Void- Pearllight's perception

 "Void"

Void is kind of an odd mix of realism and cartoon combined; this is what happens when you draw over a photo. Void is a way to express my current emotional state, while all at once serving as a mood indicator for the content of this post. (The main reason I made the image is to give the post interest).

What does one do when one is trapped in a void, a prison with no door yet open to a beginning, where you can speak, but no one listens, those you love in shackles same as you. 

It's been what feels like an eternity since you last touched the hand of someone you called friend. Those you cared for either found a door out of the void you're stuck in, or prison bars blocked off their path of return. You've scraped your fingers against the floor, trying to grasp hold of someones shadow, not ready to say goodbye and realizing too late that their shadow implies they've left you behind, and were never there. 

You find ways to speak to others through certain prison walls, and at times even find yourself muttering to your own reflection on the floor, but still your life has not begun, and the tiles of familiarity have cracked, aged, and turned to dust.

Action is not being taken, and you must rely on those in the void with you to make a move, helpless on your own, worried and waiting that turns to longing for freedom. Will you ever be free? Will you ever find love beyond the void which you're trapped? Or is the way out a walk to the next prison cell? 

That was a poetic way of expressing the image of "Void", the words and symbolism holding hidden meaning that expresses certain personal matters in the life of Pearllight.

The concept of the void dimension has been developing in my mind more ever since I made the Sass Juice comic pages. I felt a certain silliness, yet wondered what exactly my character felt, and a few ideas came to mind as to how it would be to get trapped in one of these void dimensions.

Pearllight's Perception

Onto the main subject of this post. I think it's about time I stated my new thoughts towards the Bionicle fandom, coming to realize a few things which have helped me move along in my art, while subsequently bringing me to final conclusions of why I've held onto the fandom for as long as I have.

I've told the story of how I came to like Bionicle, and now nine years later I've come to a full realization as to why I've held onto the series for nearly a decade.

All these years from the time I became a fan to now, I've been dreaming, scheming, creating, and sharing the boundless ideas and possibilities that have run through my mind all because of Bionicle.

When I was younger, I found that becoming a fan led to me meeting people who were also fans, hence leading to friendship based upon a like interest (Bionicle being the only interest I had in common with the majority of people I befriended).
From the first time I became a fan and through the next five years, I embraced this interest, and in my extroversion sought to meet friends this way. I created art and shared it all these years because I enjoyed the ideas, but also because I wanted to share with others and find like minds to interact with.

Eventually I lost all the friends I had in real life, and as time went on I came to realize the only thing that had kept me connected with them is something as simple as a fantasy created by another. I turned to the screen and shared online hoping to find new friends who shared the same interests and loved to think outside the box. But at last, after trying for the past three years, my hopes of meeting new friends online has failed, and I've come to accept the fact that it will remain this way for most of my life, turning me back towards other art forms I enjoy and helping me realize that all these years I've been sharing to the wrong crowd of people.

It's only recently that I've come to see newer Bionicle fans have seemed to become progressively more closed minded and rude, losing sight of creativity and being too focused on the rules of canon which restrict the possibilities of being creative, and daring to think outside the box. This has turned me away from certain online communities, and I've become fed up with the attitudes of what seems like an overgrowth of weeds choking out those of us who never gave a crap about canon rules and concepts that didn't let imagination bloom and spread.

After taking some time away from Bionicle groups of certain sites, I sat down to make other things and stopped caring to interact with the majority of newer fans, realizing I seek for older fans who create and think outside the box. It's during this time I started making the Bionicle mini book, which gave me such a sense of relaxation that I finally realized what it is I truly liked about Bionicle.

I came to realize that as an artist, I seem to value the story in a different way from the majority of fans on communities like Google +, also understanding that any Bionicle art piece I make will only be fully understood and appreciated by me and me alone (which is how it is for any kind of art, the artist knowing the true meaning behind what they made, others seeing it differently depending on personality type).
So what is it I like about Bionicle? As I worked on my project and got the sense of relaxation, I realized I like Bionicle as an art style. Even if it didn't have a story line, the sheer designs and concepts is what kick started my passion for it.

I like the combo of robotic beings melded in with a fantasy setting on a beautiful island full of colorful creatures that shine in the light and wield the elements, each thing color coded and culturally interesting for a false reality. I nod in appreciation to the original artists who helped make Bionicle and introduced something intriguing enough to inspire a wave of fans for the next decade.

And as it goes, I ask questions that make the setting more life like. Most people lose sight of the subtleties from what I've noticed. I'm the one to wonder what kind of food dishes each region makes, do they have spices, do they make soups? How would I make clothes if I were in their world, what would that look like, what kind of fruit do they have, would there be a way to make soap? These are the odd questions I ask myself, and this is why I make art expressing the ideas for my amusement (note I said for my amusement....I make art for my amusement. If others are amused by it and feel inspired, I say good for them. It's those who feel a need to say something is canon or not that turns me off....cause I totally don't know what canon says *cough* sarcasm.) It's true, I do my research to see what the original artists wrote into the story, but I don't abide by their rules, never have, never will.

I dream of Bionicle and have since an early age because I want an adventure, I want to learn new things, meet new people, find new friends. I turn to fantasy and dreaming because I can't experience it in real life.

Kind of a nutty thing to admit, but I couldn't have made it more obvious....that's actually the honest main reason I became a fan.