WHERE MUSES GO (WMG): Introduction While looking at images in the galleries over the years I've been struck by the number of times people have said "My muse is gone" or "I'm looking for my muse" or "My muse has returned" and other similar statements. Which got me wondering -- just *where* do muses go when they go? After months of investigation I can now tell you Where Muses Go: to professional conventions, of course! ____________________ This is Nera. She is the muse of a Renderosity artist who lives in the Midwest. We will be following her as she travels to the annual convention of the Society of Muses. A few facts about muses: Originally there were only the classical Nine Muses. This was sufficient during the early ages of man up until about the late Middle Ages. The invention of the printing press and the explosion in the number of books that followed put the original muses under an intolerable strain. So, in a manner that is still kept secret to all but a very few, more muses were produced to carry the expanded load. Nera is a relatively young muse, being only about 150 years old or so (she is, like many people, a bit coy about her age). The expansion of the number of muses has put a strain on the community, as we shall see. All muses are female. For some reason the human mind, no matter what the gender it is, responds better to a muse if it is female. There are rumors that there were once male muses, or at least an attempt at such, but if you ask about it you will be told that "We don't speak of it." Muses always specialized but the trend has accelerated in the last few centuries. There are muses for every field of science and technology you can think of (and a few you haven't thought of) as well as every creative genre and niche that is out there. That's a lot of muses! ____________________ This is a fourteen part series. In addition to chronicling a muse's conference activities I thought it would be nice to honor *some* of the artists here who have been inspirations to me and have lent me encouragement from time to time. Unfortunately I can't commemorate them all -- it would take a series of unimaginable length to do that! :-) So just because someone's not listed doesn't mean that I don't appreciate everyone's inspiration and support. May of the artists are also vendors so they will be in the credits. However, some are not, so I have incorporated a little nod to them in some of the images. Have fun trying to spot them -- I will give a list at the end. Be observant, because some of them are pretty subtle! CREDITS Character: Modern Muses: Nera by surreality (DAZ) Hair: Belle Arum by WyrdSisters (DAZ) Hair texture: Bellicious by Propschick (formerly Renderosity) Clothes: Modern Muses by 4blueyes (DAZ); V4 Shoe Pack 1 by Serrge (DAZ) Clothing textures: Romantica by surreality (DAZ); Stylish Dreams 1 by nirvy (DAZ) Pose: Glamorous Portraits by Wenke (Renderosity) Expression: Oh That Look! Expressions for V4 by 3DCelebrity (DAZ) Lights and Background: Indirect Light Studio by Colm (RDNA) Background texture: More for IDL Studio Cove by Bea & Aliwonder (RDNA)