Mastodawn

I am so excited for this Mind Benders neon class I am gonna start teaching tomorrow. Running till Sunday, students of all levels will get to learn neon bending, inkscape pattern (neon template) design, and a few programming things to make the neon blink (using microcontrollers).

Also trilled for the Embracing Fallibility exhibition going along with it. Mostly about human "error"- and loving the errors. April 11th it opens, and its up through July 19th. Here are a few install shots. Every piece is interactive- by physically pressing buttons, or by joining a wifi network that the pieces emanate, or by visiting

https://sticks.weblink.ooo/

from anywhere in the world. Okay, that last one is a little buggy- I programmed em all myself with some ai (mostly run locally) help. The LLMs are a a crutch, but I am learning more about #programming with them.

Here are some install shots of the show, and me connecting the sticks chandelier to the studio wifi.

#MNastodon #neon #sculpture #art #glass

Video Streaming Demonstration

Lila 2d ago

James Akers 2d ago

My oh my, The Mind Benders class I taught at FOCI wrapped up last night and what a wonderful whirlwind! I had the most amazing students who time and time again, were so hungry for knowledge, and wanted to learn more and more.
We learned to bend neon, make digital vector patterns, blink the neon with programmable microcontrollers and I even showed them how they could work with a glassblower to pull their own tubes.

My TA, @dinkytown was incredible- typically fulfilling the class's needs before I even asked her. I am thrilled that she learned a bunch in the class.
It was able to train two FOCI staff members to bombard (the dangerous process of purifying and putting gas in the tubes)- so now FOCI neon renters can get their tubes filled quicker.
The artist talk and demo I gave was well attended, and now FOCI has the doodle I made during the demo in their permanent collection.

#neon #class #roadtrip #learning #MNastodon #minneapolis #glass #art #sculpture #handmade #artisttalk