Obsessive Compulsive Design
I have been stressing lately to the students to stay organized. We are at a critical moment in the construction process where we are making many pieces, some small and some large that all need to go together perfectly. Not only do we need to make sure things are made correctly, but labeled correctly and assembled correctly. This all starts with a clean set of construction documents, and ends with a clean and organized shop space. I wrote a few weeks back about the artist Tom Sachs and the term he uses for organization “knolling“, which describes the level of organization I am striving for our studio to reach.
Now that we are obsessed during studio, it is important to realize that this project is about to consume every moment of our lives over the next month. I am not suggesting that we will be continuously working, but that this project will be continuously in our thoughts until completion. When in the construction phase of a project, my mind is always spinning with thoughts about it, like: What to do next? How to do it? What do I need to do it? Is there a better way to do it? Should I do something else first? Did I take all things into account for this decision? etc… These thoughts keep me from sleeping some evenings, but also help me prepare for the next day and often catch mistakes. This is just another part of the O.C.D. to expect, and embrace.