Can Virtual Workplaces Help Save the World?

I haven't seen any data comparing greenhouse gas emissions, but there's certainly food for thought in the question. Some interesting information in this video.
http://malburnsannex.blogspot.com/2009/12/virtual-worlds-as-green-workplaces.html

For the Love of a Tree

Some people, not content with loving places and things in the real world, want to recreate their favourite things in virtual reality. One such person is Jayjay Zifanwe from the UWA sim in Second Life. Jayjay has not been content to recreate the buildings of his beloved UWA campus, he wanted his favourite fig tree too, so his virtual self could lie under its shade and dream.

And as if that isn't enough, Jayjay has not one, but two versions of his favourite tree on the virtual UWA campus. The top pic. is of a fig created by Nyx Bree and the bottom tree was created by Bradly Dorchester. Great work guys.
That's the nice thing about virtual worlds. You can have whatever you want.
What do you want for Christmas Jayjay? Another tree?

The real life UWA fig tree can be seen here:
http://photos.imageevent.com/gladysclancy/perth/university/151_2314.jpg

Virtual Treeline - Official Opening Dec. 15th

Virtual Treeline was officially launched in Second Life on December 15th with a lovely party to celebrate the wonderful artworks provided by Asmita Duranjaya, Alizarin Goldflake, Soror Nishi, Bocan Undercroft, RAG Randt, Sheba Blitz and Fuschia Nightfire.
Thank you to those who came to show their support for the project and the artists. The exhibition has something for everyone. Be sure to wander round the dunes at sky level to discover all the delights tucked away in the corners, and be sure to turn to midnight to appreciate Soror Nishi's tree on water a ground level.
Over the coming weeks I will be blogging here about each of the artists who feature in the first exhibition.



Nazz Lane has already blogged about the exhibition at http://secondarts.wordpress.com/2009/12/15/opening-of-virtual-treeline/
and pictures have been posted on the Treeline Flickr site http://bit.ly/4uku2j

OPENING OF VIRTUAL TREELINE GALLERIES

The Virtual Treeline Galleries in Second Life will be officially opened with a small party on Tuesday December 15th at 2.00 pm PST (for Australia that's 8.00am EST,9.00 am EDT, and to early to get up in Perth.)
The first exhibition will feature work from Asmita Duranjaya (Germany), Alizarin Goldflake (USA), RAG Randt (USA), Fuschia Nightfire (UK), Soror Nishi (UK), Bocan Undercroft (UK) and Sheba Blitz (Australia). The work of each artist will be featured here in blog posts and on our Flickr site.
Please join us for the opening if you are able, at:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Lie/80/214/22

Topiary Gone Madder

Madcow Cosmos trees at his current installation at IBM take topiary just that one step further.

Porky Gorky's Trees - Topiary Gone Mad?

While listening to Juko Tempel's excellent presentation at Second Life Community Art Centre on Sunday I was also admiring the trees in the centre's courtyard, and later took the time to have a look at the store they came from called Hydro.


Porky Gorky's trees are a lot of fun. There is even a range of trees for sitting on, as well as the inevitable tropical palms. Worth a visit by any tree lover.

SOROR NISHI CHEMIST'S TREE AT TREELINE

The first artist to be featured at our location in Second Life is Soror Nishi. Soror is well known as the creator of beautiful virtual plants, trees, gardens and forests. The Chemist's Tree makes a wonderful centrepiece to the watery site at Lie.

Enjoying the light show from the Chemist's Tree with Juanita Deharo, coordinator of the Virtual Treeline Project, are Innula Zenovka and Dave Ruby from the UK, and XXXGabiXXX Miami from Chicago

Virtual Treeline Site in Second Life

Virtual Treeline now has a temporary home in Second Life. Next year the project will move to a full sim, but for the moment home is a parcel in Lie.
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Lie/80/214/22

In keeping with the Sunshine Coast landscape, Treeline's first build incorporates a lot of sand and sea (with some peeking Pandanus palms). The 'office' is definitely for those who enjoy an outdoors lifestyle, but of course there's a shade sail so you won't get burnt if you sit and chat a while.

Initially, the Virtual Treeline site will feature the work of artists from around the world who are using virtual space as a place to create trees or projects relating to the objectives of the Treeline project.

The first work to be featured is 'The Chemist's Tree' by British artist Soror Nishi. Soror is one of the best known and most innovative creators of virtual trees. The subtitle of the work says it is 'an education in itself'. What do you think that means?

THE WORSHIP OF TREES

"Lately I have touched the sublime
Out of sight out of mind
The worship of trees
Something deep within my soul
Out with my control
The worship of trees"


Bocan’s Undercroft’s virtual art work “The Worship of Trees” has been entered in the University of Western Australia Art and Design Challenge for November 2009. Bocan describes himself as a ‘druid’ and says that for druids trees have a special significance because they represent life and nature. He says that in trees one can see the cycle of birth, life and death in the changing seasons.

The inspiration for the artwork was a pagan song sung by Damh The Bard called ‘Worship of Trees’ (originally by Telling the Bees).The work, built in virtual space, consists of a small ‘temple’ with a tree in the middle, several candles, and images of trees embedded in the windows. Bocan says these were pictures of various trees that he worked on in Photoshop, de-renedering them to have less detail and adding a glass texture. The result is quite pleasing.
I asked Bocan his thoughts on a real versus a virtual tree. His reply:
“Trees, whether virtual or real, can often have the same spirit and song.”

Virtual Treeline - Welcome

Virtual Waterfalls and Vegetation

TreeLine is an initiative of Caloundra Regional Art Gallery on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. The project is a challenging, interdisciplinary and interactive art/science/community event that will highlight the impact of our lifestyle choices on our ability to sustain a healthy planet. It involves visual and new media arts, theatre, dance, music, sculpture and storytelling.Through a celebration of significant trees, participants will raise awareness of local and global issues, and encourage environmental action through art.

Virtual Treeline brings the treeline project to cyberspace and provides the base to develop an on-line community of interest around the project. The major focus will be the creation of artworks and environmental installations within virtual worlds such as Second Life and Open Sim, but the virtual project will also have a presence in Facebook and Twitter, and have a bank of images available in Flickr.

Juanita Deharo's major project as part of Virtual Treeline will be shown at The Caloundra Regional Gallery and other venues in April/May 2010.