"Visual artist" is a term with manifold variations and meanings. But how, as an artist (or designer, photographer or other "independent creator"), do you become who you are and who you would like to be? How can you guide your artistic practice? Plan and Play, Play and Plan invites the artist to explore their own questions about their work, using analytical models to help them determine where they stand and what they stand for.

The author Janwillem Schrofer was director of Amsterdam's Rijksakademie from 1982 to 2010, and thus knows from practical experience the complexity of the artist's dilemmas and how important self-reflection is for artistic practice. Looking back over his pedagogical experience and assembling notes and pointers gathered from interviews with a wide variety of artists, Schrofer has developed an appealing guidebook intended for artists and those who wish to become artists.