Well what a busy month it has been already! Fun A Day Dundee has seen an increase in participants taking part in this self- directed, community based project every year. We are now in its 7th year and have record numbers again, with 60-70 people committing themselves to having fun every day in January (or as close to it as possible!)
Once again, we have many participants sharing their projects on social media, creating a supportive dialog between each other, expanding their creative outputs to the world. For some participants, the project is a personal goal, others a fun way to brighten up a dull month, and for many, a reason to try something new, or embrace something they love, and start the year on a positive note, once achieving something small each day, that results in something much greater.
The originators of Fun a Day are the Artclash collective in Philadelphia, so you can join people from Baltimore, Boston, Philadelphia, Portland, LA and New York in this Fun a Day Challenge! Morgan Cahn brought Fun A Day to Dundee in 2011, and over time has picked up passionate participants to run the event year after year who help the project continue to thrive in Dundee.
Fun A Day started off as a way to encourage artists to keep each other motivated, but over the years, we have seen an increase in anyone and everyone making this project their own. We have seen families share projects, children creating their own fun, people who consider themselves to be ‘unskilled’ taking part (quite the opposite!), students, artists, all ages, and all from a variety of occupations and backgrounds making the project their own.
One of our regular participants; Ed Muirhead has said on the project:
“Fun A Day really inspires me each January to be creative in an every-day-down-to-earth way! It’s a fresh start to the year, and it’s an added bonus to see what others come up with during their creative month!”
Another participant and artist; Jennifer Robson also has good words to share on the project and its lasting effect;
“Fun a Day is a really brilliant project set at the perfect time of year when you need something to get your teeth into after the crazy lazy holidays. I used my Project to play with landscapes-an avenue of my work I had always meant to explore but never got around to. It was great to have an exhibition to work towards that was just for me. A year later and my landscapes are now a regular part of my practice, so thanks a million Fun a Day!”
You can find all the work being posted by #funadaydundee2018 participants on Twitter and Instagram using this hashtag.
For now, here is a small selection of this years projects in progress that we would love to share with you! (By the time of the Fun A Day Dundee group exhibition in March (2nd, 3rd, and 4th at WASPS Artist Studios, Dundee), we will have a full post detailing all the creative projects that our participants have produced this year!)
- Carnoustie Rocks / Emma Allan
Emma is doing what she does best for Fun A Day; painting a rock each day in January! The photographs and set up for each rock are just as creative as the paintings. We can’t wait to see what’s in store for the rest of the month. Check out Carnoustie Rocks on Facebook for more pictures and information. 🙂
2. Russell Dornan
Russell Dornan’s project is sewing abstract, geometric shapes on white card using copper thread. The number of lines of thread on each card corresponds to the day of the month it was created. We think this is a beautiful and intricate way of documenting the month. This project benefits from the daily documentation of its creation, and we look forward to seeing the outcome!
Check out more from Russell on Instagram & Twitter.
3. Lillias/ Caged Crinoline
Lillias fun this month was to experiment with makeup and latex, transforming her face into different characters. We love the creativity for each creation, you have to check out her skills and see the rest for yourself on her Instagram! Lillias has since ended her Fun A Day project, but we’re glad she managed to squeeze these amazing creations into her routine!
4. Hannah Wingfield
Hannah Wingfield’s Fun A Day is a bright and cheery freeform crochet, which is evolving into a beautiful and colourful variety of shapes and patterns. We love it, and look forward to seeing its final form on completion. You can find Hannah’s progress on Instagram @andintothetrees.
5. Laura Galloway
Laura Galloway is creating these little crochet creatures for her project, who are absolutely delightful and full of character! To see their creation and some of them dancing(!), check out her Instagram @bigglesthebaker.
6. Ed Muirhead
This year, Ed Muirhead is bending a piece of wire each day into a shape for his Fun A Day project. Love the collection, what a great idea! Catch more from Ed on Twitter & Instagram, and you can catch all the previous FUN he’s had with Fun A Day here!
7. Louise Kirby
Louise Kirby is exploring the idea of adapting a classic nursery rhyme as a starting point for her Fun A Day Dundee this year, using black ink as her medium. Over January she will work in her sketchpad and see where the work takes her! Check out all her brilliant work on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter.
8. Elaine Houston
Elaine has decided to use Fun A Day as a good opportunity to retry crafts she has “failed at” in the past, and to pick up crafts she enjoys which she hasn’t made time for in a while. A great idea to have fun, re visit, and build on skills for something you enjoy. We look forward to seeing all the creative crafts she has tackled at the end of the month!
9. Lynne Henderson
We love these fun creations by Lynne for her Fun A Day project. She is playing around with photos and images during the month of January, keeping us entertained! See more from Lynne on Instagram.
10. Caroline Simpson & Connor
Caroline’s Fun A Day project this year is ‘Crochet a day’. She aims to improve her newly acquired skills with crochet, making something small everyday, such as flowers, hearts, and mandalas, that may connect together to produce one piece by the end of the project. We love the soft, bright colours and development of this work. Connors project is ‘Custom Droids’. He is creating/drawing customised Star Wars robots which are absolutely brilliant! We look forward to seeing them all.
11. Heather McKenzie
Heather’s Fun A Day is ‘Recreating #HeathersBridges2017’, a project she started last year in an effort to be more active, by challenging herself to walk to/ over/ under as many bridges as she could. Heather set up a Facebook page, with a lot of people contributing suggestions. This January, she is drawing and painting a selection of the bridges from the photographs she took. What a brilliant continuation of an already interesting project. Here are three examples of her work so far!
12. K Rolina Gibson
Rolina has been producing these detailed, daily collages using found poetry. Each one has its own story/ feel/ character. We just love seeing these daily collages pop up on our feed. Check out the rest of her brilliant work here, on Instagram,
13. Yasmin Lawson
Yasmin Lawson’s Fun A Day project it titled; ‘Room With a View’, and features these wonderful drawings and watercolors of buildings. We’re keen to see what’s next from Yasmin! Keep up to date and follow the development of her project on Instagram.
14. Calissa King
Calissa’s Fun A Day is titled; ‘An App a Day keeps the January Blues Away’. She’s creating little felt pillows that depict different apps for everyday in January. A creative and crafty project that illustrates the technology many of us use daily. How many will you be able to name at the exhibition? 😀
15. Sandra Cassidy
We just love these stuffed animals Sandra is making this January. The plan is to make them quickly, and without any initial plan in place, allowing experimentation to lead the way. As a collection, they really show off their character! See more of Sandra’s skills here and on Instagram.
16. Marilyn Rattray
Marilyn’s project; ’31 tesserae’ is to create a daily mosaic throughout January. Her range of materials and creativity surprise us every day, and keeps us guessing on what material she will use next! Follow her on Instagram for more!
17. Judy Scott
Judy’s Fun A Day; ‘FLORA AND FAUNA ~ Draw Print Collage and Stitch’ is a variety of craft, painting, and drawing that compliment each other. We love her beautiful style. View the rest of her project, and all her wonderful work here, on Instagram.
18. Eilidh Morris
Eilidh’s project; ‘Communications’ is the process of visualising a thought or an idea through small illustrations on canvas board each day. Her style is bold, colourful, and full of emotion. Check out more of her expressive work on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
19. Hannah Woods & her sons
Hannah’s Fun A Day is to create doodles around the fingerprints of her sons; Sam (aged 3) and Oscar (aged 4 months). What a lovely, creative idea for sharing a project in a family! Our personal favourite are the frogs and raindrops!
20. Karen MacAllister
Karen is producing figurative drawings and graphic illustrations for her Fun A Day project. We love the galaxies and moons, and would happily have these creations pop up on our feed all year. With the range of splatters, tones, and mediums, we can believe this range could last all year with the beautiful variety created so far. Visit Karen on Instagram to see more!
Fun A Day Dundee 