Becoming Through Practice

The studio at Creative Growth in Oakland where about 140 artists create in various mediums, including printmaking, ceramics, digital media, and drawing.

A studio art practice—making time to make—is a way of getting better at something of one’s own definition. Of getting better at being interested.

In many traditional settings, “getting better” implies a shared standard—faster, neater, more accurate. But in the studio, something different takes root. Here, making becomes more individualized, more personal. Some artists are getting better at noticing, or growing their tolerance for surprise, or building the muscle of simply beginning.

This kind of growth doesn’t move in a straight line. It spirals outward—like an idea feeding on itself, gaining energy, momentum, and complexity. An artist draws from their own experience not to consume, but to grow—each pass through the process nourishing the next.

Studios of all kinds can be space for this expanding spiral. In supported studios, facilitators learn to listen not just for what’s being made, but for how the artist is using the making—what skills are being flexed, what challenges are being leaned into, where momentum is building.

In this light, the studio becomes more than just a place to make things—it becomes a place to make sense of things. What to use, where to begin, when to pause—these small choices shape the rhythm of the work and the rhythm of the maker. Every mark made, every tool chosen, is part of a loop—not closing, but expanding. A strategy of becoming.