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Community Nova

@the_community_nova

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Many lights. One shared glow.

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Running a color palette test on the four Nova prototypes still waiting to be deployed. (filming lights sucks, what you see here in no way reflects the actual color or brightness of these things.)

I’m love the way the color moves and shifts, knowing that they will soon find some neighbors to host them for anyone to enjoy.✨

But for now it's just me standing in a dark room and watching four glowing orbs debate about color in the most peaceful way. I’m enjoying this.

This is still a prototype test, but it’s just a small glimpse of the thing I actually want to make. The Community Nova: Many Lights One Shared Glow

#TheCommunityNova #LightArt #CreativeTechnology #LEDArt #SparksNevada by @the_community_nova

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2 months ago

Nova Build Log: From jumper wires to my first PCB.

The electronics for Community Nova started on a breadboard: a dev kit radio, some LEDs I had on hand, jumper wire spaghetti. The Proof of Concept? I can control a network of lights miles away with inexpensive hardware and custom software. It wasn't pretty and but it worked.

The idea was fire in my brain, make a constellation of lights for my neighborhood. Ask my neighbors to hang a light that is part of a greater glow for everyone to enjoy. But I was not going to ask anyone to attach bunch of wire tucked into a paper lantern on their home.

I had to move from a proof of concept to a prototype. I had to learn some new skills: how to design a schematic, a board layout, and getting my first printed circuit board produced.

The board in these photos is a big milestone for me. The idea for this project has always been experience first, but that doesn't mean that I'm not proud of the technology I've designed or the work I put into making it a reality.

Still building. Still learning. ✨

#TheCommunityNova #CreativeTechnology #LightArt #LEDArt #Maker by @the_community_nova

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2 months ago

This one little light is not a neighborhood artwork yet, but it takes a single point in the dark so it can all start to take shape. ⭐

This is the first Community Nova light on my own porch, shifting through the colors of the night. When I've shown the prototype off to people, one of the words that always seems to come up in the conversation is "synchronized" and I will say "wait, not synchronized." and then explain why. Just like right now!

Each evening these lights will share an effect with coordinated color, and timing. But each light is autonomous in its actions, just like the house it shines on. The Community Nova is about the neighborhoods we live in, each of them made up of people living similar lives and sharing the same life experiences, but always from a unique and individual perspective.

The prototypes are ready, now I just need to push myself to put them out there. (Yikes, that means I need to talk to people 😧.)

For now, one point in the night sky guiding me towards a larger constellation. ✨

#TheCommunityNova #TonightsGlow #LightArt #LightInstallation #PublicArt #SparksNevada #CreativeTechnology by @the_community_nova

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2 months ago

I want this project to read as an artwork before it reads as a gadget.

This is a working Community Nova prototype in my office: a diffuser, custom electronics, lighting control, and a small radio receiving the shared color palette.

The tech pieces matter, but mostly because they let the experience stay simple. I want my you to be able to hang a light outside, plug it in, and let it become one point in a larger community of color and motion.

I am building toward a neighborhood constellation in Sparks, separate porch lights quietly becoming an artwork together.

Can I make the technology do its job quietly enough that the lights get to be art?🧐

#TheCommunityNova #NovaBuildLog #LightArt #LightInstallation #CreativeTechnology #LEDArt #SparksNevada by @the_community_nova

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2 months ago

Imagine your porch light joining the lights in your neighborhood sharing color, rhythm, and motion. All changing nightly. No wifi or app, no configuration. Just plug it in and go.

This map marks the first planned deployment area for The Community Nova: 100 custom, radio-controlled porch lights along Emerson Way in Sparks, Nevada.

Each porch becomes one point in a larger artwork made by a neighborhood, one light at a time. ✦

#thecommunitynova #PublicArt #LightArt #CommunityArt #SparksNevada #NorthernNevada #CreativeTechnology #InteractiveArt #NeighborhoodArt by @the_community_nova

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2 months ago

by @the_community_nova

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3 months ago

Imagine one of these on your porch... now imagine one on your neighbors house, and on the house across the street and they are all coordinated sharing a color pallet and effects, changing every night. The best part, you don't have to share your wifi or configure anything, just plug it in. I control them over a low bandwidth ISM mesh network that already spans the Reno / Sparks area. You don't have to configure anything, just provide power and a place to hang on the outside of your house that is visible to the street. That is what I'm building, a constellation of porch lights powered by community participation. The first one hundred lights are planned to be deployed in the East Emerson Way neighborhood of Sparks. It's called The Community Nova. Feel free to ask me questions about it. Funding desperately needed. by @the_community_nova

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3 months ago

It's ok if you still don't understand, it hasn't been explained. I dropped off for a bit to lick some wounds. Doesn't mean I wasn't still dreaming. #the_community_nova by @the_community_nova

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3 months ago

I've often gone on about how math and science intersect with, and are inseparable from art and music, like light and shadow. But simply being able to believe I can dare to show up in either of those worlds... it's like trying to breath water for me. No electrical tape or hot glue was used in the manufacturing of this prototype. 🎉 #the_community_nova by @the_community_nova

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3 months ago

Have you seen the meme about "So, 80's kids who were academically talented, how is your untreated adult ADHD is going?"... this is my official answer. #the_community_nova by @the_community_nova

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3 months ago

Did you notice the terminal block connectors were not the same as the design and were on backwards and are the wrong size for the through holes? Geez why so critical, can't you just enjoy the pretty light? 💡#the_community_nova by @the_community_nova

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3 months ago

Did you know the first thing I ever made was a nightlight for my son? Why would you, that's weird. You're weird. #the_community_nova by @the_community_nova

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3 months ago