Electronic Naturalism at Maker Faire Rome - The European Edition from October 7 - 9 in Booth L.1.06
pretty bird
Hotel Indigo Chattanooga / The Making of a Pretty Bird /
Kelly Heaton, The Making of a Pretty Bird, 2019. A series of three 12" x 18” panels. Copper, gold electroplate, and silkscreen on epoxy laminate.
I am thrilled to finally share these images of my series, “The Making of a Pretty Bird,” installed in the guest rooms of the Hotel Indigo in Chattanooga, TN. (Documentation of the installed work was delayed by COVID-19). The panels are actual printed circuit boards that I wall-mounted as works of art. The sequence illustrates the process by which I designed my birdsong-generating piece “Pretty Bird,” (2019) from engineering schematic to the etched copper to the final layered artifact. Some of the above images were taken at the factory in Shenzhen, China and document stages of the unorthodox method by which the art was produced. I created 121 of these series for the Hotel Indigo Chattanooga, and the series is open-ended for additional works on demand. (Please inquire)
Screen printing artistic printed circuit boards /
Screenprinted “Pretty Bird,” a very limited edition of 4 works on Arches 88 lb cotton rag with 2 artist’s proofs. Screenprint and vinyl, signed and numbered in graphite, 24” x 16”
Testing different techniques for screen printing artistic circuit boards.
The Making of a Pretty Bird /
The Making of a Pretty Bird, 2019. A series of 3 printed circuit boards each measuring 12” x 18”. Etched copper, gold electroplate, and silkscreen on epoxy laminate.
Created for a hotel in Chattanooga, TN, this series shows my process to make artistic printed circuit boards. The first panel contains my schematic diagram for a sound-generating circuit that “sings" like a bird. In the central panel, my electronic design has been translated into conductive copper metal --the essence of a functional circuit. Multiple production layers including copper, solder mask, silkscreen, and gold electroplate are assembled in the final panel to create a work of aesthetic and electronic art as seen here.
This work is available for purchase. For inquiries, please email me.
Pretty Bird gets Bigger /
A to-scale inkjet print of my latest (and considerably larger) pretty bird circuit. Kelly Heaton, July 2019
My Pretty Bird circuit is about to fly to China and get bigger.
Pretty Bird ver. CC 2019 /
Here it is at last: my edition of 150 printed circuit boards and associated components, “Pretty Bird ver. CC,” 2019. This multiple was commissioned by Creative Capital for their 20th summer retreat celebration. I designed the artistic circuit using discrete hardware to generate waveforms from a 12 volt DC power supply, visible as blinking LEDs and audible through an 8 ohm speaker. Under the right lighting conditions, the sound is reminiscent of “pretty bird,” a song of the Carolia wren. There are no audio recordings or software algorithms involved in this effect — it’s entirely analog electronic. In the upper left corner of the circuit is a light-dependent resistor that affects the frequency of a negator oscillator, as I demonstrate in the video by changing the ambient light. It’s fascinating to me that a small quantity of common transistors, resistors, capacitors, and diodes can create vibrations that are so life-like. Similarity or simulacrum? The spark of life.
Pretty Bird CC test run video /
Pretty Bird ver.CC 2019 test run /
My first run of boards came in this week. I am pleased to report that the circuit works as intended (sings an analog electronic song). I’ll post video of that soon, but for now, some photos of the pretty board. I used gold-plated copper and solder mask to achieve a watermark effect, as you can see in some of these pictures. These boards (along with components to solder) will be given to attendees at Creative Capital’s 2019 retreat in June.