Imagine a painting created by millions of microorganisms responding to a light source as you watch. Or a pet that doubles as a night light. Synthetic biology company Intrexon has just created a new subsidiary to bring such things to consumers. Dubbed BioPop, for Biological & Popular Culture, it aims to bring “living art” to the masses with the motto: “inspired by nature, made possible through science.”

Intrexon already applies its synthetic biology platform in the fields of healthcare, agriculture, energy, and the environment. Now it is expanding in the field of fine and decorative arts, accessories, toys and unique novelties—living art.

BioPop is the result of Intrexon taking a controlling equity stake in Yonder Biology, a San Diego-based company that created the Dino Pet, the world’s first living, bioluminescent pet made from nature, and a digital art piece on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History entitled, “A Complete Genome in Time.” The DNA art displays an entire human genome, streaming 100 nucleotides per second over the period of a year.

“BioPop will use living organisms as bio-palettes that live, grow, and respond to stimuli,” says Andy Bass, Yonder’s co-founder and CEO of BioPop. “Imagine an art piece that ‘paints’ itself; a living, renewable ambient light source that operates on sunlight, water and nutrients, instead of batteries or electricity. We’ll use the same technology to create toys that inspire children through novel uses of nature – combining innovation, entertainment and imagination.”

BioPop’s most recent product, LIVA, is a living art bio-painting that grows into a full portrait.

Randal Kirk sees BioPop as an opportunity to engage directly with consumers. “I have known Andy Bass and Dean Sauer of Yonder for a few years and had become a big fan of their efforts to popularize the intersection of biological science and art,” says Kirk.

I checked out the website of Yonder Biology to learn more about the Dino Pet. It is made of dinoflagellates, optimized to grow quickly and densely, and maintain their bioluminescence.

The company is taking pledges on Kickstarter and will begin shipping in April 2014. They also sell supplements you can feed your pet and keep it glowing longer than its stated three months or so. I also found out that I can make art out of my own DNA by just sending in a sample of it to the company, which they then convert into an original work of art based on my code.

I think I’ll wait on that, but meantime I may add to Yonder’s crowdsourcing efforts—$30 is not too much for a cool little pet—unless my dog eats it.