How can we use glass and light as a medium to carry a piece of poetry with us?

In this class, we will create wearable and portable pieces of neon that you can bring everywhere. The possibilities are endless such as wearing them directly on your body as a fashion accessory, as part of a costume, or carrying portable neon signage for personal and artistic expression. These creations don't have to live on your body, they can be part of an art bike, a car, or a creative way to promote your business while mingling at an event. At the end of the class, we'll host a fashion show where you can showcase your creations.

This class is a collaboration with MIT Media Lab to develop an open-source educational kit that provides a plug-and-play electronics kit to interface with neon, which you can take home afterward. We'll teach you how to connect and assemble the electronic kit and neon transformers. No prior experience with programming or physical computing is required, just an open mind and a curious spirit to explore the possibilities of neon.

Neon has been a part of architectural lighting, signage, and lighting devices, and is widely used in mixed-media artwork. In this class, we'll examine the traditional uses of neon in modern society and explore its future. For example, we'll create lights to illuminate or amplify parts of our bodies, viewing the human form as dynamic architecture and a living system of feelings and experiences that shape our physical appearance and transform how we carry ourselves daily.

Questions to consider before the class:

Can color and light become an extension of us, like our inner workings or aura, and be visualized?

Can we use lights as jewelry?

What shapes and forms can we create with glass and light to express ourselves?

Can we create sunrise and sunset and carry the magic hour on our shoulders?

What if these lights could sense changes in our body or environment, becoming a visual indication of how we respond to the world?

What is the future of signage?

This class is for all levels. For beginners, we'll focus on design and basic techniques. For intermediate students, we'll concentrate on making three-dimensional work. For advanced students, we can explore incorporating lettering into wearable designs. Our pedagogy and motto begins with:  "What's the simplest thing that could possibly work?”

Note: there may be an additional supply fee