The Random & Tayzia Story
While I'm working on downloading pictures and figuring out what I have to say about each piece I thought I'd say a word about me and Tayzia Abattoir, the curator of the Crescent Moon Museum and the NMC Museum. Occasionally I'll google my name and see what's being said and I was surprised to see our names connected with one another on one blog out there.
I also read into the post the misconception that we're business partners in a sense. I can certainly see how some might think so, since Tayzia sometimes posts my work on the SL forums. It is sometimes odd to me how everyone is so used to the predominantly vendor society we've created that they assume everyone is a business. Oh well.
Back when I did the RuGarDi tiara, which was shortly after I made my first gems, the final
product seemed like something a museum might be interested in showing. I wandered around looking for a museum and happened upon the Crescent Moon, which at that time was located in Montmarte, a peaceful sim then owned by Mae Best. There I met Tayzia. As it turned out the Crescent Moon was the oldest resident run museum in SL. According to my travels up to that time it was the ONLY museum in SL that was actually a museum showing works by somone other than the owner. The rest were one-artist galleries, really, if I want to be truthful about it. Since then some wonderful museums have cropped up and I love every one of them.
There was something about Tayzia though... I watched. I watched how she not only encouraged me, but other artists. I watched how every one of us felt she cared about our work. I watched until I realized she was and is entirely sincere about it. Not only does she rave about the artists, but they rave about her too.
So we struck up a friendship. I registered the RuGarDi tiara to "Museum" and handed it to her. From that point on I reserved a copy of limited pieces for the museum and gave her one for display. Doggonnit, but she really did display the stuff and raved about it. The funny thing is that she wouldn't wear it.
It was when I gave her the museum version of Kijakazi-Eupe that it dawned on me why she wasn't wearing any of it. She's just THAT HONEST! I'm slow sometimes. :)
So she and I had a conversation and I told her she could wear it. Frankly, it's one of the best things I've ever done. Let me count the ways:
1. She was just ecstatic. Well, that made me beam because I could tell she had been sincere about her praise of my work at that point. I felt great about that! I knew why, for certain, I'd be doing what I'd be doing at that point in SL.
2. Frankly, I'd never seen my work worn much, except on my mannequin avatar, which doesn't really get out of the dark room studio much - and maybe on someone far away at a tringo game. I really started to notice the shimmer of the untextured prims. An avatar doesn't ever really hold still unless it's commanded to do so by a pose, so every "breath" movement she made while wearing the work really brought out the shimmer. hmmm... I wondered if I could control the direction and intensity of that...
3. I realized that if the work isn't worn it isn't worth squat but a bunch of technical prim mumbo jumbo.
It was at this time that I realized the meaning of "Value". That's fodder for a different post, certainly.
So Tayzia and I have been great friends since, well, the beginning. I think she's irritated that I don't advertise. I don't build so something will get sold, so it makes sense to me not to advertise. I build so something will exist, be worn, and be appreciated. I fail to see how "exist, worn, and appreciated" ties in with advertising.
I do respect her opinion though and I think her raving about my work has pretty much put my name out there. I am loathe to use the term "biggest fan", but she's right at the top, shoulder to shoulder with some others, and she does say my name a lot when I'm not around.
But I do respect her opinion. I give her permission to rave and post pictures all she wants. She's even putting together a huge invitation-only charity event for next weekend where a new piece will be auctioned for charity. But I don't feel good about her going through all that work. She says she's having fun with it. She's a museum curator, not my personal marketing person. I really don't want her to be what she isn't.
I just want to design and build and not be bothered by all that businessy stuff. Tayzia has jumped in and filled in a gap she sees missing. I'd hire a business manager and marketer so she'd stop being concerned about it if I found someone I trust as much as I do her and who is capable.
So anyway, there's the long version of the Random and Tayzia saga and what's what. TMI? Probably. Are we partners? Well, no, not really. Are we friends, you bet we are! I, among others in SL, am very proud to count myself among her biggest fans.
I also read into the post the misconception that we're business partners in a sense. I can certainly see how some might think so, since Tayzia sometimes posts my work on the SL forums. It is sometimes odd to me how everyone is so used to the predominantly vendor society we've created that they assume everyone is a business. Oh well.
Back when I did the RuGarDi tiara, which was shortly after I made my first gems, the final
product seemed like something a museum might be interested in showing. I wandered around looking for a museum and happened upon the Crescent Moon, which at that time was located in Montmarte, a peaceful sim then owned by Mae Best. There I met Tayzia. As it turned out the Crescent Moon was the oldest resident run museum in SL. According to my travels up to that time it was the ONLY museum in SL that was actually a museum showing works by somone other than the owner. The rest were one-artist galleries, really, if I want to be truthful about it. Since then some wonderful museums have cropped up and I love every one of them.There was something about Tayzia though... I watched. I watched how she not only encouraged me, but other artists. I watched how every one of us felt she cared about our work. I watched until I realized she was and is entirely sincere about it. Not only does she rave about the artists, but they rave about her too.
So we struck up a friendship. I registered the RuGarDi tiara to "Museum" and handed it to her. From that point on I reserved a copy of limited pieces for the museum and gave her one for display. Doggonnit, but she really did display the stuff and raved about it. The funny thing is that she wouldn't wear it.
It was when I gave her the museum version of Kijakazi-Eupe that it dawned on me why she wasn't wearing any of it. She's just THAT HONEST! I'm slow sometimes. :)
So she and I had a conversation and I told her she could wear it. Frankly, it's one of the best things I've ever done. Let me count the ways:
1. She was just ecstatic. Well, that made me beam because I could tell she had been sincere about her praise of my work at that point. I felt great about that! I knew why, for certain, I'd be doing what I'd be doing at that point in SL.
2. Frankly, I'd never seen my work worn much, except on my mannequin avatar, which doesn't really get out of the dark room studio much - and maybe on someone far away at a tringo game. I really started to notice the shimmer of the untextured prims. An avatar doesn't ever really hold still unless it's commanded to do so by a pose, so every "breath" movement she made while wearing the work really brought out the shimmer. hmmm... I wondered if I could control the direction and intensity of that...
3. I realized that if the work isn't worn it isn't worth squat but a bunch of technical prim mumbo jumbo.
It was at this time that I realized the meaning of "Value". That's fodder for a different post, certainly.
So Tayzia and I have been great friends since, well, the beginning. I think she's irritated that I don't advertise. I don't build so something will get sold, so it makes sense to me not to advertise. I build so something will exist, be worn, and be appreciated. I fail to see how "exist, worn, and appreciated" ties in with advertising.
I do respect her opinion though and I think her raving about my work has pretty much put my name out there. I am loathe to use the term "biggest fan", but she's right at the top, shoulder to shoulder with some others, and she does say my name a lot when I'm not around.
But I do respect her opinion. I give her permission to rave and post pictures all she wants. She's even putting together a huge invitation-only charity event for next weekend where a new piece will be auctioned for charity. But I don't feel good about her going through all that work. She says she's having fun with it. She's a museum curator, not my personal marketing person. I really don't want her to be what she isn't.
I just want to design and build and not be bothered by all that businessy stuff. Tayzia has jumped in and filled in a gap she sees missing. I'd hire a business manager and marketer so she'd stop being concerned about it if I found someone I trust as much as I do her and who is capable.
So anyway, there's the long version of the Random and Tayzia saga and what's what. TMI? Probably. Are we partners? Well, no, not really. Are we friends, you bet we are! I, among others in SL, am very proud to count myself among her biggest fans.
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<3
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