Quotes: Michael Kimmelman

"Contrary to the myth that artists are eccentrics, leaping from one peak of inspiration to another, [Philip] Pearlstein exemplifies the greater truth that most artists live as they work: incrementally, day by day, in the same way that they build up a canvas or chisel a sculpture. They are creatures of habit. The dancer Twyla Tharp wakes up every morning at five-thirty and takes a cab to the gym –– a trite ritual, but as she has written, "a lot of habitually creative people have preparation rituals linked to the setting in which they choose to start their day. By putting themselves into that environment, they begin their creative day." ... Novelty in creative endeavours usually arises from routine –– you have to be familiar with something before you know what is  novel." 

–– Michael Kimmelman (b. 1958), American critic and journalist 

Source: Michael Kimmelman. The Accidental Masterpiece: On the Art of Life and Vice Versa. New York: Penguin Press, 2005; p. 150-151.

via Commonplace Book 2006-2009, 2007, p. 116. 

Quotes: Louise Penny

"His life had never had a rhythm. Each day had been unpredictable and he seemed to thrive on that. He'd thought that was part of his nature. He'd never known routine. Until now. 

"Gamache had to admit to a small fear that what was now a comforting routine would crumble into the banal, would become boring. But instead, it had gone in the other direction. 

"He seemed to thrive on the repetition. The stronger he got, the more he valued the structure. Far from being limiting, imprisoning, he found his daily rituals liberating."

–– Louise Penny (b. 1958), Canadian author 

Source: Louise Penny. The Long Way Home. New York: Minotaur Books, 2014; p. 4. 

via: Commonplace Book, 2013-2014, 2014, p. 173.

Quotes: Katrine Engberg

"Why do we deal with death so poorly when it's the one inescapable condition we all have to face? Where do you put your grief once all the rituals associated with death are over and everyone is busy moving on?"

–– Katrine Engberg (b. 1975), Danish writer, actor, dancer, and choreographer 

Source: Katrine Engberg. The Harbor. Translated by Tara Chace. New York: Scout Press (Imprint of Simon and Schuster), 2019 (Translation 2021), p. 36. 

via: Commonplace Book, 2022, 2022 p. 52. 

Quotes: Pico Iyer

"We've always needed rituals to give continuity to our lives, to offer protection and even meaning to our hours, to humble and exalt us with the reminder that our days are not as random as they seem. Ritual is what turns chaos into a kind of order."

–– Pico Iyer (b. 1957) British-born novelist and essayist 

Source: Pico Iyer. 'Rituals of the Fast-Moving World.' enRoute Magazine, October 2019, p. 78. 

via: Sketchbook 31, 2019, p. 15.

Women's quotes: Mary Catherine Bateson

"Rituals use repetition to create the experience of walking the same path again and again with the possibility of discovering new meaning that would otherwise be invisible." 

–– Mary Catherine Bateson (1939-2021), American cultural anthropologist and writer 

via: Sketchbook 29, 2016, p. 114.