Beautiful View

 

I’m very excited to announce the upcoming expansion of the Provence Coeur Estate!

A new region will soon be added to the east side of the Jardin Français (Provence Coeur Est2) and will be home to the Châteaude Bellevue, Madame de Pompadour’s elegant home with its beautiful view of the Seine River.

My version will be based on the 1750 plan as originally championed by the Marquise and though it will be simplified for Second Life (I’ve learned more than a few lessons from my never-ending building journey with the Petit Trianon) I hope it will evoke some of the atmosphere of the original.

More details to follow.

In the meantime, if you’re looking for some fascinating reading check out BetweenWorlds: The Biography of Madame de Pompadour's Boudoir Turc a “biographical account of her Turkish boudoir at Bellevue examines its implications of personal and private life, class and gender, and the role of exoticism in eighteenth-century architectural interiors“.

 

Image: The Château de Bellevue, in the time of Madame de Pompadour, from the courtyard to the west on Wikipedia

Sugar Plum Manor

Sugar Plum Manor

My entry for the Lights of Hope Home Decoration Contest 2022.

See it at:

Lights of Hope - Sugar Plum Manor

Did you ever wonder where the Sugar Plum Fairy spends her downtime? I imagine she lives in a neat little neoclassic townhouse surrounded by a lovely park with a Zen Garden. Of course, there are macaroons and other treats sprinkled liberally around the lot and various nods to her ballet background. And mice ... lots of caroling mice ... because after all it wouldn't be The Nutcracker without a few rodents hanging around.

Photo Credit: SkyeRyder Varriale

Petit Trianon: Kitchen Stew Stove

Authentic to Marie-Antoinette's Petit Trianon, this stew stove is a lovely example of an 18th century advancement that saw cooking move from a cauldron at the hearth to a stove with individual fireholes. These stoves allowed for a variance in temperature when cooking in a variety of pots.

In this Second Life version, hexagonal tiles grace the top while burnished dark bronze doors are fit for a queen's kitchen.

Touch for the HUD to turn the fire (low-lag animated) and the sound on/off. Please note that these scripts are copy only.

See it inworld or on the SLM .

Cheers!
Tat

AES Journal: Tatiana's Farming for Fortune

How time flies! It's been more than six months since my last journal entry; apparently I've been so engaged playing that writing rather fell by the wayside.

Shortly after the last journal entry, back in June, the focus of our farming in the Queen's Hamlet switched over to using the brand-new Household (HH) functionality. Anastasia, Duchesse de Coeur, stepped in as the QH HH Owner and we adapted our production strategies to better suit our HH needs.

I'm glad to say that controlling the scope of our endeavours proved to be a wise decision. Our QH HH has slowly grown to include seven members, a size that seems to be easily sustainable even during times of transition. It's always good to keep in mind that this active roleplay is for fun!

Read more of the latest installment of AES Journal: Tatiana's Farming for Fortune

TTR-Bread & Cookie Making Kit

Experience the joys of baking with this delightful bread & cookie making kit. Mix ingredients, knead dough for bread or roll dough for cookies and when you're all done baking enjoy a slice of fresh bread or a beautiful snowflake Christmas cookie. Lots of little details help add to the overall experience; bread steams when rezzed then cools as it sits, rolling pin pops off the counter into your hand as does the mixing bowl and wooden spoon.

With a variety of lovely accessories, this kit makes your Second Life roleplay both beautiful and a whole lot of fun!

See it inworld or on the SLM .

Happy Baking!
Tat

QH Co-op: The News ~ January 5, 2020

Happy New Year!

It's been ages since our last official QH Newsletter but given all the good things going on in our household a new one seemed like an excellent idea so here's the news ...

Photo by Tatiana Dokuchic taken in the Queen's Kitchen Garden, Second Life.

Petit Trianon: Kitchen Fireplace

This beautiful vintage fireplace is modeled after the real-life kitchen fireplace in Marie-Antoinette's Petit Trianon. It boasts a lovely limestone surround, brick hearth, and cast-iron screen with a royal insignia. Perfect for your own Second Life castle, chateau or home.

Touch for the HUD to turn the fire (low-lag animated) and the sound on/off. Please note that these scripts are copy only.

Also note that this fireplace is meant to be placed up against a wall as there is no geometry for the back or bottom.

Photographed in Kitchen of the Petit Trianon; please note that this purchase includes ONLY the fireplace.

See it Inworld or on the SLM.

Cheers!
Tat

Petit Trianon Kitchen

I'm absolutely delighted to be back working on the kitchen of the Petit Trianon. The floors are scrubbed, the ceiling is mended and the doors no longer squeak when opened!

Here's a look at the real deal:

And here's the start to my Second Life version:

Many thanks to Zed Tremont who is busy creating original meshes which faithfully reproduce some of the furniture. You can learn more about his Bellevue project here.

You can visit the Petit Trianon Kitchen here in Second life.  I will be posting individual creations as they become available.

Many thanks for letting me share this project with you!

Tat

Hooked on Graphics

It's no secret that one of my greatest pleasures in Second Life is creating and out of all the ways you can create graphic design is really what I love the most.  I'm seldom happier than when I'm researching and putting together something as simple as labels for virtual jars of jam or honey.

I have spent many happy hours "down the rabbit hole" searching for inspiration as my ever-expanding Pinterest sections, such as Graphic Design-Labels, can attest.  I'm also inspired by my creative Second Life friends who share the same passion and produce their own mini-masterpieces on a regular basis.

It took me a number of weeks to come up with the labels pictured above, much of that time spent drooling over Redouté engravings and other examples of ephemera.  If I'm not careful I find that pixel editing can become a bit of an obsession.

I'm also delighted when Second Life intersects Real Life in an almost whimsical fashion. Some weeks after creating my own label for the Queen's Hamlet honey the Chateau of Versailles released the following Miel de Trianon on their Facebook page.

"The honey of Trianon, available for the first time on the online shop of the Palace of Versailles! Produced by the beehives of the Queen’s Vegetable Garden as part of an ecological approach. With delicate flavours of lime, summer flowers and chestnut."

Life is sweet!

Claire's Cottage Furniture Sets

Claire's Cottage is a lovely little side-project that I've been working on for ages. Creating just the right mixture of vintage & contemporary furniture & accessories has not only kept me busy but has provided a different perspective from the antiques that I usually slave over.

I'm not sure when the building itself is going to be ready, but I'm pleased to be packaging up some of the associated furniture sets including the Fireside Furniture Set and the Complete Bathroom Set.

You can see them Inworld or on the SLM: Fireside, Bathroom.

LHVW Comes Clean for Spring

Seems that every spring I get the urge to clean, not my house but my websites. This year Living History via Virtual Worlds (LHVW) is the beneficiary of my efforts.

Nothing like starting off the season with a few software upgrades, some html coding, and a new flavicon. You can get the full rundown at Site News: Construction & Clean Up 2019. 

Recent visitors should clear their image cache to see the fabulous new banner image, "Barks & Paddles", by Abbondio.

Good times!

Elegant Market Cart with Carved Wood Detailing

Old-timers who are familiar with Provence will recognize the wood carving for this cart. It comes from a model I made ages ago with prims and sculpts glued together. I've very happy to update this old favourite to mesh!

An elegant carved-wood Market Cart perfect for displaying your wares whether they be rustic or refined.

A lovely addition to any rural or farm setting.

This single mesh object has a LI=4 at the current generous size (approx. 1.49 x 1.6 x 0.24).

Find it on the SLM or Inworld

___________________________________________________________

Market Cart w Carved Wood by Tatiana Dokuchic on 2018-10-11 An elegant carved-wood market cart perfect for displaying your wares.

Images: Tatiana Dokuchic

Louis XVI "Zen" Chair Vignette

This bohemian twist on the classic Louis XVI Chair makes you happy just looking at it!

Fresh from the RFL Home & Garden Expo where I believe it generated a bit of good karma by helping to raise money for cancer research.

Zen boasts a frame of carved light oak; a cheerful silk, mandala back; and velvet chair seats. Touch the chair back to select from the four different seat fabric colours (Pink, Purple, Green, Blue).

Curl up with a good book, relax with a cup of tea, enjoy a glass of red wine or host a sing-along as you play your own guitar,. With 25 animations (unisex, female, male, chat). there's a lot to keep you occupied. You'll also find writing & dining animations making the chair a perfect companion for your own desk or table.

Find it on the SLM or Inworld

Happy Decorating!
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Louis XVI "Zen" Chair Vignette by Tatiana Dokuchic on 2017-07-05 This bohemian twist on the classic Louis XVI Chair makes you happy just looking at it!

Images: Tatiana Dokuchic

Charming Milk Churns

Here's a project that I've been meaning to release for awhile now; a set of five decorated milk churns perfect for roleplay or home decor.

Chasing Jane: Pursuing Jane Austen is Always a Pleasure

Having first discovered Jane Austen as a child means that I've been pursuing her for many years now. I distinctly remember being enchanted by the fairy tale aspects of Emma; beautiful heroine, dashing hero, wealth, luxury. etc, etc.  I also remember trying to figure out what the heck a "fortnight" was.

Her penchant for happy endings was also appealing.

Skyrim SE: The Demure Dragonborn Level 05 Lakeview Manor

When it comes to Skyrim, I'm definitely a homebody and not a wanderer.  I know from experience that being homeless is painful; having to haul ingredients and travel to forges, alchemy & enchanter stations; having to sell my loot immediately.  As I mentioned in my last post, one of my first priorities this time around is building a home, adding all the amenities and then sticking to it.

I choose Lakeview Manor for its beautiful location.  The most southerly of the three homes that can be built, it's also close to my favourite town, Riverwood, and city, Whiterun.  Living in real-life Canada, I appreciate a place that's as far away from snow as possible!

I did hear rumblings that Lakeview Manor was also the most dangerous location for a home but I turned a deaf ear and went ahead and bought my plot.  After all, being the Dragonborn should mean being able to defend your home, shouldn't it?  Shouldn't it?!  More about fending off various attacks later ...

Skyrim SE: The Demure Dragonborn Level 01 Strategy

I love the open world of Skyrim and all the vastness of its possibilities. Unfortunately, as I mentioned in my previous post I'm "a bit of this - a bit of that" kind of person.  In my first go-around I found myself spread too thin with regards to my character build and it became a tad confusing. This time I've narrowed down my focus to those things I really love and though I'll probably never follow one of the character archetypes I know it's going to be a lot of fun.

Defining My Style

Given that I've identified myself as the "Demure Dragonborn" it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that I'd much rather craft than fight. Smithing, Alchemy and Enchanting are not only a pleasure but are going to bring me both wealth and protection.

Speaking of protection, I definitely don't want to wander around Skyrim as a defenseless fool.  I also want a modicum of magic in my life, I mean who wouldn't!

I intend to be fleet of foot using light armor with a sword in one hand and spells in the other.  I'm also going to rely on my potions & enchanted items to pick up any slack where my spells and/or skills are lacking.

During my initial researching (something I never even thought to do the first time around)  I was pleasantly surprised at the wealth of Skyrim Character Builds that are out there.  The time & effort people have spent analyzing & documenting their characters is amazing.  Hopefully I've managed to incorporate some of the best ideas into my own strategy.

Vermeer: View of Delft

"Although there exists a plethora of Dutch 17th-century cityscapes, none are able to transport the viewer back in time and convey the material sense of water, air, brick and mortar as much as Vermeer's View of Delft.  When we stand in front of this picture it is almost as if we had been projected in a time capsule to the southern ramparts of Delft's city gates in the early 1660's"

essential Vermeer 2.0 ~ View of Delft

Which is exactly why I picked this Vermeer masterpiece as the banner for Living History via Virtual Worlds.  What a wonderful way to provide some amazing atmosphere for a social network dedicated to historical adventurers!  Imagine yourself  talking to those people on the river bank, exploring the city, or boarding a ship for destinations unknown.

Skyrim SE: The Demure Dragonborn Level 01

I was sorely tempted to call this Skyrim SE: More Brains than Brawn but though I'm certainly not playing a "brawny" Skyrim character it still remains to be seen how "brainy" I turn out to be.

Here's the backstory.

I've once again found myself waking up in that cart, bumping down the road in Skyrim that's heading towards my execution.  I've been here once before, back in 2011 when The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim first came out, and the whole experience was a bit of a hot mess.

Apparently though I spend a considerable amount of time in Second Life, a true gamer I'm not.  I'm clumsy, hate killing things, and would rather spend my days crafting than hunting down vampires.  I loved being immersed in the world of Skyrim but was rather overwhelmed by it all.  According to my statistics, I played 170 hours, reached level 37 and unlocked 24/75 achievements before I threw in the towel.

When the Skyrim Special Edition came out in October I saw an opportunity to start again, using my hard-earned knowledge to create an experience more conducive to a "demure" Dragonborn.  I thought I'd blog a bit about this endeavour in the hope that it might encourage others of my ilk, if only by illustrating what not.

"Absurd, creative & debauched"; Guess Which One I Am!

Absurde, créatif et débauché : dix ans après, « Second Life » est t...

I have not failed on a desert island, but on Second Life . Like me, some haggard and clumsy beginners landed on this strange beach to discover what remains of this game that occupied the headlines there about ten years. I expected to find , a decade later, a deserted world, aging technology and a few cobwebs in the corners.It was exactly the opposite.

** Morgane Tual, translated from the original French by Google **

When I was first contacted to be interviewed for this article I truly didn't know what to expect and I cringed imagining some of the possible outcomes.