Comments on: Deep Thought Thursday: Going solo

By: Linda Lewis

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:39:11 +0000

I’ve had 35 years of working with people and raising 4 children with my husband. I’m planning on becoming a full time artist in another year and what scares me is the many days I may not have much contact with people. I work in isolation many days during the summer and do fine but during a long winter when there’s more than just a few days….well that is something I’m not sure I can adjust to. For me the isolation is the thing that makes me hesitate about my next move.

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By: Alyson B. Stanfield

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 17:19:05 +0000

Susan: You said it! Balance. More in a new post. This is a juicy topic.

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By: Alyson B. Stanfield

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 17:13:27 +0000

Liza: Thanks for the recommendation. I love bios and I haven’t read Nevelson’s. Tina: I’m sure Jack White doesn’t mean you never have to get out. I’ll have to recheck that. And, yes, my quote was taken out of context, but it’s a powerful pronouncement. Lisa (and Sue): Does this mean it’s “lonely at the top”? I do know a little about this and I couldn’t agree with you more. I caution all of my clients not to belong to groups just to belong. They have to receive just as much as they give. I fear a lot of artists are in the role of nurturer and aren’t being nurtured. Sue: This is interesting: “I do see a changing art world that is requiring more of the artist than ever before.” I wonder if you can talk about that a bit more. ??

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By: Mary Richmond

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 16:34:53 +0000

There’s lots of interesting reading here about this subject and I agree with what many have to say. I am not an introvert by nature and am in fact often happiest when I’m around people. I raised my children while working in my home studio and became quite adept at working with a certain amount of chaos going on, especially when they were teenagers and the house was always full of noise and activity. And I prefer to work in the quiet by myself when I can get it, but this is actually quite rare. If I waited for solitude I would never work in the studio. I’ve learned to be alone in my mind, I guess. I make much of my living as a writer and as an artist so waiting for the perfect moment is not really an option for me. If the house is full of people and the pets are running wild I still have deadlines to meet and work to create. And so I go to the studio and shut the door in my mind and go to work. It works for me.

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By: Susan Sjoberg

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:40:59 +0000

Here we are with the recurring issue of balance which rises up in everyone’s life, artist or not. As an artist, I can disappear easily into my work and that is a deeply compelling, satisfying place from which I withdraw grudgingly. That is where the real work of being an artist takes place. Yes I have to market my work. Yes, I have to look up every now and then and realize there are others out there and practical life matters to deal with but that quiet, deep undisturbed place is the heart of where the paintings come from and I have to make sure I get plenty of it. As an artist my life tips pretty extremely at times toward the introverted life and it’s an ongoing job to seek and achieve a balanced life, not to mention dealing with marketing.

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By: cynthia

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 20:46:50 +0000

I definitely need a mix of both alone and people time in my life to find my rhythm. I do most of my creating/making work solo, but find camaraderie, inspiration, and friendship outside of the studio. And, it isn’t always in places one might expect – it’s always good to keep the eyes and ears open. You never know who you’ll meet or what you’ll see.

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By: Allison J Smith

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 13:20:08 +0000

That statement is just another myth about artists. Yes, we all know unless you’re collaborating, you’re working alone. So are the people in the cubicles typing on their computers. When you free your-self through your art and release your bonds, you no longer “need” to have isolation. But you still must work alone to make a piece of art. Just because you work alone does not mean you are in solitary confinement. We must patiently help others understand so they stop spreading these myths.

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By: Philip Koch

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 00:08:43 +0000

In terms of success in the art market (as distinct from the making of truly exceptional art) I suspect the very extroverted artists are at a big advantage. Sadly there is a great deal of contemporary art that enjoys some success primarily due to either the artist’s talent for meeting people and/or their family connections. A lot of the very best artists are by nature pretty darned introverted- how else can they spend the hundreds of hours needed to make work that is extraordinary? But rather than sulk, artists who believe in their work can learn a great deal by studying the extroverted-networking or well-connected artists. Some of the things they do well we can borrow and employ ourselves. One doesn’t have to be a phony with this, simply find which of their practices you can get yourself to do at least once and awhile. One doesn’t have to become somebody else. Rather we just need to stretch a little.

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By: Tracy

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 20:01:30 +0000

Like Tina and Sheree, I thrive on “alone time”. I just function better and it’s better creative time for me. As with many things, it seems like this quote tries to make it ‘all or nothing’. There has to be a happy medium. Myself, though, I find it easy to love my solitary time and tolerate the public, than maybe someone who thrives on the connections and must tolerate some alone time.

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By: Wendy Edsall-Kerwin

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 16:03:55 +0000

I understand the need to be alone to create in your own voice, but don’t we also need feedback from others to help us move forward and in new directions? Since I had to use the studio at the local college when I first started out, I was able to interact with other jewelers and no matter what their level of mastery, each person looks at the world differently and can help us see in different perspectives also.

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