Finding the Thread in Your Practice

Your practice is often clearer than you think.

One of the most common things I hear from artists is:

“My work is all over the place.”

They’ll tell me they’re making sculpture, drawing, photography and installation. They’ll apologise for changing direction, trying new materials or feeling like none of the work fits together.

Then we start talking. An hour later, we realise the work isn’t all over the place at all. The thread was there from the beginning.

They just couldn’t see it because they were standing too close.

Looking for connections, not similarities

Many artists think a body of work has to look the same.

The same colours.
The same materials.
The same subject.
The same style.

But that’s rarely what holds a practice together.

The thread usually sits somewhere deeper. It might be a question you keep asking, a material you can’t leave alone, a feeling you’re trying to understand or a way of working that keeps returning.

The work changes.

The thread often doesn’t.

You don’t have to invent your practice

One of the biggest misconceptions is that artists need to decide what their practice is before they start making. I don’t think that’s true.

Most artists discover their practice by paying attention to what keeps coming back.

Sometimes it’s obvious.

More often, it reveals itself slowly over months or years.

The important thing is to notice it, not force it.

The clues are already there

When I’m mentoring artists, I’m rarely looking for the strongest piece of work.

I’m looking for patterns.
The words they repeat.
The materials they keep returning to.
The stories they tell more than once.
The work they describe with excitement.
The ideas they can’t quite let go of.

Those small moments often reveal far more than a perfectly written artist statement.

Quite often I’ll say, “You keep coming back to that.” Not because I have the answer.

Because they’ve just highlighted something they hadn’t noticed themselves.

Your thread will evolve

Finding the thread doesn’t mean you’ve found your final destination.

Your practice should change. Your interests will shift. New experiences, materials and opportunities will influence the work you make.

The thread isn’t there to limit you.

It’s there to help you understand where you’ve been and recognise where you might go next.

One final thought

Finding the thread in your practice isn’t about becoming more consistent. It’s about becoming more aware. Your practice is already telling a story. The challenge isn’t creating one.

It’s learning to notice the connections that have been there all along.

Because once you can see the thread, it becomes much easier to make decisions about exhibitions, funding, collaborations and the direction you want your practice to take.

Keep Building Your Practice