Interview: claudia222 Jewell

I’m very happy to report that claudia222 Jewell agreed to be interviewed for this blog. I know she is very busy, both in Real Life and in Second Life, but we managed to connect and below is the interview that followed. claudia is currently exhibiting at Nordan Art. 

Flora Nordenskiold: You have taken Second Life by storm. Your work is beautiful and bold and seems to appeal to everyone, people are completely taken by it. Please tell us about your work and how it all started.

claudia222 Jewell: Thank you, Flora. I am not sure I’ve taken all by storm, but I did get many reactions in this short time since end of January. I was always attracted to the sculpts in Second Life and wanted to learn more about it. It has taken me a long time to understand and find a way to import them good, but sure wasn’t planning to build huge builds with it when I started some months ago. I’ve seen how many seemed to find it difficult to understand what vehicles I made, it wasn’t from a movie or a story. I’ve known I needed to maybe make the right surrounding to show them. And I had a friend, Farstar Enoch, who let me try to build a sort of display or environment in the sky at her sim. All started there, a simple try became a huge project. And I got seen by some people who influenced the further way. One of them is ColeMarie Soleil, who made an amazing article about it with a clip. Others are Jayjay and Freewee, at UWA, without them I might never been known here.

Flora Nordenskiold: I know you are constantly working on your builds in Second Life, you seem tireless. What inspires you to create and what are some of the challenges you have come up against?

claudia222 Jewell: Maybe it started with an attempt to get my head off things I couldn’t change in my Real Life, but soon it was clear it is a new-found obsession to be able to make sculpts and set them into action. I have a large imagination I think and like to web little things I see into a sequence that I hope others will be able to see without any words added. Hopefully, others can find it as joyful as I do to get lost in my imaginary creations and also feel they truly see something from another world. My love of organism is maybe the strongest influence in what I do. Learning more in time can help me make it more alive. I noticed it is not always easy on friends when we are on a mission and ways can get apart through challenges and ideas. Mostly, I try to stick to the next projects and also learn more in programs. It takes me much time in addition to my Real Life work, but I see a fantastic opportunity for me to grow. In the idea I could maybe show others that all is possible if we try hard enough. One of the few obstacles that has been thrown in front of me is that I have not much time for socializing here. But in my mind its fully worth it to try to learn and create as we go on here, it includes losses sometimes. Financial gain is not my goal, I do it to make it cause I am fascinated by creating. Maybe in a year when I’ve learned more, I will try to get a sim to make it full with my things. And hope it will support itself a little. But until then, I will have nothing to do with any money. Only way to be a free-thinker for me .

Flora Nordenskiold: I know you have several projects going at the moment in Second Life. Can you reveal to us what some of your future projects are?

claudia222 Jewell: This is still pretty open right now. Some plans changed a short time ago and I will decide what  to do soon. I prefer to just make things for the moment.  The places to display things will be in some smaller places as well as in a big place soon if I think I can do it. Not easy to do huge things and I want to make sure my energy won’t get drained. But I am sure I will grow into my new shoes in time to manage the occasional blisters.

Flora Nordenskiold: You have been in Second Life since 2007. What are some of the best and worst things about Second Life and how have things changed over time?

claudia222 Jewell: Oh, haha, yes, I wasn’t here for two years after my first login. I didn’t do the whole intro thing and it has taken me some more years to realize we can build in Second Life, which is a fascinating thing to me. Always wondered how things worked and how to use prims in here, time passes fast when we try to find out about the possibilities in Second Life. Time did sure change me also. I never had money in Second Life and was busy trying to find things I could take apart in order to learn and understand how it was made. Met many people in sandboxes and had funny moments with many people and seeing all sorts of reasons to come here. My interests were always circulating around organic sculpts in Second Life. When I had a computer to run 3D programs last September, I started to learn it and found ways with my Mac to import it to Second Life despite the difficulties I had. It was a very happy moment when it worked. Now I am more alone, working in quiet places. Much of my work is standing there in AFK position and I work on files in program.

Flora Nordenskiold: Finally, I love Second Life, but I know I also sometimes struggle finding time for it. There are other times when I ask myself why I keep doing it. What is in your opinion the magical quality of Second Life that keeps us coming back?

claudia222 Jewell: Oh, interesting question Flora. See, I think what happened to me also had to do with socializing and being able to do things with people in Second Life. This was in a way a more creative idea then sitting in a bar and drink and talk about events. I found that in order to have a conversation over a telephone or on platforms like Facebook, I needed more than just have small chit-chats. In Second Life, I can learn together with others. I have adventures in sims that have amazing builds and see what other creators managed to make there. I am a visual creator and Real Life sculpting would mean a huge house to leave them stand around, to show them would be a problem also. In Second Life, I can build despite gravity, in the air or under water, and have the chance to let others see it without coming to my home. It’s a new idea of sharing things we make. Many have their reasons to come here, for me that is a very important part of it, to learn, share and give .

Flora Nordenskiold: Thank you, Claudia.

Claudia222 Jewell: Thank you, Flora, for this interview.

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