Greetings and welcome to another installment of ‘Meet the Truthies’. This week I sat down with Gwendalynn Precious Stillwater (aka Gwen) and found out who’s behind the avatar. Hope you enjoy!
Ellen: Gwen, thanks for taking the time to do this. I know you’re a busy lady!
Gwen: Ellen, it’s my pleasure. I always enjoy chatting with you, and I’ve had such a great time with the Truth VIP group that this just feels like a great way to spend a Sunday!
Ellen: It does indeed! Is there anything you’d like to tell us first about your real life? (age, country of origin, languages spoken, occupation, whatever)
Gwen: My name really is Gwen. I live in London, and I love it here in the UK. I’m an American expat and moved to London 14 years ago. I’m in my early fifties. My eyeliner designs have their own Pintrest and Instagram pages. In real life, I teach people how to use all kinds of technology products for a large computer retailer, and my students range in age from under five to over ninety. I am not making this up. 🙂
Ellen: I’m not surprised by your creative endeavors but understanding technology is a whole other ballgame and definitely a valuable trait. I sometimes feel like I’ve let it pass me by. I used to be so good with it too! So, what brought you to SL and what made you stay?
Gwen: A friend brought me to SL way back in 2007, after I’d moved to the UK, because she missed me. She taught me a lot about building (with prims) and finding the right stuff to wear. That avatar went away (it’s a long story). My current avatar, Gwen Enchanted, has been in SL since 2010. I came back because I needed a place to hide from a toxic work environment, and I stayed because I got started with both a roleplay group that I really love (and which still plays together), and because I became active with writing workshops at the Milk Wood Writers Colony. Milk Wood hosts all kinds of writing events every day, and it’s a great place to meet other writers.
Ellen: I love that you’re a writer. That’s what drew me to you in the first place. I do wish I would have the motivation to join writers communities here in SL. (send me the info!) Anyhoo, what do you spend your time doing in SL nowadays?
Gwen: I am hooked on SL photography, blogging, and shopping! I also spend a lot of time working with the Relay for Life of Second Life Fantasy Faire; this year I co-sponsored a region, wrote a quest story, blogged the event, and hosted a couple of events. I also got married to my SL partner at the Faire this year! It was a big year for Relay for Life, the tenth anniversary of the event. I’ve been working with Fantasy Faire for four years now, and I love it so much. I blog for several wonderful creators, and I love building stories around the beautiful things they create.
Ellen: Wow, you do a lot, and congrats on the marriage! I’m also hooked on blogging, photography and shopping. Funny because they are three things I don’t do in real life (except in real life I actually *write* on my blog as opposed to here, where I mainly use it for extensive credits lists.) Next question; what are some facts about your Second Life that people might be surprised to know?
Gwen: I guess because most people know me as a photographer and blogger they might not know that I also perform music in Second Life and that I’m a semiprofessional musician in real life. I’m a harper and a singer/songwriter. I have released three albums, two with my band, Three Weird Sisters, and one solo album. I do have some things recorded for a second solo album, but it’s slow going.
Ellen: That IS surprising, at least to me. I haven’t had a lot of exposure to live music in Second Life, despite having been told numerous times about the thriving community. Okay, on to Truth – do you remember your first experience with his hair?
Gwen: To be honest, I don’t! I just always seemed to “know” that Truth was a go-to place for hair, and I used to get such a giggle out of going in to the store and finding so many people there who were new to SL, brought there by friends, and learning to appreciate great hair right off the bat.
Ellen: Ha! I was one of those new people. I learned about it when I was a couple weeks old. So tell us about your experience in the Truth group.
Gwen: Being an active member of such a large group is a lot of fun. One thing I really love are the contests that you and Amber run from time to time; I’ve even contributed some gacha hair for those contests, and I will probably do so again in the future. I also love that despite the size of the group and the different backgrounds from which we all come, there are so many wonderful personalities and everyone seems to have a commitment to get along, at least most of the time. It’s quite a community you guys have built, and I think you should sit back at least once a day, have a cup of tea (or whatever you like!) and just think about how great it is that you have created such a positive and rewarding community.
Ellen: Aww, I’m so glad to hear that. Honestly though, Amber is responsible for building the group into what it is today and it’s lovely members like you who keep it that way by following her lead. I was just another Truthie until a few months ago. I do love finding out how different we are outside the group and beyond the avatars since within the group, it’s really only our personalities that vary. So, here’s the number question – how many Truth styles do you own?
Gwen: Wow! Would you believe it’s at 200, and that’s without isolating every single gacha? Some of those are in boxes….
Ellen: I can believe it actually lol! Okay, last question – if you could be Truth for a day (or a week), what kind of style would you create?
Gwen: Ooh…. this is a hard one. More than anything in the world, I love super-long hair with a fae twist. So I guess it would be something that took advantage of Bento points and went down to my knees or ankles, possible a half updo with nice face-framing fringe (that’s what English people call bangs!), and a clip with Celtic knotwork on it or something lovely like that. And maybe some optional butterflies. Because airy-fairy! 😉
Ellen: Okay, that I’ve got to see! I would never know how to answer that question lol. Thank you so much for participating in this interview. It’s been fun getting to know more about you.
Gwen: I’m honoured that you thought of me, and I’m always glad to spend time talking with you, Ellen. I still think we should do some photography together one day when we have ten minutes to rub together!
Ellen: That would be great. We should do something with the Fiji hair. It’s perfect for your ears!
And that’s all, folks. Thank you for reading and join us next week for another interview. Hope you all have a great day ♥♥
Truth VIP 