My Practice in 2021 & Beyond
It's that time of year for reflection. I've structured my creative output around three interconnected areas: Design Tools, Graphics, and Publishing.
Design Tools and Graphics feed into each other—my artistic growth depends on refining my technical toolset, while my projects push me to improve those tools further. Publishing amplifies both by sharing work publicly, generating feedback that shapes future ideas. Though it's the most complicated part emotionally, it remains essential.
Design Tools
goodgraphics.js reached version 0.15.0. I created flow-fields.js as a standalone library. My code monorepo contains emerging functionality alongside experimental concepts I explored throughout the year.
Graphics
- 300 graphics in the monorepo
- 9 Patreon graphics (4 being generative prints)
- Numerous pen plotter designs and prints
- 18 risograph prints created with Risolve Studio
Publishing
Despite irregular posting patterns, I built audiences across multiple platforms: Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok accounts. The shop generated 261 sales and one wholesale client. I published 39 newsletters and redesigned my website repeatedly.
Takeaways
My core ambition remains making better art. While social signals validate ideas, I resist chasing popularity. Though the radial circle risograph print sells well, repeating it endlessly contradicts my values. Each practice component should foster growth and challenge me.
& Beyond
Visiting Laurie Anderson's exhibition at the Smithsonian shifted my perspective. A Washington Post profile included a line that's haunted me: "This is how you make time for art, I think. By making it all the time."
My biggest struggle this year involved burnout—scarcity of time, exhaustion preventing creation even when available. Constant mental engagement with artistic concepts offers the only remedy, though it proves draining.
Code's malleability makes prototyping easy, yet most days feel unproductive, spinning without accumulation.
For 2022, I'm abandoning linear improvement pressure. I want non-cyclical processes offering space for pure experimentation and prototyping without polished deliverables as requirements. That's my single focus.
Till next time,
Mello
P.S. The Graphic of the Year Award
Flow Snakes combines flow field algorithms (often dismissed as basic generative art) with lerp styling experiments and discoveries from p5.js work.
