The empirical study analyses students' use of studio conversations within the context of a Master of Fine Arts programme in visual arts in Sweden, showing how the students intentionally use the interaction in the studio conversations to access alternative options, to find out how others interpret their work, and to situate themselves in the professional art world. The study explores different ways the students use the studio conversations, and what qualities they thereby develop. A phenomenographic approach is used, and interviews with a group of students form the empirical base. The students' power of initiative is seen as central among the qualities developed in these conversations. Meta-cognitive skills and interaction are additional vital qualities that are developed in intimate relation to, and partially dependent on, the quality of students' initiative.