When it comes to my process, in regard to my work and completing projects, it varies piece to piece. However, for the most part all of my work starts and ends in the same way.
Usually my ideas are sudden, when ideas come to mind, I write them down in a few short sentences to best describe how I see them in my mind or draw a VERY simplified “sketch”. My close friends and I commonly joke about how poorly made my drawings are, in comparison to the final products. When using this methodology to create, I end up with dozens of half-baked ideas. Most read as half thoughts or cannot be defined well enough from the drawing to be created, but that is the point. If my thought cannot survive a second glance from the person who created it (myself) then how do I expect it to hold up against proper critique and criticism.
From this point, if the idea has passed this fabricated second review, then I start. Gathering tools and supplies happens immediately if I don’t have them on hand, and thus I start without hesitation. Rarely do I wait to think further ahead to prepare for hiccups, for if they haven’t made themselves clear from the start then why wait. In life nothing is certain so even without knowing what may ruin a project you might as well start and see where it takes you.
By this time, I will have spent hours upon hours working, mostly during artist hours from 10pm to 3am. While certainly I work during the day, the amount of time spent staring at work, walls, notebooks, and running from store-to-store multiple times a day, almost certainly does not add up to the efficiency of my labor from 10pm to 3 am. I find when it is late nobody is around to distract, the need for sleep creeps forward, time is running out, and DESPERATION inches frontward as deadlines near. To emphasize this point further, this all was written at 1am.
One commonality to all of this work is personal torment, whether intentional or not, all of my closest artist friends know when I am struggling through my work and the challenge is beyond immense, my artwork thrives! When I give myself challenging and strenuous projects, extraordinary things are made. On my worst day, I started working from 10am and ended at 4:15 the following morning without stopping for food or breaks of any kind. All of this time spent in pain and strain grants me finished products. To give up on a personal investment such as your time towards your work, WILL prevent your success. This I know.
Daniel Gottschalk 