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From the Factory Floor to the Canvas: How Manufacturing Built My Creative Discipline

Before I transitioned into tech and expanded Ephemeral Dream Creations, I spent 12 years working in a wood products factory. When I started, I was at my lowest point—financially drained and just trying to survive the grueling shifts sorting and grading lumber.

David Warner

6/28/20262 min read

Before transitioning into tech and building the creative world I share with you today, I spent about twelve years working in a wood products factory.

If you know me, you know I’ve spent my whole life hustling; I’ve sampled pretty much every type of work you can think of. But when I applied at Springs, I was at my lowest point. I had been out of work for a couple of years, my finances were nonexistent, and I was dangerously close to losing everything I had worked for.

Fortunately, they gave me a shot, and I stepped into the world of heavy production manufacturing.

It wasn’t easy. In the beginning, I was slow, I didn't know the industry, and I could barely keep myself standing after a grueling shift sorting and grading lumber. It was easily the most physically punishing and difficult job I had ever had. But I was desperate and deeply grateful—they had thrown me a lifeline when I needed it most, and I was determined to prove them right.

It took months, but my body adjusted, and my mind caught up. Eventually, something unexpected happened: I got really, really good at grading wood. I don't know if it was my artistic training or just an inherent way I view the world, but I reached a point where I could spot a defect and judge exactly how deep it ran at a single glance. Once that clicked, my speed skyrocketed, and the mistakes vanished.

As I grew comfortable, I began to see the factory not as chaos, but as a massive, interconnected system. Understanding how all those moving parts worked together became incredibly calming. I started losing myself in the rhythm of production—so much so that I began bringing that exact same mindset home with me.

Especially into my art.

People often ask me how I manage to balance it all: the data work, serving the local gallery, being the best husband and father I can be, and somehow painting around 50 pieces a year for Ephemeral Dream Creations. It’s a massive amount of output, and without a strategy, it would be completely overwhelming.

The answer is structural efficiency. The factory taught me how to eliminate wasted motion, how to respect the process, and how to build a routine that yields massive results over time. Painting an entire universe doesn't just take inspiration—it takes the same disciplined, systematic stamina I learned on the production line.

I’ve been away from the factory for about four years now, but those lessons haven't faded. In fact, I don’t think I’d be the artist or the person I am today without them.

As a side note: right before I left, I asked the manager who originally took a chance on me if he ever regretted the decision. He looked me in the eye and told me he never once regretted making that call.