SLCC in Chicago

view from Hilton

nearby art installation

Souvenirs galore



Filthy had a blast in Chicago at the SLCC. He got to hang with all his SL peeps, and got to put RL faces with their avatars, meeting many for the first time face to face.



Carli and pal Niko

Filthy travelled down to the Windy City (which this trip was also the stormy, wet, flooded city)
with local Boston area SL-er Carli Flossberg. They got re-routed through Millwaukee and drove down in a crazy storm carting along three strangers they had met on their plane. Finally they made it to the stylin' Hilton Towers.





Filthy with Cylindrian and Esch.

Luckily all the artwork made it to Chicago safely and the art exhibit that Filthy curated for the convention was a big success. Filthy's buddy Esch (aka Todd) was the co-curator.

Filthy was very busy with the show but also had a chance to relax with friends and meet a whole lot of new people too.

Filthy with pianist Louis Volare

Philip Linden creator/CEO of SL with Spider Myron's work "Illusion"


Real Live Music!!


Discovery Channel crew who came to film Filthy and other SLers for an upcoming documentary.

The French Adventure

When Filthy arrived in St. Amand en Puisaye, he saw posters for his exhibit all over the village.
Including one here on the bulletin board at the visitor center.




St. Amand is a lovely village surrounded by fields and farms in the heart of Burgundy, France. It is historically known for it's nearby clay quarries and the pottery that has been produced here by artisans for centuries.

















Filthy's exhibit took place at L'Espace Ceramique Jacque-Jeanneney in a gallery that typically displays both traditional and contempoary ceramics. But Yolene, the proprietor and a potter herself, took a chance and welcomed Filthy and his unusual drawings. At the opening event for the exhibit Filthy met the Mayor of the region and was interviewed by a reporter from a regional newspaper. Pictured left to right: Yolene, Filthy, the mayor, the reporter.


















Filthy's friends who helped with local logistics came to the opening event and also shared their homes and showed us around their towns. Filthy's SL friends Other and datssia were especially helpful in getting Filthy set up in town and with the exhibit here.



Filthy's wife Anya joined and they did some sightseeing in and around St. Amand, attending an exhibit at the local pottery museum that is housed in a centuries old chateau.

Our next adventure took us on a road trip to a pair of villages in Normandy known as Barneville-Carteret. There we visited with SL friend Clames Clanger and his partner Lou and their young daughter.




























They are renovating an old manor where they live and also where Clames has his music studios.We spent some time getting to know them and then Filth did a drawing for them based on some stories they told. He also had a private showing of several other works in one of the unfinished rooms of the manor. Clames' assistant Richard was a big help in getting the room ready for setting up the show . Clames and Lou were wonderful hosts and we had a teriffic time...it was hard to leave.





























After, we returned to St. Amand to close the show there and party with our new friends. We had yummy food, wine, music, and good company. The next day it was back to the states.

Next Stop Indiana

Our next Adventure takes us to Big Car Gallery in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Filthy first connected with Jim Walker, Big Car's Executive Director, on Second Life. Jim showed great interest in the unique way Filthy is melding the virtual and real worlds to bring his artwork to all sorts of people everywhere. They cooked up a plan to bring Filthy to Indianapolis. Included in the plan was the debut of a virtual version of the Big Car Gallery in Second Life.















Filthy's opening event for the show coincided with Big Car's First Friday, which included live music and a virtual tour of the Second Life Big Car Gallery. There was a huge crowd and lots of buzz. It was a blast.



























There was an eclectic crowd at the gallery in Second Life too. Below in the top hat is one of Filthy's best buds in SL, Esch Snoats ,relaxing with a drink and talking to the babes.




























While we were in Indiana we stayed with Anya's brother Dmitri, his wife Antonia and their daughter Anisa, in their beautiful home in Bloomington. They were of course wonderful hosts. They brought us to see some of the sights in Bloomington and took us letterboxing in Indianapolis. Dmitri owns the company rock, paper, scissors a well-known "World Music" publicity and marketing firm in Bloomington. Antonia is a photographer, artist and mom. Anisa is a bright, talkative, creative wonder!!



























We got to introduce them all (our niece especially) to our dog Monkey. He was (as always) a very well behaved doggy. We also got to bring the family to Indianapolis to see the show at Big Car. Monkey came too. We all had a fun day!

Adventures in Portugal

A view of Porto from across the river...

...lots of port wine, mmm

There was quite a turn out at the opening event. The show at 555 seemed to be a very international scene. We met people from many places, including Sweden and Mozambique.

Filthy chatting with Tiago and Iona at the opening
for Filthy’s first European show at the gallery at 555
in Porto. The staff there made us feel so at home.

Kumi with i70 setting up SL projection at 555. Kumi came all the way from London for the show with her husband Geir. She is one of Filthy's biggest fans as well as a friend. Below is Tiago's avatar checking out the Second Life version of the 555 gallery.

Filthy's wife Anya in front of the chapel on the beach in Miramar, a mostly residential beach town, on the outskirts of Porto where we stayed with our new friends.

Here is Charlie, one of 5 of Iona and i70's doggies (Anya's fave). We missed our dog Monkey but Charlie and his companions gave us lots of doggie attention . Below is Filthy with our friends and wonderful hosts i70 and Iona. They opened their home to us, showed us their favorite spots and took care of us like family. True gems!!

Welcome to Filthy's Blog!!

Well here it is! It's what ya'll have been waiting for...da Filth has a bliggity-blog!

I've been travelling alot lately taking Filthy's Art Adventures on the road and over the seas so stay tuned for news and pics from recent adventures in Portugal, France, and Indiana (in the good ole U.S of A.) and coming soon ...the SLCC (Second Life Community Convention) in Chicago.

Peace out!

Filthy

P.S. A special shout out to our friends and family who've put us up and helped us out during our travels! Thanks to Tiago, Ines and all the folks at Gallery 555, i70 and Iona, Yolene, Other, datssia, Clames and Lou, Kumi and Geir, Jim at Big Car, Dmitri, Antonia, and Anisa , as well as all of their families. We appreciate your friendship and support!