I am a designer by profession with a love for creative coding. Mostly playing around with Processing and Touchdesigner when covid hit. Out of a job, working as a freelancer, I stumbled across this platform following the demise of my grandmother. It was a painful sad time, and I wanted some way to escape.&#x20;

Out of curiosity, I released my first piece Monalisa Overdrive. &#x20;

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It was flawed. And I had fucked up the preview settings as it happened with a lot of first timers in FxHash. Being from a non technical background didn't help at all but I did manage to sell a few pieces despite the fact. And it meant okay, that was a test piece, maybe I can do better.&#x20;

The process of creating stuff using generative processes helped me a lot through a difficult time and slowly I came up with a bunch of other pieces. ['Terra'](https://www.fxhash.xyz/generative/8184) was my first successful piece. It meant that I was doing something right. And it gave me hope to continue with my experiments in generative art.

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# Developing an art practice&#x20;

Generative art slowly became a medium for me to express my hopes and fears pertaining to the themes of science fiction with a few of the representational pieces I worked on. These were some of my reflections about space, biology, terraforming, simulations and reality. Raning from Alien Landscapes to microscopic ponderings, a doomed earth stuck in time to ruins of a forgotten past, of changing landscapes and unreal lotus fields stuck in time. I guess I love world building quite a lot. &#x20;

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On the other hand there is the other aspect of more abstract pieces which is more experimental but also very fresh as compared to the kind of art we find browsing through the internet. Something that speaks to our inherent emotions I guess, like loss or despair, excitement and wonder, feedback loops being a big part of this process.

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But it is an evolutionary process, shaped and driven by the constant influences of the world around us delivered through lived experiences and the inescapable virtual feedback loop.&#x20;

# Learnings from 2022

-   As an artist how one's art does financially shouldn't really be a deciding factor in making art. It takes time and patience and a tremendous amount of work into creating something that is unique, fresh and something one can relate to. Although I found the NFT platforms to be useful to help monetize and support oneself, however financial expectations might sometimes be a hindrance towards making good art.&#x20;
-   Collabs work a lot better in terms of reception and when it comes to generative art, I think collabs can act as a dialogue, an evolution of ideas originating from two sources and manifesting as one for the world to enjoy. Special thanks to [NFTMuseumSC](https://www.fxhash.xyz/u/NFTMuseumSC)  for my first collab on [Beyond](https://www.fxhash.xyz/generative/14985).
-   Continuity of the process is important. Publishing can be intermittent. Art is a process and not everything we make will see the light of day. I remember the number of times I started working on something and stopped halfway. But looking back I feel they have also been helpful in the development of the practice.&#x20;
-   Finding time is something very important. As a designer working in a startup with a shitload of work it is hard to keep up with what's happening and its pretty easy to lose hope or getting stuck. However, finding joy in the process is something that has kept me going through this year. My love to just create something. Doesn't always need to be complex. Doesn't always need to be mind blowing. But it does need to be simply enough to help me. If what you are making doesn't impact you and if it is something you are having second thoughts about then I guess you should redo it all over again and again until you like it first.&#x20;
-   Collecting art is as important as creating art. There are lots of choices in lots of price ranges. I think supporting other artists is as important as making art. And once you start collecting you realize that collecting and curating is also a skill. &#x20;

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# Collecting art&#x20;

When I first started collecting it was a mindless hunt for free NFTs out there. Slowly I starting spending what I earned to get the stuff I actually cared about and over time I tried to up my game as much as I could. Looking forward to collecting more in the year to come. Here are some of my favorites that I was lucky enough to collect this past year.

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And many many more! I put in almost 60% of my total earnings back into creating my collection and I am excited to see what goodies 2023 might have in store for us. And the collecting process is also quite similar to the creating process. I for one am always excited to see stuff from my favorite artists and am always including new ones in my list.&#x20;

# What about 2023?&#x20;

Good question! But mostly I guess its just gonna be a continuation of this process of learning, experimenting and exploring. Slowly but steadily, like a spaceship on an adventure in uncharted territory. Stumbling across new ideas and making discoveries. Sometimes having a good time while pulling through hard ones. Planning to focus on creating a better website with maybe a virtual gallery(although a lot of people seem to think that the metaverse is already dead) and maybe working more on creating some learning content and maybe collaborating with fellow generative artists or even artists from other domains.&#x20;

And that's all folks. Hope 2023 is even more amazing for everybody. For 'the end' is definitely not the end!

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Looking back at my first year into the generative art space. Finding FxHash was probably the best thing that happened this past year. This article is to sum up the past year, the learnings, the process, creating collecting and some thoughts moving into the next year. 

Designer / Artist / Researcher 
https://linktr.ee/jaalibandar

THE END / ODE TO 2022

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