Haiku Speedbuild & Builders Brewery

TO: Sensuous Maximus & Supremius Maximus, Founders, Builders Brewery
      Robin Kierstrider, General Manager, Builders Brewery
      DeAnn Dufaux, Education Director, Builders Brewery
FROM: Xue Faith, Host of Haiku Speedbuild, effective 1 March ’13
RE: Haiku Speedbuild & Builders Brewery

Dear Sen, Sup, Robin & DeAnn,

Congratulations on, and thank you for, the extraordinary achievements and contributions of Builders Brewery. We live in an awfully generous world! From Philip Rosedale’s initial vision of a creatively blank canvas and a world of tools and possibilities, to every friend who helps someone adjust a prim attachment, to the countless creators who offer free or premium clothing, architecture, and accessories, to so many others who, in so many different ways, help and share every day. Yet even against this incredibly rich landscape, Builders Brewery stands out as a singular beacon of “teaching a person to fish.”

Another wonderful group supporting virtual creativity is Virtual Artist Alliance. VAA hasn’t had Builders Brewery’s good fortune to still have active founders, but new groups of stewards have kept Photohunt and Haiku Speedbuild going. Photohunt has been an enormous success, and Haiku Speedbuild has done well, but not as well as I’m convinced it might do in a creative world such as ours.

When you look at the virtual marketplace, or the often filled classes at Builders Brewery, it would seem shocking to say that building intimidates people, but I think it does. Yes our grid has a zillion creators, but I think it must also have at least 10 zillion peeps who might create things large or small, but are a little intimidated by it. We all know that most MMO worlds do not offer Second Life’s creative powers, and even Linden Lab itself seems unlikely to offer a world as open ended and possibility filled as SL again. Out on the Internet we see so many abandoning the endless possibilities of the wide open web for the sexy convenience of hermetically sealed iPad Apps.

I am convinced that creativity in a world as rare and special as ours must be nurtured and cherished. I’ve seen people come to Haiku Speedbuild and be a little afraid, or be a little intimidated by the abstractness of some Haiku.

Starting in March I would like to see Haiku Speedbuild leave it’s home base at the Afar sim a little more often, and I’d like to see it sometimes pair with a building class. And so I’m writing today to ask your thoughts about scheduling a once-a-month Haiku Speedbuild at Builders Brewery, and to have that event paired with a class the hour before. For example a class on Prim Twisting might be followed by a Haiku Speedbuild that focuses on creations with Twisted Prims.

Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions and if you think such a once-a-month pairing at Builders Brewery might be possible.

Thank you so, so very much for the depth of your generosity, the beauty of the Brewery’s many achievements, and the creative wonder of so many who have learned at The Brewery.

Warmest Personal Regards,

Xue Faith