The ever-creative, beautiful inside and out Owl Dragonash has invited me to contribute to her blog. I’m honored and flattered for many reasons.

First, as anyone who has ever met her knows, Owl has one of those spirits that just shines. She is authentic, caring and has an incisive perspective. We first met eight years ago through a mutual friend. It could have been awkward–it sometimes was, but there was always an honesty and a sincerity that kept us connected.

I was a newbie when I met Owl and someone showed me a picture of her in a gallery. I was stunned. It was my first introduction to SL art. She was (and is) incredibly artistic and beautiful. It was a beauty that didn’t rely on copying the latest trend or aping an accepted model, but one that was expressive and creative.

In RL, I am an arts journalist and advocate. In SL? I write about hats. I collect hats. I wear them always, and often my favorite comment is when someone says, “What is on your head?” As of this writing, I have 6,043 hats that I have sorted into my hats folder. I have more than that, but they aren’t sorted yet.

In SL, I also seek out whimsy, which is perhaps why I started collecting hats and my favorite ones are those that break the boundaries of what people perceive as a “hat.”

I once had a blog about hats, so I don’t think I will be writing only about hats here. Rather, I may be writing about those things that Owl inspires: Casting a fresh eye at SL and trying to seek out the beauty in it, the whimsy in it, the connections in it.

That said, my writing will be slow for awhile as RL has been overflowing with writing assignments and I’ll come here only when I’m caught up on deadlines. I am, though, looking forward to exploring with you!