How does an artist decide whether to do something the slow way or the fast way? There are pros to both.
The fast way means getting to the end of something sooner, and there are plenty of lessons learned in finishing something. Once something is finished, it means feedback, and it’s through feedback that we’re able to work out what to keep or change if anything, the next time. The 100 pots study is a good example of why it’s important to finish something quickly and try it again.
The long way also has its benefits. While we may rob ourselves of the critical feedback from the public, which is often required for us to grow and learn, the long way tends to make it about us and the work, not the work and the public. If the goal of creating art is to help us answer the questions we find ourselves asking of the world, the long way round gives us more time to think through our response; to hold the space between complete ambiguity and an answer so that we give the idea space to breathe and work out what our *actual*, deeply held response to the question is, not, perhaps, the surface level one we drive toward with the easy way.
Maybe the long way round teaches us something that the fast way doesn’t? Maybe focussing on the journey instead of the destination has value? But maybe the opposite is true, too. There are many reasons to choose the long way, and equally many to choose the fast way.
What probably matters most is that the choices we make are conscious, not unconsidered. If we’re clear on the questions we set out to answer beforehand, chances are we’ll find our answers whichever route we take, and we may also be surprised along the way too. After all, that’s the fun bit.