Knaw says...

On the last day of Fun a Day Dundee (FADD) 2022, I wanted to write a reflective essay on how the project has progressed. This one has been notably different from previous years.

Most of my FADD projects are about regularity, creating at least one piece each day. The self-written rules governing the 2022 contest have maintained this expectation, but have allowed some flexibility to create an average of one piece per day, building up to an overall goal of 22 ounces of art.

I also haven't kept a handwritten logbook this year. That wasn't a conscious decision, as I initially wrote a rough plan for the project by hand, and any such reflections would have counted towards the 22 ounces. But in practice, logging hasn't been at the forefront of my mind, with any additional comments instead added on Instagram and/or LiveJournal.

Looking back, it makes sense not to have written anything by hand. I don't have the best handwriting in the world, so I'm in the habit of typing up anything I do write, allowing a wider readership to understand it. Besides, my core concept is recycling and I don't wish to use any more paper than necessary.

Every January, I learn something new, usually out of necessity. In previous years, I've: mastered the use of a scanner, discovered that Google Docs includes handwriting recognition software, learnt about cropping pictures for Instagram, and overcame my fear of Microsoft Paint 3D.

This year has brought two lessons, the first being how to write alternative text for Instagram to describe the picture for those with vision problems. The second doesn't involve modern technology. It's a discovery that my graphite pencils have become my current go-to tools, allowing me to practice shading and other effects.

Finally, here's the playlist I've built up this month, based on the music I was listening to while creating all these entries.

At the end of the exhibition, all my work will be put through this shredder to create a new artwork.

With the 22 ounces reached, all that's left to do is check there's no wastefulness, and to add more art if necessary to keep the weight up. That can wait until tomorrow.

And there we have it: 22.6 ounces of art. It should be noted that the box at the bottom is for balance only, and was placed on the scale before it was reset to zero.

A charcoal pencil drawing of an elephant on three pieces from a cardboard box.

So let's weigh the project so far. We have 17.8 ounces of material, so just 4.2 left to finish the month.

Nobody said JustEat.

I used the back of a test receipt card, to draw a lateral flow test from memory. I've seen so many of them that it was fairly simple.