The Hotel Dare

When I minored in art in college, there was one course titled 3-dementional design and as part of the arts program, it focused on the study of artistic design as it focuses on a space (also known as installation art). Be it an indoor environment, a room that tells a story or the placement of artistic elements within a natural space (think The Gates by Christo and Jeanne-Claude) Ironically, that course of study is now known as Spatial Arts or Spatial Design, as today; the term 3-D design refers more commonly to disciplines within the field of computer assisted design, video game design and virtual worlds like Second Life. I guess the reason I find that Ironic, is that I was recently tipped off to an art exhibition in Second Live where artists are using the 3-D design tools of SL to create Spatial Art installations.

The place is called the Hotel Dare. Located on a sim that looks like it may very well be it’s own series of art installations, I focused my attentions on the Hotel Dare itself. Not really knowing what to expect, I entered the ground floor of the hotel in to a nice but unassuming lobby. As I wandered around, my first reaction was that there were no real nice places to sit and visit with someone, the poses on furniture seemed awkward at best. Well as it turned out after a little more exploration, sitting and visiting isn’t exactly the point of this place. The Hotel is meant to be experienced!

What I walked into is a creative project coordinated by Gattina Dumpling and Charlotte Bartlett. Designed to resemble a hotel, but each room is a spatial art installation by a deferent SL artist. The plan is to cycle the artist about every three months, currently installations by Four Yip, Eelilahlee Westland, Chicanery Turnbull, Censored Mylunt, JoJorunoo Runo, Speedy Horner, Dizzy Banjo, Meat Carver, Poid Mahovlich, Mijn Boa, Rachel Breaker are on display.

By the way, since my visit the other day, that unassuming lobby is already gone... replaced with a winter lodge, presumably for the holidays. The room exhibits have not yet been changed.

Visit the Hotel Dare in world at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Aura/126/129/22

Jake’s Club and Fine Art Lounge at Fire Island (part 2)

When you visit Jake’s Club an Fine art Lounge, be sure to spend a little time looking around. There is more there than just a dance floor. click here to visit Jake's Club and Fine Arts Gallery at Fire Island

The Club

Jake's Club is the heart of the complex. A home to fantastic parties and the original Jake’s Boys, who will welcome you and make certain you have a great time. Currently parties are hosted two nights a week in the Club, the Thursday night Strip down starting at 7pm every Thursday with DJ Syriana Paine and the hottest guys in undies on the grid. Saturday's bring the hottest and most original theme parties. Again with the sexy sounds of Syri the parties start at 9pm SLT and run till Midnight.. with a strip down afterhours party continuing on 'till the wee hours of the morning.

The Gallery

Currently featuring the photography of Brady Rowell, the gallery space flanks the staircase entrance to the main club. Over time, it is planned that the gallery will feature rotating exhibits. Be sure to keep an eye out for special art exhibit openings and events showcasing the artists of Second Life.

The Atrium

Designed with the intention of adding an organic element to this modern structure, this tropical atrium also serves as an environment for romance. Beyond the grand entry fountain, tucked near the planters of palms are several couples dances and kissing poses. Club goers can sneak away from the craziness of the parties upstairs with that special someone and enjoy the indoor beauty of this space. Currently, the atrium still has several open areas between the planters; these were intentionally part of the layout as the atrium will also be a sculpture garden. Watch for upcoming installments of 3-dimentional artwork nestled among the palms. If you do meet that special someone and really love this space, it is also available to rent for weddings. IM JakeC Hotshot for further information on rental of this or any other part of the complex.

The Pool

The pool was one of the must have features in the clubs design, not only does it provide a great place for outdoor parties but it is open for guys to hang out at anytime. When you are not dancing away at one of DJ Muhu’s naked pool parties at 6pm on Sundays, relax in one of the double lounges or take a dip in the pool with you friends.

WET VIP Lounge

Not a sex club, but hey… what you do in IM is your business. If the grand romance of the Atrium isn’t what you are looking for, then the WET Lounge might just be it. Fountains of flowing water and stepping stones separate two intimate lounge areas draped in with sheer, flowing curtains. The feel of the lounge is chic, modern and intimate. Tucked in the elevated portion of the complex away from the rest of the action, the WET Lounge can me accessed be using the teleporter located in the main lobby.

The Jake’s Dance Club and Fine Arts Lounge project was designed and constructed by B&B Construction.

Who is B & B construction?

Baz Ceawlin – Principle partner, builder, designer, and consultant. Baz has a Real World background in Marketing and Graphic Design and manages the project to ensure that the client’s needs are met and exceeded.

Brutus Merriman – Partner, Builder, designer. Brutus possesses exceptional math and geometry skills. He manages the accuracy of builds with precision and masterful building techniques.

The mission was to create an all inclusive environment. Build with a modern look with lots of glass and concrete. Elements that will allow the guests and members of Jake’s to find a place they can hang out at, not just come to the scheduled dances. In addition to the dance club, you will find a lush atrium and sculpture garden, an art gallery, a relaxing pool area and a sexy upstairs VIP room.

The B&B Construction team hopes you enjoy your experience here at Jake’s.

Jake’s Club and Fine Art Lounge at Fire Island (part 1)

My friend Thomm, who has had delusional ideas about the superiority of my building abilities ever since the day I showed him how to make a sculpted lamp out of freebie sculpt textures, recommended me as a builder to JakeC Hotshot when Jake was looking to build a brand new Jake’s Club. Being in between projects, I agreed to meet with Jake to talk about what he wanted; ultimately, I took the job.

The vision was simple... modern with a lot of glass! Turns out the club also needed to be big. Jake didn’t necessarily want a big club per say, but he wanted to incorporate many elements that would I explained would require a large structure. First, and most obvious, the Club itself. A simple dance club, with enough space to allow for elaborate theme party decorations, and dance floor big enough to hold a crowd yet intimate enough for everyone to interact. Also, an Art gallery was to be included, a pool area where guys could hang out and outdoor parties could be hosted. Something organic should be included in the midst of the modern steel and glass, and some place that was more intimate too. There would also need to be and office space and a couple of small apartments. Now the challenge…how do I develop a structure that incorporates all of these elements and still makes sense? If you have been to the club since the opening, the solution may seem obvious now… but initially; it was a bit of a challenge to get my head around conceptually.

Inspiration actually hit one day as I was driving up Highway 101 to San Francisco, off to the side I noticed what looked like a hospital building.

The structure didn’t look much like how the club turned out in the end, but it provided some of the inspiration for the design. Two separate towers facing each other. In envisioned those towers with a third cylindrical tower in back. That design was sketched out, and modified several times until a sketch of two building emerging from a central tower was settled on. But it wasn’t just two buildings, it was two tapered buildings which would give the structure a more modern feel.

Okay… so the sketch ws easy enough, simple prims tapered with SL building tool. But what about the real thing? I realized quickly that this building project was gunna take a lot of math. And not just any math... the serious stuff that makes your head hurt. It was at this point that it was time to bring in help and I contacted Brutus Merryman, a relatively new resident to Second Life, but a human calculator and an amazing new builder. I shared my vision with Brutus, and we began to work together. He would build while I flowed behind texturing and scripting the elements into a rezzer. We developed a great working relationship and plan to do more projects together in the future. Thank the stars for Brutus... because I just don’t do calculus (apparently that was required for some of the angles)

A third and more detailed sketch was developed before the final work began, it was approved by Jake and construction began and moved very quickly. The club would probably have been completed and up in a matter of a couple weeks, but there was the small question of, “Where was it gunna go?” Originally, putting the club on its own open space sim was the idea, but with the incredible attendance of some of Jakes parties, there was not way to accommodate that many avatars, another solution had to be found. Fortunately, Jakes club found its new home on Fire Island Pines with a fantastic new partnership formed between Jakes and the new Fire Island owners, Beau Loring and Micha Fotherington. The club would now be surrounded by a mall and a residential community… what a win! Jakes vision of providing a place where the gay community of SL could hang out was one stem closer to becoming a reality. The club, the pool the fine arts gallery could now be the social focus point for an entire residential community as well.

Check the next blog post for more detail on the amenities of Jake’s Club and Fine art Lounge at Fire Island.

Jake

I have to chuckle when I look back on the dates for the missing posts for this blog... I realize that the single biggest life changing event took place for me on Halloween night, October 31st when the undeniable and inescapable chemistry between Jake and me was revealed to both of us. Since then, I have been so singularly focused on Jake, wanting to start and end my day with him and send every spare minute in between with him. I am amazed I have gotten anything else done at all (but those things are for future posts).

How did we meet?
I first met Jake on the dance floor of the old Jake’s Club on Hyacinth Island… for those of you who have been around long enough. .that is like four incarnations of the club ago. Curious to talk to talk RL shop with him after reading in his profile that we were both in similar RL industries… we chatted, talked shop and became friends. From that point on, Jake was always the friendly, welcoming club owner whose parties seemed to have a personal quality that was above the norm in SL. I made some close friendships with some of the other regulars at his club and always knew Jake as kind of a friend of a friend. Later, when Jake started dating my friend Steve and hired me to design and build the new Club, I found myself in the position to get to know Jake much better. Always a completely professional relationship on the club, and as a close and supportive friend to Steve and Jake.

How did it all change?
Still don’t know the answer to this… when I describe the chemistry between us as being revealed, that is because I believe that is exactly what happened. It was like someone took the blindfolds off all of a sudden. Just a few days before, I had been asked about a relationship developing between Jake and myself… I didn’t just deny it... I adamantly explained that it was out of the question, there had never been anything other that a truly professional and respectful interaction between us. It was later explained to me by my friend who had made the inquiry; his observation was just that… a working relationship that was so in sync and so supportive that there had to be more there. Jake and I certainly didn’t see this coming, but some of our friends did and so must have the stars because the series of events that fell into place couldn’t have timed out any better. Steve and Jake’s relationship ended, the club build was done and all that was left was for Jake and I to realize there was something there.

Now, three weeks later…
Jake is the most amazing man, and I love spending time with him and getting to know him better and better every day. We are on a path to build something very real together and it is exciting, and scary and wonderful all at the same time.

I know that I can tell this man anything. Share my deepest thoughts, dreams and desires with him. I know I can share all of myself with him and he will share all of himself with me. I am there when he needs me and know that when I need him he will hold me, press his forehead into mine and give me the support I need.

Standing by my side, I hold his hand. Staring out at the horizon, eagerly anticipating what tomorrow will bring.

Let’s just call it a “blog sabbatical”

So it has been three weeks since I have posted anything here, and if you read my last entry you will se that I was feeling pretty stressed out about three weeks ago. Since then, I’ve taken a few deep breaths, tackled some projects and found love... it as been a very full three weeks. No wonder I haven’t had time to write.

So today, I will try to catch up a bit and publish a series of posts that cover all that I would have liked to have written but just didn’t make the time for. Enjoy…