Ib, is the Ancient Egyptian word for 'heart', hence, the reason for all of the hearts around the site..  This is my creative hub.  My center.  My heart.  I'm Gina-Marie Hammer - fiber artist, fine artist, digital artist, jewelry designer, game developer, pattern maker, and YouTube content creator.  I'm known as Netjera, in the game development and digital art communities, and I'm also Reky, a Second Lifer who loves to make videos.  I'm a disabled accountant turned game developer, turned texture artist, turned jewelry maker, turned Rogue Artist, and for some time, I've tried to separate my various interests and creations.  This has brought me nothing but scattered followers, and an identity crisis.  Was I Gina-Marie - the woman who learned to crochet at Nona's knee, and who has rarely spent more than a few months without a crochet hook in her hand, or her nose buried in some sort of journal or planner?  Or was I Netjera - the woman who refuses to give up, who does digital art, makes textures, and who loves to make games?  Or how about Reky, the woman who has a Second Life, takes in-world pictures for mementos, and who lives in a floating CyberPunk city named Insilico?  

 

Who was I, really?

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 Of course, I'm all of these.  I'm the girl who grew up trying to make doll clothes out of scraps of fabric and random yarn, and who spent more time in art classes than in academics, while moonlighting as the only girl gamer across two different high schools.  I'm the woman who began learning how to make games after being diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, who  finished the last semester of her accounting degree from bed, but was still determined to make a living, despite having health issues, and a college degree which gradually became useless.  I'm also the artist who built an immersive outdoor art gallery in Second Life, which is constantly changing,  who  runs her own YouTube channel on art, games and life.  

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It seems I will never be that person who has only one interest and pursues it with a single-minded burning flame.  I'll always change my perfume like I change my clothes, matching my scent to suit my mood.  I'll always have multiple journals and planners, using one today, and another in a couple of months.  Things around me are fluid, changing, adventurous and creative, and that's okay.  While I used to lament my inability to specialize, I've realized something very important.  I *am* specialized.

 

For  some people, creating things is a hobby.  For me, it's a need.   A burning, driving need.  Like a shark who can't sit still, or it will die, I must be making something.  Whether it's a website, a Discord community, a video, a drawing, a batch of cookies, or a series of really bad puns, my mind stops working when I stop making.  I am the very definition of a specialist.  My entire life, person,  and purpose revolves around creating things and sharing them with people.  What could be more single-minded than that?

Of course, this means  that I can't continue to separate myself into pieces.  I must bring all of my creations together, and heal my own heart.  Ib Visual Arts is my attempt to do that.  This is it - my heart, everything in it, everything that I am, that I can make, that I can share, and moreover, this is the center of my creative universe, my space where I share those things with you.    It may be chaotic, but it'll be fun, and I hope that you'll come along for the ride.

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On this site, you'll find information about my various interests, a blog where I'll discuss my latest projects, my illness, and things which bring me great joy.  A store, where you can purchase my artwork and other projects, and links to my Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube.

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Don't worry, though!  This isn't all about me.  I've created a Discord for you guys as well.  Let's talk about art, the latest video games, game development, invisible illness, roleplaying, Second Life, or anything else you can imagine.  Let's build a fun, beautiful and slightly crazy community of friends, and see where things take us.  You can also sign up to receive my newsletter, and to get blog notifications.  My blog posts will cover many topics, some which will hopefully interest other makers and creatives, others which may focus on business, and news, of course.  There will always be news.

 

Below, you'll find links to old sites.  While business is no longer conducted in these locations, they remain for a time to mark parts of my journey, and to help funnel friends from these places to our new home. 

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Ib is the Ancient Egyptian word for 'heart', and is represented in hieroglyphics as 𓄣, which can be easily confused with a jar.  This is why you'll find so many traditional hearts all over the site instead.