Must the Artistic Life be Solitary?! Adventures in Arting Podcast 148 

This was another great episode 😊 and a cool change of pace that Ms. Eileen led the discussion. Am I the only one who notices Ms. Eileen's eyeglasses collection? 👓 I also enjoy my own company while also nurturing friendships when I need connection to prevent loneliness. I agree with being careful about whom I allow to influence my art.

I think this is why I like classes and retreats. But, I really enjoy much smaller groups, which is why the in person classes in your studio are so wonderful - a very small and intimate group. I'm not really of fan of large groups. Agree that interests don't always have to be about art. I'm more interested in being well-rounded. We are much more than a sum of our parts and all of influences our art.

I think you are taking a pursuit built out of loveless and introspection and trying to comb into it our modern illness of group collaboration. At the end of the day, art comes from a very deep place where solitude of mind and spirit form the creative tension. Communal groups are nice, but nothing of consequence comes out of them. Perhaps folks become more like each other with subtle variations, but true innovation and departures in art come from a certain kind of isolation. You can't carry anyone else if your work is to be impactful. It has to be only your voice, and if you let others dilute that expression, it's often never a result you can defend. That's the work we see everywhere today. Go to the woods until you can't stand it, then make art from that place. You'll find the results more true to you.