Light Colony

Ceramic Light Installation

Boston, MA 2015-2017

These wheel thrown ceramic terrariums incorporated dynamic sound reactive leds and were installed in a variety of locations near where music was being played. After throwing the forms on the pottery wheel, they were then high fired in a saggar kiln with combustibles saturated in iron oxide and copper carbonate. This “flame painting” technique gave the clay its vibrant surface effects. Each one was then wired with addressable rgb leds and connected to a micro controller with a sound detector. The programing equated the amplitude of sound it picked up with brightness and color of the led diodes. The result was that the terrariums would pulse in rainbow colors to the beat of the music playing in their proximity. The old meets new aspect of combining the traditional craft of pottery with leds and microcontrollers is a quintessential aspect of we do at Gravity Garden. It is a defining aspect of our aesthetic.