Working alone without being lonely

A creative practice usually involves long hours spent by yourself, but being alone doesn’t have to lead to loneliness.
[This is archived content and may not display in the originally intended format.]

Maintaining a creative practice, whether as a musician, visual artist or writer, inevitably involves long hours spent in solitude. In many instances, this is completely necessary. Deep creative work often requires complete focus and solitude, without interruption. But for some artists, particularly ones with more extroverted personalities, long hours spent alone can be difficult. Marina Abramovic told The Huffington Post that being an artist involves ‘lots of lonely hotel rooms. You know, it’s kind of a lonely life.’

Unlock Padlock Icon

Unlock this content?

Access this content and more

Emma Clark Gratton
About the Author
Emma Clark Gratton is an ArtsHub staff writer.