The Artist and the Medium#

Independent work can be a deeply rewarding path. It takes places between the Artist and the Artistic Medium. What you're looking for with independent work is enough uninterrupted time for the work to actually happen. Pick a target. Something you think you might be able to do. Something you've never done before. Set aside plenty of uninterrupted time and the rest will happen.

And though the work is independent, this doesn't mean that you should remain isolated interminably. Emerge from that quiet, contemplative space from time to time to share what you've found with your friends and with your colleagues in the studio. Sharing your discoveries helps you process them. It helps you move past those discoveries so that you can start thinking about what lies beyond. It inspires the people around you to chase down their own discoveries in their own quiet, contemplative way.

And if you really can't bear the thought of working alone for weeks and months on end, consider Collaboration as your primary mode of artistic creation.