Tom and his avatar Quota Soon
As you can see, my avatar is a younger, better looking version of myself I wish to aspire to. If you've read Bruce Sterlings Holy Fire, you understand the answer to the question, "I wonder how far I would have gone if I had the knowledge and wisdom I do today but had the body I had when I was younger?" My name Quota Soon is derived from the main character in a science fiction story I worked on for years that involved virtual reality. Kind of an in joke for graphic designers who always have to have things done 'soon'.

After reading Neuromancer in 1988, I spent the next decade imagining what I would do in virtual reality when it happens. I made a personal pact to be completely immersed as soon as it showed up. Well, Active Worlds in 2000 was underwhelming. In 2006, Second Life seemed to be the real deal but had a lot to prove to me. I saw the incredible time investment needed to be successfull inworld and my hardware both video card and modem weren't supported very well by SL. In 2009 things have improved for me. Second Life's incredible tools and fascinating society has drawn me in. It's obvious that the future will depend more and more on things virtual. As a result, I have a growing fear of not missing the boat on this one.

In first life I am an art director at a PR firm in Tucson, Arizona. I do web design, print design and large format. I am also an artist who produces oil paintings and digital artwork. I've been involved with a local community arts gallery but the lure of audience in Second Life has turned my focus towards showing my work in virtual reality. A couple sales hasn't hurt either. What would happen if I really tried to sell?

I live in a storefront warehouse building in Tucson with my girlfriend Jane Pitts, 2 dogs and 2 cats. Both of us artists, our live/work studio supports paint, 2 digital workstations and also racks of vintage clothing that Jane sells locally and on Ebay. We enjoy our wonderfu year-round garden and the excellent weather of Tucson. The Mexican food rocks! I also like to hike and camp in this beautiful state. For some reason I love the juxtaposition of nature and the digital world. This weird altered reality thing happens to me. Am I the only one?

Day dreaming on my deck.
My gallery in Second Life is called "patterntology" where you can view my latest show. Check it out here.

I've been on the web since 1998. Here's a bunch of links to my web presence:

patterntology.com (all of my latest art and design)

patterntology.blogspot.com

flickr

facebook

virb

myspace

futureprimitiveguide.com (neat flash project I did)