.
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Smiling mask, by Wolk Writer Wolk is a professional artist and a former resident of Artemisia.
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5 prayers before sleeping, by Ariel Brearly Ariel is a brilliant rl surrealist artist, often using figurative subjects in dreamlike environments.
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Keys on a ring by Secret Rage
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Fuzzy Hicon spikes scrolled. Sculptmap by Corto Vieria, textures/composition by quadrapop Lane
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Golden Feathers, by Treacle Darlandes
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Intermittent Green #1, by Tyrehl Byk
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Fireflowers, by Alizarin Goldflake
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Dream, by Eliza Wierwight
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Holiday Gift, by Feathers Boa
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Midnight Mechanism, by Scottius Polke
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Envoutant, by Aneli Abeyante
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Female Jazz Singer,, by White Lebed One of a remarkable series of musician sculptures that was premièred at Galerie de la Vie on Artemisia.
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Wisdom, by Cherry Manga
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Time Flies, by Fiona Blaylock
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Male Bust, by Claudia222 Jewell An early mesh draft by Claudia, who continues to astonish with her organic sculptural work, often on very large scales. 69
Dimensional Drift, by Dekka Raymaker (for Burning Life 2009)
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ID Bird avatar, by Maya Paris Made for the Caerleon “Identity Museum� collaboration
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Tribute to FreeWee by Secret Rage A little gift in appreciation of my work at UWA
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Yak (2006) by Light Waves (AKA Starax)
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Show Merkabah, by Wizard Gynoid
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Black serpent space chair, by Claudia222 Jewel
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Ship of Fools, by Haveit Neox
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k-sculpt X3, by Thoth-Anubis
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Mandala 2 bloo 2, by Thoth-Anubis
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Soror Nishi & the Temple of the Prim, by Soror Nishi (exhibition invitation)
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Antientropic cube, by Oberon Onmura 81
Spider Flower, by Scarp Godenot
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Cool Waves, by Brice Bonetto
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Hangin On, by LawnDart Curtiss
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Matrix - from Inside Art, by Ginger Lorakeet
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Hood ornament on sky, by Biff Watanabe
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Life Painting, by Zephyre Zabelin (Founder of Artemisia)
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INDEX OF ARTISTS Alizarin Goldflake ~ Fireflowers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 AM Radio ~ DragonFly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Aneli Abeyante ~ Envoutant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Ariel Brearly ~ 5 prayers before sleeping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Artée (Artistide Despres) ~ Bouteille AIR des MINES . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Artée (Artistide Despres) ~ Maintes Fois... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Artée (Artistide Despres) ~ Pinhole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Asmita Duranjaya ~ Green Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Banrion Constantine ~ Sitting man (mannequin sculpt by Katinka Soyinka) . . . . 24 Biff Watanabe ~ Hood ornament on sky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Bittitee Benigni ~ My Heart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Brice Bonetto ~ Cool Waves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Bryn Oh ~ Forget me not shadowbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Cherry Manga ~ Wisdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Claudia222 Jewel ~ Black serpent space chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Claudia222 Jewel ~ Figures from Spirit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Claudia222 Jewell ~ Male Bust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Colin Fizgig ~ The Path: inventor head by Colin Fizgig, bottle and table by Bryn Oh . 43 Dale Innis ~ Found Symmetry II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Dekka Raymaker ~ Dimensional Drift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Eliza Wierwight ~ Dream . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Eliza Wierwight ~ The Abandoned Daughter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Eliza Wierwight ~ Warm Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Elros Touminen ~ Mariposa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Eves Rodenberger ~ The Space between these Trees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Feathers Boa ~ Holiday Gift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Fiona Blaylock ~ Camille Claudel and Rodin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Fiona Blaylock ~ Time Flies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 quadrapop Lane ~ Fuzzy Hicon (sculptmap by Corto Vieria) . . . . . . . . . . 57 Ginger Lorakeet ~ Matrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Gracie Kendal ~ After the Rain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Gwen Carillon ~ Fire Dance/Danze del Fuego . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Harter Fall ~ LINKED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Harter Fall ~ Specimen Z109 D4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Haveit Neox ~ Ship of Fools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Hypatia Pickens ~ Voynich cannister of herbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Jadeyu Fhang ~ Claustrophobia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Kyra Roxan ~ Plasma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
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LawnDart Curtiss ~ Hangin On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Liddy Babenco ~ Log Cabin Martin County KY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Liddy Babenco ~ Luisa, Kentucky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Light Waves (AKA Starax) ~ Yak (2006) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Lollito Larkham ~ Sot de TERRE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Lollito Larkham ~ Caerleon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Lollito Larkham (touch) ~ Finger hat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Maya Paris ~ ID Bird avatar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Miso Susanowa ~ COMMODITY! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Miso Susanowa ~ Fin de siecle 2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Miso Susanowa and Misprint Thursday ~ The Roof Is Gone . . . . . . . . . . 26 Misprint Thursday ~ BoobieThon Box 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Monroe Snook ~ Hidden Tenderness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Monroe Snook ~ Petal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Nebulosus Severine ~ Bunnyken avatar head . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Nexuno Thespian ~ Coral Christmas hat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Oberon Onmura ~ Antientropic cube . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Pete Jiminy ~ Ptarmigan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 RAG Randt ~ Natural Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Rose Borchovski ~ Rocking horse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Scarp Godenot ~ Spider Flower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 Scottius Polke ~ Midnight Mechanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Secret Rage ~ Keys on a ring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Secret Rage ~ Tribute to FreeWee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Soror Nishi ~ Soror Nishi & the Temple of the Prim . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Thoth-Anubis ~ k-sculpt X3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Thoth-Anubis ~ Mandala 2 bloo 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Treacle Darlandes ~ Golden Feathers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Trill Zapatero ~ Potato Sack Rug . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Tyrehl Byk ~ Ephemeral Love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Tyrehl Byk ~ Intermittent Green #1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Ub Yifu ~ Taureau de Knossos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 White Lebed ~ Female Jazz Singer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Wizard Gynoid ~ Show Merkabah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Wizard Gynoid ~ The Shining Trapezohedron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Wolk Writer ~ Smiling mask . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Zephyre Zabelin ~ Life Painting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
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TUSCANIA