Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Of Building and Inspiration

I sat perched on my favorite place to sit on the Tower, the hand, and just thought about the past few days. When I submitted the proposal to Bettina for the Rezzable Garden, I took a chance. Who knew me as a builder? Who knew Kheph as one beyond his inventions? But all that I knew is that I thought the two of us could create something beautiful together. My general artistic concept was "aethereal steampunk" as I saw a delicate tower of oxidized copper in the sky...
When I saw some of the names already selected, I was like "Oh hell" and a bit of fear--alright sheer panic-- actually set in, which was unfounded as my fellow Gardeners have been nothing but supportive and wonderful. For two weeks and countless hours we were busy building, usually Kheph during the day and me during the wee hours of the night. Tweaking textures. Replacing pieces. Trusting each other with mod rights and each other's work. Give and take. Pushing each other creatively as we have for months now in other things we do together. And when we stepped back finally, we couldn't believe ourselves. To have the Tower be as well-received as it is has been an absolute surprise and both Kheph and I are amazed and thrilled at how much folks love it.
Meet Frank. Being able to create is highly valued in our world and that's an ability I want to be able to share with others, so I gave Phin a building lesson and told him "Build me a cat. See it. See the shapes of it. Don't worry about what others will think of it. GO." It was the first time he has ever done anything like this and that night, it's like something clicked inside of him. This experience with the Garden is wonderful...and being able to pass on that inspiration is part of what being inworld is all about...

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