UWA SiVA 3.1: The Freedom Project

The Freedom Project An exhibition of original art in a virtual world

The Freedom Project

An exhibition of original virtual art by artists and filmmakers with disabilities or chronic illness UWA Studies in Virtual Arts | Spring 2014 | Volume 3, Number 1 ISSN: 2200-7865 (Print)

ISSN: 2200-7873 (Online)

UWA Studies in Virtual Arts April 2014 Volume 3, Number 1 ISSN 2200-7865 (Print) ISSN: 2200-7873 (Online) http://uwainsl.blogspot.com/p/uwa-studiesin-virtual-arts.html Jay Jay Jegathesan (SL pseudonym: JayJay Zifanwe), Founder & Lead of UWA Virtual World Projects, Co-curator D. A. Newton (SL pseudonym: FreeWee Ling), UWA Honorary Research Fellow, Lead Curator, General Editor Copyright © 2014 by D. A. Newton. All rights to the original works depicted as well as text and images provided by participant are owned by their respective creators are used with their permission.

Contact: Jay Jay Jegathesan School of Physics The University of Western Australia (M013) 35 Stirling Highway Crawley WA 6009 Australia Email: jay.jay@uwa.edu.au

University of Western Australia Studies in Virtual Arts (UWA SiVA) comprise exhibition catalogues, special editions, and monographs on the arts in virtual worlds. Focus is especially upon the 3D art competitions and exhibitions held at UWA’s virtual campus in Second Life®.

Citation Contributors retain intellectual property rights to their material and may re-publish it provided that UWA SiVA is acknowledged as the original place of publication. Material in UWA SiVA may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-profit use for the purposes of education, research, library reference, or stored and/or distributed as a public service by any networked computer. Any commercial use of this journal in whole or in part by any means is strictly prohibited without written permission. Any use of this journal in whole or in part should include customary bibliographic citation.

“Second Life®”and “Linden Lab®” are trademarks of Linden Research, Inc. The University of Western Australia and UWA SiVA are not affiliated with or sponsored by Linden Research.

Cover art/exhibition poster art

by Eliza Wierwight.

The Freedom Project

An exhibition of original virtual art by artists and filmmakers with disabilities or chronic illness

Organized jointly by: The University of Western Australia Members of the Virtual Ability group The Centre for ME/CFS and Other Invisible Illnesses in Second Life

Introduction UWA IN SECOND LIFE Now in its fifth year of 3D virtual art exhibitions, the University of Western Australia’s virtual gallery in Second Life® (SL™) has been recognized worldwide as a preeminent venue for the presentation of virtual arts and machinima.*

As you will see in the stories told by the participants in the Freedom Project, virtual worlds can serve not only to enable people with disabilities, but indeed to inspire and empower them as well. The exhibition has become a focal point to illustrate the power of virtual worlds to help fulfill human potential and to give meaning to lives that often seem desperate.

The Freedom Project

NOT A COMPETITION

The Freedom Project was a 2D/3D art and film enterprise organized jointly by the University of Western Australia, members of the Virtual Ability group, and the Centre for ME/CFS and Other Invisible Illnesses in Second Life. We called for artists and filmmakers from all over the world who self-identify as having a disability or a chronic illness to create an artwork or a film/machinima on the theme of ‘Freedom,’ to illustrate how virtual worlds have in some way helped them or those around them.

In contrast to our usual exhibitions, the Freedom Project was not competitive. As a token of our appreciation, each artist or collaboration received a special award from UWA and the sponsors.

Films and artwork were submitted from 1 September 2013 to 28 February 2014. Artwork could have no more than 200 prims (translating into server load or “land impact”), and films could be 3-5 minutes in length (though no hard limits were enforced). Artwork went on display immediately upon receipt at the UWA Virtual Gallery in Second Life, and films were posted on the UWA in Second Life blog. (See: http://uwainsl.blogspot.com).

WHY THIS THEME? We had sufficient evidence, both anecdotally and through the creative activities of Virtual Ability and other organizations in Second Life, that there is a population active in SL who have real-life barriers to creative work. Indeed, many have significant physical or mental disabilities that severely limit their intellectual and social lives. But they are able to use a computer.

Along with their entries, we asked artists to (optionally) tell us briefly how the virtual world has assisted them and/or those around them, has helped create community, or has helped them to transcend difficulties and challenges real life has posed.

Additionally, this journal will be available online as part of the UWA Studies in Virtual Arts series, and all participants will receive a full color printed edition. (Films/ machinima are depicted with stills and a link). We hope that this journal, along with all the artwork, machinima, and stories, will inspire others, and will demonstrate how virtual worlds can be used to help some people who may have had difficulties finding other means to express themselves, to believe in themselves more, or to connect with others.

SPONSORS & PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS UWA thanks Gentle Heron and members of the executive team of Virtual Ability, Inc., as well as Dianne Elton and the Centre for ME/CFS and Other Invisible Illnesses in Second Life for their guidance, support and advice. As fully participating members of the organizing committee, they have been integral to the entire project from planning through execution and beyond.

Also many thanks to our co-sponsors: Eliza Wierwight (who also created the poster for this event), David Doyle and Simone Flavelle of DADAA’s stARTSPEAK Project, Tom Papas and Screen My Shorts Inc. (Sydney), West Australian artist Len Zuks, Beverley Hill of UWA’s Equity & Diversity Office, Craig MacKenzie and Deborah Bolton of UniPrint, and TheDove Rhode of Peace is A Choice Gallery. We thank Taralyn Gravois and Petlove Petshop, who assisted with the filming and creation of video in

*Machinima is the use of real-time computer graphics engines to create a cinematic productions. Virtual worlds such as SL can be used to set up scenes and animate characters to create compelling movies.

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support of the event as well as other valuable assistance.

We thank AviewTV and LaPiscean Liberty, who provided live streaming assistance for events and hosting of machinima submissions. We thank Eleanor Medier and The Sim Street Journal as well as Kit Guardian and Guardian 11:11 for their multifaceted commitment towards the event.

Thanks to iMoogi TV (imoogi.tv) and Nu Vibez Magazine (nuvibezmag.com) led by Filipa Thespian who provided iMoogi.TV prime channel distribution along with writeups in Nu Vibez Magazine of selected submissions.

8 July 2014 - The Tim Maley Butterfly Garden The Freedom Project continues to inspire other activities. Tim Maley, a Western Australia artist with learning disabilities, created a series of butterfly drawings in 2012.

DADAA’s stARTSPEAK project sponsored the creation of a butterfly garden in UWA’s Second Life virtual campus in which Maley’s drawings are animated in a naturalistic environment. The unveiling at UWA to Maley and the sponsors is documented on the UWA in SL blog.

(See: http://goo.gl/x0Q7LB)

EVENTS

INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATION

There were several events relating to the project:

We had 40 entries by 36 artists (there were two collaborations and three artists with multiple entries). We had representation from at least eight countries.

1 September 2013 - Launch The project and a call for entries was announced at an event in the UWA Virtual Art Gallery in SL. Details of the project were presented by the organizing committee of Jay Jay Jegathesan, FreeWee Ling, Dianne Elton, and Gentle Heron. (See: http://goo.gl/OTY8Ii) 23 March 2014 - Grand Opening A thank you ceremony was held for all the artists, filmmakers and writers who participated in the project, as well as officially launching the Freedom Project exhibition at the UWA Virtual gallery. Remarks were presented by the members of the organizing committee, and an announcement was made by artist-filmmaker Taralyn Gravois about a project with her colleague Petlove Petshop to film interviews with artists from the project.

(See: http://goo.gl/enXCRD) 12 April 2014 - VWBPE The organizing committee gave a panel presentation as the final formal event of the 2014 Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education Conference. The conference attracts thousands of attendees annually. Immediately following the presentation, curator FreeWee Ling led a tour of the exhibition at the UWA gallery.

(See: http://vwbpe.org/) 22-29 June 2014 SL11B Curator FreeWee Ling created a small traveling edition of the Freedom Project gallery for the Second Life 11th Birthday Community Celebration (SL11B) which was attended by thousands of SL users.

(See: http://goo.gl/QywIBF)

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20 USA 3 Australia 3 UK 1 Canada 2 France

1 Italy 1 Japan 1 Netherlands 4 Anonymous

SECOND LIFE - COMMON Practices/ Language There are certain conventional practices and terms used in virtual worlds that might seem unusual to those unfamiliar with virtual worlds.

Anonymity: Personal identity in virtual worlds is an essential philosophical question users encounter as their online personalities develop. In many cases, people use the virtual world as an experimental and experiential platform for exploring their sense of self. When offered an opportunity to represent oneself in any gender, race, age, even species, what does one choose? Do we represent our real life disabilities? For many reasons users often find it liberating to adopt an anonymous persona, a sort of nom de guerre for their virtual lives. It is normal practice to interact with people we meet as though they are in fact generally as they present themselves since we lack any means of knowing otherwise. (Whatever decisions people make about their virtual representations may arguably say more about who they really are than real life physical appearance can.) Others are more comfortable representing themselves in a manner more closely aligned to their real selves. Users may or may not ever reveal their real-life identities and this choice is respected

as a matter of etiquette. For the Freedom Project we asked participants to share their home city and an image of themselves if they wished. Some chose to share these details while others did not. There is no stigma attached to either preference.

Names: Second Life has had different rules for how user names are chosen, especially as it relates to surnames.

More recently, users have been allowed to use “display names” which may differ from their official account names. It has thus become customary to order lists of names by first name, with preference for official user names over the more ephemeral display names. This journal follows that custom.

SL: “SL” is the common acronym for Second Life, used in both conversation and writing to denote both the company and also the virtual space currently inhabited. Often used to distinguish between SL and “rl,” or “real life,” i.e., the physical world of the user.

Language: Artists often make art when words fail them. Second Life is a truly international community. Users may associate in nation- or language-specific areas or groups where they will find people like themselves and where the environment is familiar.

But many find it most rewarding to venture out into the virtual world at large and to interact with people from everywhere. Second Life has a certain English language dominance due to its origins, and is the official language of UWA. But language differences are generally considered one of the more engaging challenges with working in a borderless world. Some artists in any of our exhibitions may speak little or no English, and some of their written stories may be a bit difficult to follow. Some may use online translation aids or they may have friends translate for them. Additionally, the nature of this project is such that written language of any kind may be difficult for some due to their disabilities. These issues are generally well tolerated within Second Life conversation and complete inability to communicate through words is rare, no matter the language or other issues. You will find the stories presented in the Freedom Project to be emotionally powerful regardless of syntax. We did not extensively edit the artists’ own words in order to retain the flavor of their own expression.

THE FREEDOM PROJECT

by Jay Jay Jegathesan (SL: JayJay Zifanwe), Founder & Lead of UWA Virtual World Projects The Freedom Project called on artists and filmmakers and writers from around the world to show us how virtual worlds have helped people from all walks of life to overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges.

This was a truly remarkable event because of the willingness of so many people to share intimate stories of themselves in order to help others by their examples.

The event would not have come about if not for 3 amazing people: my co-organisers Gentle Heron, representing the executive team of Virtual Ability, Inc., as well as Dianne Elton for the Centre for ME/CFS and Other Invisible Illnesses in Second Life, and FreeWee Ling, UWA virtual arts curator and without whom this book would not exist.

Dianne Elton, who I have met in real life in Perth and who has been tirelessly working to help others with numerous challenges in real life, was one of the inspirations for me to start with the Freedom Project. Meeting her for the first time brought home to me the power of virtual worlds and the positive impact it could have. Though her illness keeps her housebound, I have watched her grow over the years, through being empowered by using virtual worlds, into a dynamic and inspirational leader who has helped numerous others. The other inspiration was Professor Ted Snell, who proposed the theme of “Freedom” when he heard we were looking to have an art and film project of this nature.

Most importantly, the inspiration comes from the artists, filmmakers and writers who have been willing to share how virtual worlds have helped them. They are the real stars of this exhibition. They have brought us 40 soulful and thought-provoking works of art, machinima, and stories. They hail from all across the

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globe—from Strasbourg, Toulouse, Dawsonville, Osaka, Green Bay, Blackpool, Salem, Tampa Bay, Perth, Tasmania, Warwickshire, Houston, Kansas, Northern California, Berkeley, Milan, Northern Rivers, Dallas, Detroit, New Mexico, Tennessee, Berlin, Tampa Bay, Ohio, Den Bosch, North Georgia, the island of Kaua’i, and from parts unknown in Canada.

UWA has over the past 5 years organized the largest art & film projects using 3D virtual worlds, but I feel that this one event is potentially the most important of all that we have undertaken over the years.

THE ART AND THE ARTISTS

by FreeWee Ling, Curator, UWA Virtual Arts As the curator of virtual art programs at the UWA sims, I have a unique relationship with the work we have exhibited since late 2010. It is my privilege to spend hours, weeks, and months with a show, placing each entry, documenting it, photographing it from all necessary angles, and in some cases creating an exhibition catalog as part of the UWA Studies in Virtual Arts series of online and (as with this edition) printed journals.

My primary mission as curator is to encourage people to take time to really look at creative work so they can get even a glimmer of the depth I see in so many great works by so many amazing artists.

I was not at all sure what to expect from the Freedom Project. Would we find enough creative people with disabilities or chronic illness to mount a respectable show? Would we have to look at the work through the filter of the artists’ disabilities, or could it stand on its own artistic merit?

Over the past several years we have shown thousands of works of art and machinima by hundreds of creative people working in SL from all over the world. As entries for the Freedom Project began to trickle in, it became apparent that this was going to be a very special show. I am as proud of the work in this exhibition as any we have ever done.

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One of the things that surprised me most was the number of entries we received from many of the best artists we have often shown over the years. In most cases I’d had no prior knowledge of their personal lives, but simply knew them as great artists, so it was especially gratifying to have their participation. But I was equally delighted to have so many new people whose work I’d never seen before. I hope they will be encouraged to participate in future shows at UWA and elsewhere.

UWA has always focused on separate 3D art and machinima competitions. The Freedom Project has been a departure as we accepted machinima, 3D, and 2D art together in one show. Fortunately, we decided to make this a showcase rather than a competition, which would have been very difficult to judge given the various media.

Finally, this show has been very emotional for me. I know how profoundly working in SL has affected my own life, but in working on this journal I have read and reread the personal statements by these generous artists and I continue to be deeply moved by them. As I have said to many people: If you need to justify or want to illustrate how working in virtual worlds can have a profound impact on people’s lives—why Second Life is important—you need look no further than this exhibition.

Centre for ME/CFS and Other Invisible Illnesses

by Dianne Birt (SL: Dianne Elton) I have been delighted to be part of the organising committee of the wonderful Freedom Project. It is heartening to see people with illness or disability acknowledged in this way. It is fitting too that the work has been displayed at the University of Western Australia (UWA) in Second Life (SL) as it is a premier art destination of SL. A recent UWA study has found that doing art as a hobby can have a positive impact on health and wellbeing, so

the opportunity for those isolated by illness to express themselves through art in SL is given so much more credence. The production of this book is a further acknowledgement of the value of the works and I thank fellow organisers, JayJay, FreeWee, and Gentle, and all the very generous sponsors, for this wonderful initiative.

condition, but also to broader community perspectives of health and wellbeing and the opportunities provided for that in the virtual world.

I am a facilitator of the Centre for ME/CFS and Other Invisible Illnesses in Second Life. M.E. is the acronym for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and CFS is the acronym for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. These are called invisible illnesses, because sufferers may appear to be well and yet may be so sick they are housebound (which means they cannot leave the house without assistance). Many ME sufferers are also bed bound, they are so severely ill.

I am pleased to represent the Virtual Ability community in the Freedom Project. We have artists from all over the physical world and from many different disability communities within Second Life.

Isolation and loneliness can be part of invisible illness.

However, the Internet and social media open up some possibilities. SL is a multi-user 3D virtual world and, along with other social media such as Facebook, can provide opportunities for social contact and pursuit of areas of interest not available, because of illness, in real life.

At the ME/CFS centre, we hold guided relaxation sessions to help people cope with symptom management, pain, and anxiety. A group also meets once a week to discuss research into the illness. Another group meets for support. Sufferers can meet others and talk about the difficulties they face in relation to their health challenges.

There is also a gallery of creative works at the centre all done by fellow sufferers, which is an inspiration to all of us. It was through my interest in art that I met JayJay in SL and invited him to visit the art gallery at the ME/CFS Centre. This visit became the genesis for the Freedom Project as JayJay came to understand the potential of SL for those isolated in real life by illness. I am grateful to JayJay for his perception and the evolution of this project.

Whilst the UWA Freedom Project invited people with illness or disability to showcase their art, it also provided them an opportunity to share, through that art, what it feels like to be ill and perhaps isolated. I hope that the production of this book will help further community understanding of issues surrounding illness and how those who are ill nevertheless have valuable insight to offer, not only in regard to their respective physical

Virtual Ability Group

by Alice Krueger (SL: Gentle Heron)

Art has been an important part of human culture since our Stone Age ancestors painted the walls of the caves in which they dwelt. We use art in many ways. Art can be used for decoration of person or surroundings, declaration, instruction, warning, social commentary, religious ritual, even recording historical events. Perhaps the most important use of art is to communicate our feelings.

Both the creator and viewer of a work of art are interpreting the subject of that item. In this exhibit, numerous artists express their feelings about how being part of a virtual world has offered them the freedom to express themselves, to enjoy life, and to live more as they want to live. I invite you to spend time with at least one piece of artwork, one that speaks directly to you, that moves you emotionally. Ponder it. Let it sink into your heart and brain. Feel what the artist felt when creating the work. Invite a friend to view the artwork with you, then find a quiet place to sit and talk about it.

Several academic researchers are thinking about how the affordances of virtual worlds impact people with disabilities. They need only attend this art exhibit to learn a great deal about that subject.

Thank you, JayJay and the University of Western Australia for hosting this event; and thanks to all the people who helped make it successful.

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Related Events

A launch event for The Freedom Project was held at the UWA Art Gallery on the 1st of September 2013.

See: http://goo.gl/OTY8Ii for full details.

2014 Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education Conference (VWBPE) - 12 April 2014.

Featured Panel: The Freedom Project: How Artistic Expression Transcends Real Life Challenges.

VWBPE is an annual conference that attracts thousands of educators and others.

Photo (l-r): Elektra Panthar (moderator), Gentle Heron, FreeWee Ling, JayJay Jegathesan.

(Diane Elton arrived later.)

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Sunday 23 March, saw the official opening of the Freedom Project exhibition at the UWA Virtual gallery. A thank-you ceremony was held for all the artists, filmmakers and writers who participated in the project.

Announcements were made by (l-r) Taralyn Gravois, FreeWee Ling, Dianne Elton, Jay Jay Jegathesan, Gentle Heron

An extension gallery representing the Freedom Project was placed at the Second Life 11th Birthday Community Celebration in June.

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The Entries

There were 40 entries by 36 artists (including two collaborations and three artists with multiple entries).

Alysabelle Resident (Eastern USA) ~ My story Ama Avro (France) ~ Passage Bamboo Barnes (Osaka, Japan) ~ Cold lights Bamboo Barnes (Osaka, Japan) ~ Show me the place Barry Richez (France) ~ Freedom of Creativity Draxtor Despres/Barbie Alchemi/Fran Serenade(USA): ~ We Can Learn & Grow & Heal Together iSkye Silverweb (Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA) ~ Speechless Freedom Jesse Keyes (Dawsonville, Georgia, USA) ~ The Time Machine Johnny Lane (Salem, Missouri, USA): ~ Eat Soon, ~ Japanese Macaque, ~ The Calm Dreamer, ~ Vincent’s Mountains Krystali Rabeni (Blackpool, England) ~ A Helping Hand Mathilde Vhargon (England) ~ Dancing With Impediments Megadeus (Tampa Bay Area, Florida, USA) ~ Mental Prison Miranda (p3n3lop3) (Perth, Australia) ~ Dance in Stasis Miso Susanowa (Ohio, USA) ~ Big Winter Misprint Thursday (USA) ~ Goodnight Lights Pale Illusion, GID (Gender identity disorder) ParkArt Collaborative ~ ParkArt Gallery • DB Bailey (Tennessee, USA) • SolasNaGealai • Brenda Brodie • Tray Rivera • Fran Seranade (California, USA)

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Roc Furse (Den Bosch, Netherlands) ~ Escape Roiben Sweetwater (North Georgia, USA): ~ Alice ~ The Many Sides Of Me Roman Godde (Canada/USA): ~ Beauty In Darkness ~ Silent Night Ronin1 Shippe (Alamogordo, New Mexico USA): ~ Elephant with Flower, ~ Three Musicians ~ Coyote, ~ Orange Planes Roxie Marten (Detroit Michigan, USA) ~ Gaze Upon The World Secret Rage (Dallas Texas, USA) ~ I Choose Freedom Sheba Blitz ( Northern Rivers NSW, Australia) ~ Circle of Freedom Slatan Dryke (Milan, Italy) ~ Yonder Starheart Erdhein (Kaua’i, Hawaii, USA) ~ Mandala Dance Talia Sunsong (Berkeley, California, USA) ~ Freedom Flight Tarquin Evermore (Kansas, USA) ~ Lotus of Enlightenment Traskin Snakeankle (Northern California, USA) ~ Lifeline Wally (landscapewallpiece) (Southeast, USA) ~ Sky Populus Willo (Tasmania, Australia) ~ Cyberwings Xia Firethorn (Warwickshire, UK) ~ My Body is a Cage

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Alysabelle Resident (Eastern USA) ~ My story

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My Story: My name is Alysabelle. I joined a group called Virtual Ability in Second Life last year. Personally, I have a physical hearing impairment. I’m so grateful for Virtual Ability and the group of mentors, for they help those including myself who have disabilities of one kind or another. Prior to joining Virtual Ability I was simply lost. I also was surprised to have been told they are volunteers from all walks of life and provide support here in Second Life to the community members, and even those outside the community. Their continuing patience, even a listening ear, without a doubt is touching. They constantly amaze me. I personally never received this kind of wonderful treatment before and certainly never thought I would in a place called Second Life. I have learned so much more than I ever thought I would and continue to. And not just about Second Life, but also surprisingly about myself. It has been an eye-opening experience.

They have events, field trips, educational programs, and countless other activities here in Second Life for Virtual Ability members and their guests.

When you pose the question, “Why do you mentor?” there is one answer that stands out and that they share amongst each other. The answer is simply, “I love helping others.” For those before me I’m sure you know what I mean when I say that. For those who have yet to join Virtual Ability and for those who will, you will be touched emotionally one way or another by the Mentors and all they do for us.

To the Mentors I have met, too numerous to name: smiles! And to those I have yet to meet, thank you for all you do. Your selfless acts of kindness and generosity are heartwarming. You all are without a doubt a true inspiration.

I read this quote once and it comes to mind when I think of Virtual Ability: “We can never get a re-creation of community and heal our society without giving our citizens a sense of belonging.” * In my Second life community Virtual Ability there is a great sense of belonging, I call it my home and I, Alysabelle, truly belong, Thank you.

~Alysabelle Resident

* Hunter Campbell “Patch” Adams (b. 1945). Physician, activist, author.

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Ama Avro (France) ~ Passage In the sixteenth century, Michel Eyquem, Lord of Montaigne—born 28 February 1533 and died 13 September 1592 in Saint-Michel-de Montaigne (Périgord-Dordogne-France)—humanist philosopher, Renaissance writer, tries to describe how to understand humans.

For him, man is a being very limited. The powers of the body and soul of man are not perfection. Diseases of the body and soul of man are numerous.

This limited man: can he have access to the knowledge of the good, beautiful, and true? He responds to this question by saying that the man is not given once and for all but is constantly changing.

It teaches us to love life as it is, as it happens, rather than always another dream. He teaches "the middle way," as he says, which is suspicious of all forms of extremism. It promotes pleasure, serenity, action.

And he says "I do not paint man; I paint the way (passage)." (Essays, Book III , Chapter II) My Story: For me, "Second Life" is my second life. When one is led to live a half-life, for health reasons, for example, Second Life gives us the opportunity to dream, to make new discoveries, improbable encounters, share knowledge, create ... without moving from our chair, without leaving our room ... just by from the other side.

All chairs have feet at the end of their four legs.

Those we do not always have. Legs crossed, they rest.

Feet ready for walking, they take me on a trip.

The keys open doors, but sometimes you can also go through walls ... Behind there necessarily has something to discover.

In SL, imagination is creation. My meetings are exchanges and learning.

Sitting on a chair, I can however travel... travel from darkness to light, in the joy of creation.

Learn and travel with a child's soul.

"Passage"... Instructions : Climbing on his chair Well settle Discover another world Climb mountains Dancing on ice Follow the bird in the ivy forest Become a mermaid Child become.

Meet unlikely friends Learn how to build.

Build houses Produce flowers.

Flying butterflies Reach for the moon Dream ~ Ama Avro

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Bamboo Barnes (Osaka, Japan) ~ Cold lights

My story: SL: it is something so important in my life since I found SL photography in the middle of 2012, which was the very first time I tried in my both lives.

I cry when I edit photos in Photoshop many times. The sadness and anger become clear. Which I have kept deep inside me since I was a kid, I hadn't noticed that until 12 years ago even.

I am totally messed up in real life with my depression (doc says it is bipolar, but I am not so sure about that), lost everything for that. However I feel I become a bit worth myself when I make my photos.

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Bamboo Barnes (Osaka, Japan) ~ Show me the place

I am barely living day by day. Still SL gives me emotion once in a while. I met some special people (sadly most of them have already left SL); I just wish someday they look at my work and remember me.

I am sorry that I cannot explain why or how I became like now, so hard to talk or explain myself without asking...

maybe many abused children will be like me, I guess.

Best regards. ~ Bamboo Barnes

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Barry Richez (France) ~ Freedom of Creativity My Story : I'm agoraphobic (def: agoraphobia psychology, noun, an irrational fear of open spaces or public places. Agoraphobe: noun; agoraphobic, adj, noun. Etymology: 19th century, from Greek agora: marketplace + phobia: fear.)

With my work called Freedom of Creativity, I try to show how Second Life helps me with my disease. This work expresses how stuck I was before I experienced this free and creative place and how step by step I can release my creative self.

I'd been suffering from this handicap for such a long time when in 2006 I heard on TV about a 3D virtual world called Second Life. I logged on to explore and see what it was. Step by step, year after year, I've met extraordinary people, explored amazing places; all this gave me the guts to learn how build in this world where we are able to have the freedom to speak, dream, and share everything to the world as art.

For a creative person like me, Second Life offers a great opportunity to fling wide open the doors to my imagination and this is not trivial in this virtual world.

Of course I don't pretend it will cure my handicap but it allows me to breathe and in some sense approach the outside and others.

For me Second Life is not an other world but an integrated part of the world.

We speak much about social networks today, but Second Life has for me been a very good example for a very long time; a great laboratory with infinite possibilities as we have the imagination to make it evolve.

Then Second Life is a crutch to help me to go ahead?

Yes, I am sure it is. Yes, Second Life can help with some handicaps.

Usually I dislike to speak about myself and just the thought that this will be read by many people scares me, but by the blessing of Second Life, I'm behind my "Persiennes" [window blinds], where I don't hide but where I'm protected so I can tell you these few words. ~ Barry Richez (Translation French to English by Mania Amat)

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Draxtor Despres/Barbie Alchemi/Fran Serenade (USA): ~ We Can Learn and Grow and Heal Together • Video link: http://goo.gl/u5u0L7 Draxtor Despres is known for his insightful documentary interviews with prominent creative individuals in Second Life. This episode of The Drax Files: World Makers video series, in which he interviews SL residents Fran Seranade and her daughter Barbie Alchemi, was submitted as a highly relevant statement about how virtual worlds can empower people and bring them together. The video also formed a part of the ParkArt installation documented elsewhere in this volume. Following is a complete transcript.

Barbie Alchemy: Ten years ago now our dad died with Parkinson’s and my mom had been his caregiver.

It was exactly a year later that she was diagnosed with Parkinson's. My mom is one of the wisest and most inspirational and most resilient women that I have met. There's not many 86-year-olds that come into Second Life. She's in there, ya know? And what we have observed is that the more time she spent in Second Life the younger she seemed to become in real life.

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Fran Seranade: My name in Second Life is Fran Seranade.

Barbie Alchemy: Second Life gave the emotional experience back to her.

Fran Seranade: “I have been in world four years, just like my daughter.”

Barbie Alchemy: My name in Second Life is Barbie Alchemy. I am the founder of Creations for Parkinson's. I wanted to recreate environments free of stress. We have horseback riding, we have ice skating; people go dancing…

Fran Seranade: There’s a lack of dopamine that comes into your brain when you have Parkinson’s. So these activities, they’re great for my condition because they’re fun.

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Barbie Alchemy: Play in the water, people dive underwater and become a mermaids and explore some beautiful caves and caverns.

Fran Seranade: As a mermaid it is great to be able to use my muscles like that.

Barbie Alchemy: The thing that really grabbed me was the ability to create as you did as a child. Create in your mind and it can become your reality. It changes who we are from the inside out.

There are many places on our island where people can get together and exchange ideas and talk about their issues, in private or more publicly as they wish. This is a wonderful way for people to meet with friends and have the social connections that they may be missing in real life due to geographical isolation. Sometimes people can be terribly shy, but in here they open up for some reason. Meeting here with our avatar is a totally freeing experience. There is a deeper level of connection. We really let down or masks and we are authentically ourselves. Who we are will get expressed in our avatar. We’re out of the box.

Fran Seranade: The avatar represents who I really feel inside. When I look at my avatar, I feel like I am looking at myself.

Barbie Alchemy: One of the things with Parkinson’s is people lose balance. If we were going out to the car, she would put one hand onto me the other hand onto the edge of the car to go down the curb. One day she said, “Look at this! No hands! I just know that my avatar can do this and I know that I can too.”

Most likely, what this is is the mirror neurons in the brain that are very abundant when we're young children and we're just learning to walk or speak or smile. And we mirror ourselves after what we see in the others around us. It affects how our muscles develop in our body. We know we have brain plasticity. We can continue to learn throughout our lives and that's very important to do. When watching our avatars we believe it is triggering the mirror neurons to create new pathways or to connect to the body newer, healthier, younger ways.

Fran Seranade: Second Life just might be the fountain of youth.

Barbie Alchemy: This is reality. It’s just reality in a different form.

Draxtor Despres: What an inspiring story. Thank you so much for sharing it. I hope we didn't forget any important aspects you wanted to touch upon?

Barbie Alchemy: Well, Drax, we also need to tell you that we raise donations as an official Team Fox for the benefit of the Michael J. Fox Foundation. But I want to emphasize that this project is much bigger than just people with Parkinson's. This is about all people using their creativity in a positive way to make a new world.

Fran Seranade: People learn, and grow, and heal, together.

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iSkye Silverweb (Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA) ~ Speechless Freedom The first thing you see in my exhibit is the hands. The hands of a person can do countless things—they can communicate, they can reach out and touch, and they can liberate. Here, the hands are saying "freedom" in my language, American Sign Language.

The hands in iSkye’s piece move from the position shown and pull apart, expressing the American Sign Language gesture for “Freedom.”

The eyes throughout my exhibit are special to me; one-to-one communication is by far my favourite, because sharing ideas is so powerful, and the eyes of a person tell you so much when that spark of connection, of shared ideas and feelings, ignites.

The butterflies signify flight, escape from being closed in by limits, often imposed by others.

Other things in the exhibit simply iterate these ideas in different ways. Dreams are no longer in a box to be shut away; they take flight in the openings of opportunities, in the different ways that anyone can create, and in how we can connect with others through the things we see, and release ourselves from limitations.

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My Story: In real life I am deaf. My first language is American Sign Language (ASL), but I am fluent in English and somewhat so in Spanish. I rely heavily on text to communicate in Second Life.

I've had an active online life since the late 80s-early 90s, but when I discovered Second Life in 2009 it changed my world. All of a sudden I was able to not only interact; I could do meaningful things with other people and be a part of communities. In real life, I am at a huge disadvantage with other people, especially in groups, because I cannot hear conversations, and I am far less confident about what I can contribute to those conversations. In SL, that disappears. This is hugely empowering. I have a voice, in text, and I have the freedom to do more.

I am doing more in volunteering with mentor groups, and with Virtual Ability, which I consider my "home community." I also have the privilege of sharing my skills, enthusiasm, and passion for learning with Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education. BURN2 keeps the Burning Man philosophy alive and well in both my lives.

I am quite sure that I would not be doing these things if I had not come into Second Life. My life would be very different today. ~ iSkye Silverweb

The three back panels say “dream, open, release,” both a metaphor for life and a description of the ASL gesture that expresses the word “freedom.” The panels and pages on the bottom are Linden Scripting Language scripts in calligraphic fonts.

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Jesse Keyes (Dawsonville, Georgia, USA) ~ The Time Machine From wishing that time could be traveled.

As I took hold of the handle of the door I heard an exclamation, oddly truncated at the end, and a click and a thud. A gust of air whirled round me as I opened the door, and from within came the sound of broken glass falling on the floor.

The Time Traveller was not there.

I seemed to see a ghostly, indistinct figure sitting in a whirling mass of black and brass for a moment—a figure so transparent that the bench behind with its sheets of drawings was absolutely distinct; but this phantasm vanished as I rubbed my eyes. The Time Machine had gone. Save for a subsiding stir of dust, the further end of the laboratory was empty. A pane of the skylight had, apparently, just been blown in. ~ from H. G. Wells, The Time Machine (1895) My Story: My disability was from a head injury from a fall that caused a mechanical stroke. Which means that more than one part of the brain was damaged. For me it meant my vestibular (balance) was damaged, so I have balance problems... like not being able to walk a straight line. And even sitting the world was spinning.

Short term memory... err what was we talking about?... I don’t remember... Remember when we took the kids to... (insert name)... We did? People who know me in real life saw things had changed... for me a real life changer.

One of the things in therapy was to do things to stimulate and learn... helps to form new paths or ways of thinking.

To me the real world can be very scary. In Second Life I have control of the world as I want to see it.

Meeting friends... and getting advice from others that have disability; a graphic online support group that is willing to listen to you and help.

I've taken building classes and jewelry-making classes and the amount of concentration and focus has helped me gain back some of what I have lost. Using typing chats helps me to get my thoughts in order and more to the point; helps me link back up thought-trains that used to wind down when I could not find the right word. In SL I can take the time to get (find?) the word.

I truly love SL for what it has allowed me to do.

I work for a land sales office in SL, so I do customer service now. And while waiting for customers I started listening to YouTube videos and from that took up playing guitar again. I've not got to the point of doing live music in SL yet but that may come one day. My YouTube clips are under the name of jessekeyes40.

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Ah the time machine build...

My father passed about 6 months ago now and I had been doing hospice with him for 5 months before. In that time SL was a very big escape and help for me to keep up with friends, but no time to do any building.

One of the YouTube movies that I watched and affected me a lot was one called Cyborg Girl. It’s Japanese with subtitles.

The main plot is about time travel and the part that affected me the most is when they travel back to see his village and to see but not talk to the people there and was for only one day.

From there the time machine was created.... The most iconic is the George Pal movie The Time Machine from 1960. And from that starting point the build was started. And yes, I did see it as a hope both to travel back to what once was but also travel into the future to what one can become.

And a start for healing. ~ Jesse Keyes

Johnny Lane (Salem, Missouri, USA): ~ Eat Soon ~ Japanese Macaque ~ The Calm Dreamer ~ Vincent’s Mountains My Story: I feel I was given my talent because of the abuse I had as a baby... My mother broke my neck, an arm, a leg, and three ribs. I also suffer from depression and nerves issues. SL has helped me open up more. ~ Johnny Lane

Eat Soon

“I’m inspired by Picasso and Andy Warhol.” ~JL

Japanese Macaque

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The Calm Dreamer

“The Freedom Project is making one of my dreams come true.

I haven’t been this happy in a long time.” ~JL

Vincent’s Mountains

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Krystali Rabeni (Blackpool, England) ~ A Helping Hand My Story: We all need a helping hand now and then; some more than others. My 'Helping Hand' came in the form of Second Life. It was the light at the end of a very long, dark, lonely tunnel of depression.

Outside the installation there is a diary on a podium.

When touched, it reads a random entry...

~ Being an artist is dragging your innermost feelings out and giving a piece of yourself. ~ People will always have their opinions of you despite who you are and what you're capable of. ~ Don't look back, you're not going that way. ~ I'm often silent when I'm screaming inside. ~ Reality depresses me. I need to find fantasy worlds and escape in them. ~ There is a Hell...Believe me, I've seen it. ~ If you could read my mind, you'd be in tears. ~ For every minute you are angry, you lose sixty seconds of happiness. ~ I'm getting worse and you don't know. ~ I am stronger than depression. ~ Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will cause permanent psychological damage.

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~ I'm not okay ~ Silence is just another word for my pain. ~ Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together. ~ I was so scared of someone breaking me that I broke myself. ~ Self harm isn't just cutting. ~ Sometimes when I say 'I'm Okay' I want someone to look me in the eyes, hug me tight and say 'I know you're not' ~ Krystali Rabeni

Mathilde Vhargon (England) ~ Dancing With Impediments “Dancing With Impediments� is a triptych created using Gimp software. A group of white lines on a black background which might represent dancing figures; and as they are asymmetrical, I think they look a bit like people with impediments. The original is flipped and copied on top of itself in layers. Gradually this process created the central design which resembles a beautiful spinning wheel or snowflake.

No matter how seemingly ordinary or unbalanced a design may be, when replicated and turned upon itself again and again, it will unfailingly create a beautiful symmetrical image. This idea has fascinated me for some time... and as I work with both simple ones like this and those involving dozens of layers, becoming like fine lace or tapestries, they always provide surprising and beautiful results.

Dancing with Impediments is something people in Second Life are able to do! Creating anything can be freeing and often more beautiful when combined or repeated, and when it is allowed to evolve. This brings joy, and joy makes all of life and its difficulties easier to bear. It's a soul-deep satisfaction.

Da Vinci created the perfect symmetrical ideal man in his famous drawing. Disabled people cannot fit that ideal. But we are constantly surprising in our efforts and collaborations, like my work with layers that create symmetry when combined. We may not see the depth and expanse of beauty that we create or which is possible. I hope my symmetrical designs from less than perfect elements will suggest possibilities and new perspectives.

My Story: Like many people, I came to Second Life at a time of loneliness and loss. Somewhere, I had seen pictures of avatars dancing, and I wanted to experience that. Having fled an abusive situation and lost everything, I suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and grief. I was increasingly disabled by Fibromyalgia/ME/CFS and completely alone, my trust and confidence badly damaged. I grieved the loss of a lifelong classical music career, and with it my sense of purpose, I found it hard to imagine a future for myself.

Second Life was a safe step forward which brought me wonderful friendships. One was with a fine amateur artist who encouraged me to make sculptures, something I'd always thought I would enjoy in real life. When I began creating sculptures and digital paintings, I found that my aesthetic education and sensibilities transferred to visual art. More than this, my sorrow was set aside whenever I was twisting prims or painting.

My friend was an excellent mentor whose honest, helpful critique and suggestions, kindness and understanding helped me rebuild my broken trust and confidence.

As my skill improved, I accepted invitations to exhibit in SL galleries and opened a gallery to house my friend's art and my own.. After he left SL, I expanded the gallery to host guest artist exhibits. I have met hundreds of fascinating, creative people this way! That is the most valuable thing!

Working hard, as in my former career, I regained a sense of purpose and worth. Although my disabilities worsened, my mental health improved tremendously. I am grateful for the freedom and genuine quality of life that SL gives me! I am a happy person because of it! ~ Mathilde Vhargon

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Megadeus (Tampa Bay Area, Florida, USA) ~ Mental Prison The mind feeling imprisoned mentally.

Unable to interact with others yet able to view others interacting outside.

Too unaware of itself fully, as it does not know it can take action.

There were times the brain would dream about being out and making friends.

Imaging so hard one day that the brain noticed it was outside the prison.

But was aware the world he was in was a virtual world and became more aware of himself.

Taking what he learned as he returns to mental prison.

Deep in the brain something clicked, as it felt it finally achieve self-awareness.

A door appears in the cell as knowing the brain is in control.

Within knows behind this door is the key to being free in the real world.

Very focused; summons an unbreakable sword and begins to cut away at the door.

Still today cutting at this door, gaining knowledge and bettering one’s self.

The Brain is on the verge of gaining freedom as it stays in Second Life.

My Story : I have Asperger’s among other things doctors can't figure out. Most of my life felt as a movie as I sit back unable to control what’s on the screen.

I feel this is too complex to write a story about myself as I am not sure who I am at times.

Just that SL is helping me better understand who I am.

I don't think anything else could have opened my mind to this concept. ~ Megadeus

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Miranda (p3n3lop3) (Perth, Australia) ~ Dance in Stasis

My Story: I have found the theme of this project challenging. To produce a work on freedom—when most of the time you feel trapped—created something of a dilemma. Art has a way of expressing the inexpressible, and this juxtaposition of opposites just had to stand. Dance serves as a metaphor for both freedom of movement and expression. Ballet poses were selected because they could look at once elegant and strong, and yet somewhat torturous. The lone dancer reflects the social isolation of chronic disability. She is both silhouette and shadow.

This work is in homage to Matisse. He wanted his work to be a place for weary souls to rest, and ‘…be rather like a good armchair which provides relaxation from physical fatigue.’ Art is my escape, and my refuge.

SL has also been a place for me to rest, to socialize, and at least dance by proxy. I loved to dance.

One of the first purchases I made in SL was a ballet dance animation—so my avatar could dance while I was still. ~Miranda (p3n3lop3)

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Miso Susanowa (Ohio, USA) ~ Big Winter Big Winter is a dramatic vision of loneliness and connection filled with mythical images.

A multimedia work including sculpture, photos, machinima & music.

• Link to Machinima: http://y2u.be/ntPAb7E4gKs • Photo Set: http://tiny.cc/iqavix My Story: When I came to Second Life, I was in the midst of a long depression triggered by my mother's death, the resulting fracturing of my family, and the dissolution of several Internet communities I had been involved with for a long time. I became a hermit; staying home, reading books, not really interacting with people I didn't have to and having a major blockage producing artwork.

From the minute I stepped inside Second Life, I found people to talk to, residents who were extremely helpful and welcoming. I connected with the art community and the artistic block I had been experiencing seemed to vanish. I was no longer in that white world where everything is bleached of meaning and significance; “that cabal of silence and shame so integral to depression.” ( Elizabeth Wurtzel, Prozac Nation). I began to create again. I made friends again.

Through Second Life and other virtual spaces, I found a community of help and support, friendship, collaborators and meaning where I had only seen despair. The virtual worlds saved my life from being an empty mechanical existence to one with vibrancy, friendships and the return of my ability to create. ~ Miso Susanowa

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Misprint Thursday (USA) ~ Goodnight Lights My story: When we think of trauma, force or unexpected flare-ups associated with disability, we think of pain, anxiety or difficulty. Oftentimes, people with disabilities have triggers which can make their issues worse, myself included. Sometimes it takes a while to learn what these are and how to moderate and avoid them. Sometimes the triggers are unavoidable. It can seem scary to encounter these triggers or obstacles, but over time they become the entire basis of learning how to live at peace while having unique challenges. With every experience of overcoming an obstacle or a trigger event, one learns to adapt and move through it. Ideally, those experiences build upon themselves and flourish into the graceful art of living, without having to identify one's disability; not because there is shame, but because there is acceptance, adaptation, support, and a natural way of handling any number of limitations. But that ideal is not always reality.

Shit happens, right?

But are these challenges really that unique? When one speaks generally, no. We all have moments where we need to push through and grow and that is especially true after we face certain challenges. That is a universal experience of being human.

This is not to minimize the need to understand, respect, and assist people with disabilities and to educate others. This is to say that in our own humanity we all have certain flaws which could hold us back and limit our growth or performance. This experience of living with a disability, or loving those with disabilities, does not need to be a negative experience. It is more challenging at times. However, I would like to suggest that it is through those challenges of getting through a "flare-up" that we encounter power, transformation, and beauty in our landscapes of life. This is seen in nature itself.

Specifically, in nature, I am thinking about the aurora borealis. The times that the northern lights are the most gorgeous is directly after a solar flare up or intense solar storms. This parallel between something with the potential to be devastating through its wild power and how it then produces magical beauty offers a rich and compelling theme.

Maybe it is the idea of taking a pause in the storm to say quietly to oneself, beauty is coming. ~ Misprint Thursday Song: “Goodnight Lights”

by Misprint Thursday and Michael Vee Lyrics/Vocals/Mix: M. Thursday Composer/Instrumental: M. Vee

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Leave the lights on in the sky when you leave me So I won’t be afraid of the dark the next time you see me Oh la la la la la goodnight It’s been a long day It’s been a long night And I am ready for bed So kiss me on the head And tell me it’s alright It’s alright Just a little light Leave it on for me Just a little light I get scared easily ohh oh Don’t make it too bright Then I can’t sleep Just a little light leave it on for me Oh lalalalalala goodnight So kiss me on the head and tell me it’s alright It’s alright Leave the lights on in the sky when you leave me So I won’t be afraid of the dark the next time you see me

Misprint’s installation is an immersive dome with constantly shifting colors provided by a video media texture, accompanied by her haunting voice singing her song.

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Pale Illusion, GID (Gender identity disorder)

My Story: This is the name of my work as well as the theme of it.

My work focuses on the suffering of people who are born in the wrong body, not understanding why they can't be like everyone else around them, nor why they feel like their gender has been switched.

It’s not a kink nor a funny thing to go through, and the major part of their suffering is caused by our society who cannot understand that there are people born into a body with a gender they do not belong to.

My work asks the question: What is sick or handicapped? The mind or the body?

It can't be healed, only smoothed to make life more acceptable for the person afflicted.

Without treatment, sadly, it can often end in suicide. ~ Pale Illusion

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ParkArt Collaborative ~ ParkArt Gallery • DB Bailey (Tennessee, USA) • SolasNaGealai • Brenda Brodie • Tray Rivera • Barbie Alchemi/Fran Seranade (see p.26) The ParkArt Gallery displays the creative works of people with Parkinson's disease who have bonded in friendship and together expressed how SL has given them freedom.

DB Bailey

After a Parkinson’s diagnosis, ParkArt designer and architect DB Bailey (David Denton) discovered SL – a place where he has the freedom to be a 3D immersive artist, without the limitations of the physical world.

SolasNagealai was forced to retire from a stressful career as a fashion designer, a career she loved for over 20 years. SL has given her the freedom to combine her love of period costumes and fine art to make immersive fashion for others to use in world.

Brenda Brodie discovered the freedom to express her feelings through poetry after she was diagnosed with PD. Tray Rivera expresses her creative freedom as a SL photographer. You can enjoy some of her work within this gallery.

87 "years young," Fran Seranade has found the freedom to run, dance and have fun again in SL. The inspiring and touching video about Fran and her daughter Barbie Alchemi, founder of the Creations for Parkinson's project in SL, is shown here and is also a separate entry in the exhibition (see Draxtor Despres, et al.).

The entrance to the installation is via a hole in the floor of the main gallery. The large cruciform exhibit space below was designed and built by DB Bailey

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Free Spirits Take my hand in yours and together we will soar Free spirits, you and I No commitments No ties Yet you take my hand in yours And together we fly From the moment we met, we were destined to become lovers and friends Free spirits, you and I Sharing a special bond, yet undefined Take my hand in yours and together we will soar Free spirits, you and I No commitments No ties Yet you take my hand in yours And together we fly ~Brenda Brodie

“Let the magic of Second Life touch your soul and free your imagination.” ~ SolasNaGealai

There is a central anteroom with four chambers branching off, accessed through large ornate picture frames—one on each wall.

Photo montage by Tray Rivera

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Roc Furse (Den Bosch, Netherlands) ~ Escape

Virtual worlds let people with physical or mental disabilities be creative and have social contacts, allowing them to be as 'normal' as all others.

My Story: I'm a professional business analyst and ICT consultant. I discovered Second Life in 2007, exploring it in my past time. In 2008 I found out that I have Asperger's Syndrome, which is a form of autism. It does not limit me much in my job, but it has taken me some time to accept the disability and understand its consequences. In virtual worlds like Second Life I can relate to people from all over the world, build friendships, be part of creative teams and help other people with disabilities realize that they are not so different from people without disabilities. Virtual worlds have allowed me to reach out to others and learn new things about myself. I greatly enjoy being a Second Life builder and artist—it has enriched my life. ~ Roc Furse

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Roiben Sweetwater (North Georgia, USA): ~ Alice ~ The Many Sides Of Me My Story: Second Life: I live there and love it! Much of what we can't do in real life, SL makes possible.

It allows for me to be or do anything that I want. It has provided me with a fun, creative artistic outlet which helps me to forget about the pain of fibromyalgia and other real life physical struggles that I face daily. Because of SL, I also enjoy a lot of social interactions that I might not otherwise have, and I'm very thankful for that and the many friends I've made and will continue to make.

Second Life can be a great place for anyone to come and meet others who share common interests. Some locations within SL also offer useful resources on a wide variety of subjects to those who may not be able to get out and about in the real world to obtain such information.

Almost anything and everything can be found and utilized in Second Life, and I'd recommend it to just about anyone! ~ Roiben Sweetwater

Alice stumbles upon the Mad Hatter's tea party table in Wonderland.

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Fantasy Fae/Mermaid underwater with whimsical creatures of water and air, a combo of favorite life forms mixed with myth.

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Roman Godde (Canada/USA): ~ Beauty In Darkness ~ Silent Night

“Embrace your grief. For there your soul will grow." ~ Carl Jung

My Story: There is a time in someone’s life where something traumatic can happen and it can have an adverse affect. It can change your views, your world, your thoughts; it can debilitate you physically or mentally. It can also create something new within you. Good or Bad. Two years ago I was injured on the job. I am now a medically retired police officer and cannot work due to having broken my back during an altercation regaining control of a violent inmate. I had to have surgery to repair my back, which now has pins and rods in it. I had to learn how to walk all over again. I've gone from a wheelchair, to a walker to crutches to a cane and to walking on my own. Its amazing how the simplest thing of putting one foot in front of another can be taken for granted.

Then both my real life parents passed away last year within months of each other. They were married for 63 years. Something that is very uncommon in this day and age. It is true I believe one can die of a broken heart. I was lost, angry, depressed. There was nothing that could ease the pain of such sudden change to my life. It was during this time, that I sank into a deep dark world. Where the darkness, the solace, became my comfort. I began to call this place home in my mind. The silent rage within me began tearing, looking for something... and that is where my art in Second Life was born.

I began to look for the Beauty in Darkness, to visually create what my inner soul was feeling.

My art is not planned ahead of time. I am basically new to photography, but it’s with my soul and emotions that drive me. This art that I create in Second Life is the only thing that while I’m creating, I don't think of anything else. It is in a way my Zen. This Beauty in Darkness is my healing, my therapy, my calm before and during the storm. This is my journey through something traumatic that has turned into something beautiful.

Nine months ago, I took a picture of this tree with birds. This tree, these birds, symbolize the freedom my mother and father now have together again, and my freedom of being able to survive.

Today, I re-shot the same tree to see how I have progressed in my art, my self therapy. This is dedicated to my mother and my father.

Through the birds I can still hear you. ~ Roman Godde

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Beauty in Darkness

Silent Night

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Ronin1 Shippe (Alamogordo, New Mexico USA): ~ Orange Planes ~ Coyote ~ Elephant with Flower ~ Three Musicians As a person with a disability, the idea of freedom is very important to me.

My Story: My paintings had evolved exclusively in SL when I was asked to promote awareness and acceptance of people with disabilities. I gave the matter some thought, and decided that art exhibits might be a way to achieve that.

Unfortunately, I’d never painted before, so I had to learn. I began to use my computer mouse as a “brush,” creating “paintings” on the computer’s virtual canvas using the common Windows Paint program.

I still use those same tools, out of familiarity and also to make a statement that you don’t need expensive canvases or state-of-the-art equipment to make yourself heard.

Recognizing my technical limitations as an artist, I used simple themes that I hoped would trigger memories of shared experiences everyone can relate to. I felt that my limitations didn’t matter as much as the fact that I had something to say.

To my delight, I found that my work was enthusiastically received by the SL community. It naturally evolved into a fusion of ancient Zen minimalism and the bold colors of modern expressionism. I’m told I’ve invented a new genre—I don’t know if that’s true. I believe that all art is self-expression: the medium may change, but the essence is the same.

The objective of my paintings is simple—to capture a mood, a moment, or a feeling—often whimsy—with only a minimal number of lines.

Years later, my art has touched people in some 30 countries worldwide. With considerable prodding from SL friends, I’ve begun to take steps toward marketing my art in real life. It never would have happened without their support and encouragement. ~ Ronin1 Shippe

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“Orange Planes” is “free as a bird” and more so—an abstract not confined to conventional reality or 3D space. He’ll take you along if you’ve got the willingness to believe and the imagination to stay with him.

“Coyote.” This little guy is totally free—alone but not lonely—enjoying the beauty of the moon...

“Elephant with Flower” is a whimsy, embodying the freedom that comes from a simple moment of being at one with nature, and at peace with the world, with the sun on one’s face on a beautiful day.

“Three Musicians” expresses the freedom of Jazz music at its highest level - spontaneously created music—pure communication without words.

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Roxie Marten (Detroit Michigan, USA) ~ Gaze Upon The World A sitting room with the best view there is and that is being able to see the entire world.

It is my attempt to express in the most literal of terms what Second Life and virtual worlds mean to me as a disabled person. That is I can experience so many things that I can not do now due to my disability. My work was inspired by the Dali painting, Figure at a Window.

My Story : When I became disabled, I turned to the one thing I knew best for support and that was my computer. I already had been a long time participant of Second Life, the idea of seeking support here was really not much of a leap in the thought process. It was where I found Virtual Ability, an eclectic assortment of people from every demographic and disability.

Even though Virtual Ability offers classes and lectures on every facet of life as a disabled person, they provide what I consider the most important thing—being with others who know what it is like to be me. This is something I do not get to do in the real world.

From my vantage point, I can look upon the world and not be hampered by my disability.

To paraphrase a quote from a Vietnam prisoner of war, "They had my body, they did not have my mind." That is the true freedom experienced in a virtual world. My disability may own my body but here I am free to live without it holding me down. ~ Roxie Marten

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Secret Rage (Dallas Texas, USA) ~ I Choose Freedom This is an interactive 3D capsule that shows some of the places where people I have met and grown to know well since joining Second Life live in their real worlds.

My Story: The year 2005 was when my world changed from all it had been previously. My Mother passed away in September. In November I bit into an apple that subsequently landed me in the hospital with a bad infection~which damaged my heart.

Early in 2006, due to just one income in our home, we lost it. My body was on a bad spiral... On the outside, no one could see the problems that had manifested, which in some ways was as bad as what was happening to me on the inside. After testing I was found to have over 75 allergies, a compromised immune system, congestive heart failure and fibromyalgia. My workplace no longer had employment for me in the condition in which I found myself. Needless to say, after having been healthy, active, fit and employed all of my life this was a very bitter pill to swallow. My social life went from very involved to non-existent. My creativity level in any artistic medium was zero. Though I tried to remain the positive person I am, it was very, very difficult.

In 2010, a friend told me about Second Life. At first I didn't know about all the creative possibilities, just the social aspects. It was wonderful! I could connect with people again! And not just with people in the US, but all over the world! It was amazing... In my real life I very rarely leave my home. In Second Life I can travel the world! Then I was introduced to a very patient man who saw my desire to build. He taught me the basics of building and let me go. He was and still is in my life as a mentor and friend. I spent hours and hours perfecting the skills it takes to be able to express myself in this medium. It is sheer joy to be able to do so. In Second Life I am involved in so many activities it seems that I am not disabled at all, because in here, I am not. I am part of a vital and growing community of creative energy that gives everyone an equal opportunity to shine.

The reason I created this piece in the manner I did was to show the scope of my friendships. I have learned so much about geography, customs, time zones, art and life in general by being a resident of Second Life and this was the only way I could think of to show that span... the butterflies, sounds, and flying are for the joy I have found in my life. It is not just a place to go... it is a place to be FREE. Though there are exceptions, largely it is a closely knit community of people from all over the world who not only know each other and are able to work as cohesive units in group projects, but TRULY care about each other too. It is someplace from which the real word should take lessons.

The following is the most important part of this story: Don't even begin to feel sorry for me or my conditions. I have found my joy again! I live here. I am proud of this world and of the people I call my FRIENDS. ~ Secret Rage

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Secret’s immersive environment is a large sphere covered in images. There are butterflies flitting about and clips of music from around the world.

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Sheba Blitz ( Northern Rivers NSW, Australia) ~ Circle of Freedom Circle of Freedom is a work built in Second Life, with snapshot snippets in the surrounding circles of my life in SL that I have taken over the years. The centre shot shows Sheba riding a white feather to freedom.

My Story: Once upon a time, things were not good for me and I became a recluse and very unsocial, turning away from the world and becoming totally introspective and staying at home, feeling lost and helpless for many years. I closed the door as I show in my artwork. But gradually it dawned on me, with patience and meditation and effort on my part, I would find the light again. The door opened, also shown in my artwork. I then started painting mandalas in real life. Mandalas are sacred symbols of the universe, they can be used for spiritual and personal growth and a way to finding your centre and calm. Then one day my partner showed me Second Life. I thought about it all night. Next morning I asked him to please order me a computer with a large screen. That's near six years ago now! Second Life has given me untold enjoyable hours of creativity and fun. The art world I have become involved with, and the friends I have made are far more then I ever expected to experience, and now The Freedom Project. The virtual world is an amazing place and has added considerably to making my real life a very happy place to be. ~ Sheba Blitz

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Slatan Dryke (Milan, Italy) ~ Yonder The human essence is what portrays each person, it does not matter if it is caged in a different body or mind. It is like a gorgeous flower ready to blossom, to show its beauty, despite the daily physical or mental challenges. Second Life offers the great opportunity to free our essence, with an explosion of feelings, socializing, activities, colors, and creativity, beyond our imagination. Our essence takes shape following a path in Second Life, whatever it is, revealing hidden ability and often talent... a colorful, flamboyant coil cracks the cage and shows off its powerful freedom. I am what I am, but in Second Life I am what I wish!

My Story: Some time ago a friend asked me: "You have been in Second Life for many years; have you ever wondered why you are still here after this long time"? I said, never... but just a while after my reply I started to think.

There are innumerable reasons to list so I will skip them, just to focus on some very personal and intimate benefits I got: I suffer from a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and the main effect on me

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was a shutdown to the world around me. No family, very few friends and a strong sense of indifference for people brought me to the top of an ivory tower, untouchable and distant. For a change and just for curiosity I joined Second Life and after the first months I found my path: have fun but learn and share! What a magical spark inspired me and lit up my dark and cold essence. To be useful helping others, sharing my skills and learning new ones day by day, gave me the motivation to open myself to unknown people, to socialize again, leaving out of the door the suspicion, the fear, the distance. Becoming a Mentor in several groups of help and support, gave me the awareness to be considered and respected, finally ready to consider and to respect myself once again. To create art pieces, to lock a moment, a landscape, using SL photography is also magical for me. However my demons, my regrets, my disillusions are still here, visiting me time to time, an indissoluble and brutal reminder that shakes the cross on my shoulders and brings me back to real life. The consequences for my acts will never leave me alone, but inworld I can forget them. Second Life is my therapy and my Neverland!

Be Eager... Be Curious! ~ Slatan Dryke

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Starheart Erdhein (Kaua’i, Hawaii, USA) ~ Mandala Dance I envisioned, choreographed, filmed and produced the video. I also ran the dance HUD (a device that coordinates the dancers).

• See the video at: https://vimeo.com/57823708 My Story: In May of 2008 I was watching TV and I saw a news spotlight on virtual realities. They touched on some of them—really all games—and then they went into reporting on “Second Life.” SL is not a game…not, not, not. I emphasize this as for some reason it is difficult for people to grasp it. Second Life is a virtual world. You certainly can role­play in it, but it is a habitat where you can “be” and “do” many things—much of which you cannot do in the physical world. To many of us in the spiritual community of Second Life, it is a place that is more ethereal than the physical space we largely occupy. It is closer to the “New Earth” in many ways, despite it’s physical limitation.

When I saw just that little bit about SL on the TV program I was in really bad shape physically from my colon problems, as I ate very little due to my gut hurting so badly. At one point I weighed 69 pounds.

Each day was torture and I basically did hardly anything but try to keep my website going from my recliner. Yet SL really called to me. I just had a feeling about it. So I went in. I bought some “land" in­ world (called simulated land, or “sim” for short) and set up the New Earth Star Island.

Of all the things I was doing to try to improve my health then, it was Second Life that changed my life!

I am sure of it. I could meet with like­-minded people from all over the word and “see” them in their avatar forms—look into their eyes, shake hands, hug and dance, horseback ride, fly, and so on. There was beautiful scenery and I could hear birds singing, waterfalls…PEACE. Too sick to leave my chair, it became my haven. Yet it was not really an “escape”—even then. It seemed to fortify my physical and emotional body, sharpen my mind and give me faith in myself again. Whether in First Life or Second Life I was ME—I got in touch with that person again, who had been beaten down by the illusion that illness covers one with. I gained weight, the pain lessened and I started going out a bit in First Life. Just walking more, going to the monastery nearby—walking a short bit on the beach.

While I am not what you would call in good health today, I am light years better than I was then… and weigh 110 pounds! I continue with Second Life. I spend less time in there, but my First Life work is, in places, enmeshed into SL. I hold spiritual gatherings there with people from all over the world.

I co-founded the Spirit Dance Company in Second Life, and later left that to form the Light Fantastic Dancers, who perform for the videos I create.

I also currently co-facilitate spiritual and heath-oriented programs with Monica Leal (Monica Crystalwater) on our Wellspring Island sim. ~ Maia Kyi’Ra (Starheart Erdhein)

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Talia Sunsong (Berkeley, California, USA) ~ Freedom Flight My Story: I worked as an undercover private investigator to stop thefts at a pharmacy. My life was never the same after months of exposure to all the viral and bacterial infections the patients had. My immune system was overwhelmed. I came down with pneumonia, followed by chronic fatigue.

Some days I am too weak to leave my home. Unfortunately, home can sometimes feel like a prison cell. Virtual worlds are like a key to open my prison cell door, to let me fly free, to visit with people all over the world, and to virtually travel to other countries, even other planets.

In a virtual world, I can express myself through 3D art and machinima animation, without exhausting myself working on a film set or cleaning up paints while breathing chemical fumes.

I can explore the limitless possibilities in a virtual world, while still resting and healing.

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~ Talia Sunsong

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Tarquin Evermore (Kansas, USA) ~ Lotus of Enlightenment

It took me a while to figure out what to make for this project, and I remembered the story of the lotus flower. I realized the story fits in perfectly with how Second Life helps me through the virtual world, so I got to work on it. The lotus is planted in the muck and mire of a river bed. Grows through the currents, and the murky water of suffering, and trials, to bloom above the water in a beautiful display. It symbolizes perfectly the trials and tribulations everyone goes through, and as a person with disabilities, even more so. We work ourselves through the muck and mire, trials and tribulations, and with the help of each other, caring, understanding, and support, we bloom above the murky depths.

My Story: I was born premature, and had at least one brain bleed that I know of. It is believed that is part of the reason why I may say something inappropriate. If I do, don't be afraid to give me a nudge. Don't be afraid to correct me.

I am a person with disabilities. I have depression, and I am hard of hearing. When I joined Second Life, I followed someone into a sim called The Buddha Center. They have helped me to improve myself in the real world. When my life becomes a tempestuous ocean, Buddhism, the very thing I learned on SL, becomes my safe harbor. When this presentation came up, at first I thought was to do something Buddhist, yet I didn't know what. I knew that if it was religious, then someone of another religion would not be able to connect to it. Then it dawned on me: The lotus flower. ~ Tarquin Evermore

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Traskin Snakeankle (Northern California, USA) ~ Lifeline

There are many people with an illness or disability who are housebound with little or no real social outlet. Isolation and loneliness can leave people to feel adrift and lost, as well as having a substantial impact on health. Second Life offers the social interaction people need, as well as giving some form of being out in the world, doing activities that are impossible to accomplish with their poor health.

My Story: I am a 30 year sufferer of severe ME/Fibromyalgia. I've been housebound for some time and have no real first life. My only social interactions in the real world are with my immediate family. Second Life gives an added immersion to social interaction that no other service has been able to match. The feeling of "being there" with someone is incredibly strong and seems to help satisfy the need of social interaction.

Second Life also helps satisfy my creative side with being able to build and script. And since the world is nearly entirely made by users, it’s fascinating to explore and see the things that others have created. Which also gives a person a feeling of "getting out."

So I believe Second Life, with so much to see and do and the immersive social interaction, is an ideal activity for those who are housebound and can help improve the quality of their lives. ~ Traskin Snakeankle

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Lifeline is a dramatic diorama with several layers of depth, animated waves, lightning and rainfall, eerie sounds of a thunderstorm, and visions of his virtual life.

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Wally (landscapewallpiece) (Southeast, USA) ~ Sky Populus

I composed "Sky Populus" using basic form-building color observation and chance operations.

Materials used are torn and pasted papers on Strathmore writing bond.

I have a fondness for the cast-away, the used and the overlooked.

I use over-complexity and rule-bound behavior to a dysfunctional degree at times, but other times these qualities work to my favor. I try too hard to 'make sense' out of life situations, whereas in art making I can craft reality-based neurotic fictions to the nth degree.

My Story: As a visual artist with real-life social interaction challenges, I 'think in pictures' and I get overwhelmed easily in real-life interactions (face-to-face). My writing strengths can be a bonus in communications (if it doesn't get too flowery). Those conditions make Second Life a worthwhile environment for me.

Some of my favorite times at Second Life aren't even chatting-oriented. With no superhuman powers to my name, my chatting abilities are mediocre at best. 'Just sitting'—with the spiritual communities throughout Second Life, in formal silent meditation sessions—gives me structure and sense of community, though I haven't taken enough advantage of these opportunities.

I have never shown my artwork anywhere except when I went to school where I studied fine art. After that (the last 15 years), I consciously left traditional art techniques behind and ventured into digital art as well as a marathon artist's block. The call for entries for the Freedom Project is my first harkening back to any of the color skills I might have left behind from the past, even though I have never until SL's Freedom Project made such a time-intensive collagebased work. ~ Wally (landscapewallpiece)

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Willothewisp (Tasmania, Australia) ~ Cyberwings

A butterfly is not made to be stuffed back into her chrysalis wing shorn off by the dry jagged edge.

Her eyes still search for the myriad shapes and hues of the meadow but can not penetrate her gloomy lacquered prison.

The singularity of her sight salts her heart.

She longs for a Second Life.

My story: The spirit is always free, not so the body. My name is Willo in 2 worlds, yet it is my avatar's face I see in the mirror. She has the freedom of movement without penalty, the freedom from pain, from light too bright and sound too clamorous as I do not.

It was her excitement upon waking up in a new world that held me to the almost overwhelming task of learning to navigate an unfamiliar technology unaided, with a mind clouded in fog.

In real life my constant companion is M.E. (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis). In my Second Life I am delightfully solitary.

Through her journeying I have been given the priceless gifts of capturing images of work created by inspirational artists, listening in the moment to consummate musicians and of social stimulation within my capacity.

Life on my cybercloud has been filled with moments of intense joy in the discovery of creativity, both of others and unexpectedly in myself.

In the cyber realm I share with Willothewisp the ultimate freedom. ~ Willo

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Xia Firethorn (Warwickshire, UK) ~ My Body is a Cage The girl in the cage is now me, the avatar that is pictured on the pot of brushes represents the way I can produce work in SL, the picture on the easel has two figures—one standing (my real life now) and one dancing my SL now.

For me this represents both worlds and I can only be thankful that I found SL in time.

My Story: I used to have a small studio pottery, and sold work through a small gallery and several stores. My work was in demand and I was not wealthy in finance but so happy in my work. An 18 hour day to hand make and produce enough to sell was usual.

But I was involved in a road traffic accident. In a coma with broken ribs, collar bones, leg and spine damage. They were unable to operate on my spine as it would have immediately put me into a wheelchair. I can walk a little with the aid of sticks/crutches, but certainly not a shopping trip. It is only a matter of time before I will need to resort to a wheelchair and even that will be painful. On extreme doses of morphine, I cope with the pain.

For me it was the day my life ended, after one unsuccessful suicide attempt (only I could survive a whole pack of sleeping tabs and several whiskeys).

I then saw a report on Second Life. Deciding to find out what it was about, I joined. In all honesty it possibly saved my life.

I did the usual things while learning about SL: dancing, music, and then got into modeling.

My proudest moment was to be invited to BLVD/MVW agency.

Then through fashion shots I found I loved to take art photos in so many beautiful sims, before they sadly disappear.

I also love to attempt to build.

Second Life for me has been a journey and I can at least produce some form of art, because art for me is life. ~ Xia Firethorn

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~ Through Second Life and other virtual spaces, I found a community of help and support, friendship, collaborators and meaning where I had only seen despair. The virtual worlds saved my life from being an empty mechanical existence to one with vibrancy, friendships and the return of my ability to create.

~ The avatar represents who I really feel inside. When I look at my avatar, I feel like I am looking at myself.

~ Second Life gives us the opportunity to dream, to make new discoveries, improbable encounters, share knowledge, create .. without moving from our chair, without leaving our room... just from the other side.

~ I have learned so much more than I ever thought I would and continue to. And not just about Second Life, but also surprisingly about myself. It has been an eye-opening experience.

~ In real life I am deaf.... In SL [my disadvantage] disappears. This is hugely empowering. I have a voice, in text, and I have the freedom to do more.

~ My disability may own my body, but here I am free to live without it holding me down.

~ Working hard, as in my former career, I regained a sense of purpose and worth. Although my disabilities worsened, my mental health improved tremendously. I am grateful for the freedom and genuine quality of life that SL gives me! I am a happy person because of it!

~ Virtual worlds have allowed me to reach out to others and learn new things about myself. I greatly enjoy being a Second Life builder and artist - it has enriched my life.

~ I loved to dance. One of the first purchases I made in SL was a ballet dance animation – so my avatar could dance while I was still.

The Freedom Project