Workshop Day
On Sunday July 29th, the final day of the Gray Area Festival, join us for a selection of Creative Code workshops taught by eight talented instructors, recognized for actively shaping their fields and practices.
Session 1: 11am - 2pm
Stitching Sound
with Gabe Duggan
Stitching Sound builds from ancient traditions in fiber work (weaving, knitting, and other off-loom processes) to explore the roles tension and media play in balanced installations, spatially, aurally.
We will work together to construct an installation with strand and planar elements, particularly metal wire and sheets, to inhabit and visually amplify a space.
We will then materialize the potential energy within the installation through sound and interaction by applying contact microphones to these newly arranged surfaces.
Scan to sculpt: 3D Laser Scanning, File Repair and 3D printing for Artists
with Sophie Kahn
This workshop will provide a crash course in 3D scanning, design and printing. Students will create their own scans with a 3D laser scanner, and then learn how to sculpt, repair, manipulate and output their scan files as 3D printed artworks. The workshop will cover basic 3D modeling and file repair, along with tools for using 3D scanning and printing 'against the grain' to yield results that are experimental and unexpected. It will also introduce students to ways in which 3D scanning and printing can be integrated into the flow of their own art practices.
TOOLS FOR THE NEXT REVOLUTION
with Mathais Jud
The workshop is a journey into possibilities of expression in the communication society and uncovers the narratives and power structures behind it. Participants will create their own Internet independent Wifi communication network, learn how to use them and how to extend the range of Wifi-Networks with self built Antennas.
Processing Oscilloscopes
with Ted Davis
Using his recently released XYscope Processing library, media artist Ted Davis will share beginner-friendly creative coding strategies for audio/video synthesis by drawing vector graphics on an analog oscilloscope – a conversion of shape paths into sound.
Drawing vector graphics with sound: after a creative coding warm-up in Processing, participants will learn their way around XYscope, a recently released Processing library that allows users to draw vector graphics on an analog oscilloscope – a lab device for displaying and analyzing the waveform of electronic signals. You will then learn how to program vector graphics and then how to convert their shape paths into sound. Fed into a 2-channel oscilloscope in XY-mode (there will be at least one device for participants to play with) the audio signals will reveal your vector graphics in glowing glory. By experimenting with a variety of generative visuals and their corresponding sound oscillations, participants will understand the fundamentals of audio/video synthesis and explore the tight relationship between what we see and hear.
Session 2: 3pm - 6pm
Create a Wireless Touch Capacitive OSC controller for Music and Visuals
with Mark Hellar
This class will combine code with craft to create a touch capacitive wireless interface to control audio and video software. At the core we will learn about the powerful and cheap ESP32 micro-controller which comes packed with feature like bluetooth, wireless and touch capacitive pins.
We will combine this with conductive pain on a laser cut template to make an control interface that communicates via the Open Sound Control(OSC) Protocol. In addition to physical materials students will be walked though code sample to allow them to control audio and visuals. Students will come away with the undestanding of how to customize the hardware and software to make it there own. This workshop has a $33 materials fee per student.
Intro to Biomaterials for Design
with Annelie Koller
WORKSHOP NOW FULL
WORKSHOP NOW FULL
Join architect and biohacker, Annelie Koller, as she aims to demystify the brave new world of biodesign with a workshop using living organisms to create new design materials. She will introduce you to some DIY techniques to grow your own biomaterials and explore biological systems as a valuable tool in design thinking.
This workshop will use organisms such as bacteria, yeast and mushroom mycelium to create a range of materials from cellulose "leather" to mycelium building materials. These tools can be used for prototyping and help expand the participants thinking on how this may be applied in a new direction of design, and ultimately change the way we make consumer products. This new way of manufacturing and materials will soon disrupt the resource-depleting methods we currently use.
Participants will leave the understanding of how the building blocks of life that can be used in design and protocols that they can safely use at home to experiment and explore further. Be prepared to get your hands dirty and your organisms clean. This workshop will have a $10 materials fee per student.
WORKSHOP NOW FULL
Digital Synesthesia: Creating Visual Music with Max 7
with Taurin Barrera
This workshop will focus on creating artful connections between audio and visual data using Cycling 74’s Max 7. During this session, we will build an audiovisual application that processes incoming audio data to influence generative 3D graphics. We’ll learn how to build an audiovisual world of reactive 3D shapes in Jitter with OpenGL, and make it shine with interactive shaders and custom visual effects. Finally, we’ll look at live performance strategies and ways to optimize creative expression in Max/MSP/Jitter and Max for Live. This session will be a practical introduction to Jitter, with a focus on 3D graphics, meant for musicians, VJs, and audiovisual artists.
Law through a Lens - Legal Issues for Artists using New Technology
with Cynthia M. Gayton
This workshop will introduce artists and creatives facing new technology challenges, in particular, art and music distribution, sales and display through the lens of cryptocurrency and blockchain platforms.