I believe that once the visual arts learner realizes that they can control the depth and pace at which they engage their own practice, then the initial stages of self directed expression are put into place. The goal is to assist learners in establishing entitlement and stewardship over their own practice. The term practice is used to refer to the work one produces as a direct result of experiencing personal and trans personal truth.  Often students will rely on mentors to provide prompts and direction to observe or identify their own practice. It is important that the learner develop autonomous control over this ability. Part of this process involves learning to recognize pre-existing idiosyncratic expressions, and a powerful tool to detect these expressions is empirically stalking them through documentation.