Upcoming Wearables Courses in Toronto

Here are a few courses I will be teaching in the coming months.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me, the organizers of the event, or simply leave a comment on this post.

September 20: Interaccess Media Arts Centre “Intro to Xbee”

October 6 – November 11th: OCAD University Continuing Studies “Intro to Wearable Media” – a 6 week course

December (exact date TBA): Interaccess Media Arts Centre “Soft Circuits”

January (exact date TBA): Interaccess Media Arts Centre “Intro to Lilypad Arduino”

I’m Edumacated

I’m graduating OCADU today with a BFA in Integrated Media and Wearable Technology. Convocation today at Roy Thompson Hall. Then what?

Kate likes the Kegel Organ

The Kegel Organ was mentioned in this recent interview with Kate Hartman, my Wearable Tech professor at OCADU and the creator of Botanicalls, the Muttering Hat, and the Talk to Yourself Hat (all currently on display at MOMA’s Talk to Me exhibition in NYC).  Here is what she says:

My favorite assignment recently from a more conceptual end is to make an interface for a part of your body that you thought was being ignored and that brought on all sorts of crazy stuff. I had students who made interfaces for their Kegel muscles. They made it so you can play music by activating your Kegel muscles. It was really well done. They did three different iterations. One was just an on/off switch. The muscles were clenched and would turn the switch on or off. Another was a gradient, so it would sense how much the muscles were activating. The third you could actually play ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’. It was wild, but at the same time really interesting. And they wrote a beautiful blog post on women, power and inner strength. They played with all these cultural references. It was great.

So many materials, so little time…

I don’t know where all my time goes.  I should give myself more time to experiment with materials; I’m certainly not shy about accumulating them in them in the meantime!  On my workdesk I have SMD LEDs, fibre optics, faraday film, a giant box of very slow motors, a rigid heddle loom that I’ve yet to warp, a great window-mount 12V solar panel that is just begging to be used, not to mention boxes of iron filings, chameleon flakes, xylophone parts and a rotary dial phone to be repurposed.  Sigh.  If I were completely on top of things, I would arrange for one full day a week that is dedicated to experimentation.  Alas, there are other things that ask for my attention these days, such as an independent study project for OCAD, and these upcoming workshops I’m teaching at Interaccess.  Note to self: manage time!

Maker Faire Toronto

We’ll be having our first Maker Faire here in Toronto in the next week.  Okay okay, it’s a technically a “Mini Maker Faire”, but it’s gaining tons of interest among the nerdy DIY crowd — enough to drop the prefix of “mini”.  I’ll be speaking at the Lightening Talks: 5 minute blasts about something you find compelling, or that others should know about.  My talk will be about Open Data, and what I find interesting and relevant about “wearing” data on the body.  If you’re in the Toronto area, come and check it out!

Lightening Talks happen on May 7th, from 7pm – 9pm.