Quotes: Rebecca Solnit

"Darkness is generative, and generation, biological and artistic both, requires this amorous engagement with the unknown, this entry into the realm where you do not quite know what you are doing and what will happen next. Creation is always in the dark because you can only do the work of making by not quite knowing what you're doing, by walking into darkness, not staying in the light. Ideas emerge from edges and shadows to arrive in the light, and though that's where they may be seen by others, that's not where they're born." 

–– Rebecca Solnit (b. 1961), American author 

Source: Rebecca Solnit. The Faraway Nearby. New York: Viking, 2013; p. 185. 

via: Commonplace Book 2013-2014, 2014, p 81-2. 

Quotes: unknown

"Progress isn't about being perfect. It's about being better than you were yesterday." 

–– unknown 

Source: The Brain Coach, Instagram Stories, Tuesday November 12, 2024.

via: Sketchbook N 14, 2024, p. 35. 

Quotes: author unknown

"In theory, consistency sounds like discipline and determination –– strong and unwavering. But in practice, consistency is about being adaptable. When time is tight, shrink the task. When energy is low, do the simpler version. It's not about being rigid; it's about finding ways to keep showing up, no matter what. Your habits don't have to be fixed –– they should evolve with your day. The key is not in doing the same thing over and over again, but in never stopping, even when life gets in the way. Each step forward, no matter how small, keeps you on track. Adaptability isn't the opposite of consistency; it's the art of staying the course, no matter the obstacles." 

–– author unknown 

Source: Serene Stoics, Instagram, September 29, 2024. 

via: Sketchbook N 14, 2024, p. 28-29.

Quotes: Unknown

"You will never leave where you are until you decide where you want to be." 

–– Unknown

via: Commonplace Book 1999-2001, 2001.

Quotes: Unknown

"It is an artist's job to get lost. If you always know where you are, you've missed the point." 

–– Author unknown 

via: Commonplace Book 1999-2001, 2001.

Quotes: unknown

"The person you will be in five years is based on the books you read and the people you surround yourself with. 

–– unknown 

Source: Flo and Frank, Instagram 

via: Striped notebook, 2016, p. 19. 

Quotes: unknown

"Good, better, best, never let it rest. 'Til your good is better and your better, best." –– unknown* 

*a British expression used during World War II 

Source: Dame Zandra Rhodes "My mum taught dressmaking in London during the war and used to say this. Elle Decoration UK March 2018, p. 41. 

via: Sketchbook 32, 2022, p. 129. 

Quotes: René Magritte

"When we meet the unknown, we can believe we are out of place. But, in fact, I believe that we are reoriented." 

–– René Magritte (1898-1967), Belgian surrealist painter 

via: Sketchbook 32, 2022, p. 40.

Quotes: unknown

"Old ways won't open new doors." 

–– unknown 

via: Sketchbook 29, 2016, p. 91.

Quotes: unknown

"We don't know how strong we are until being strong is the only option." –– unknown 

Source: Gail Bowen. Kaleidoscope. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 2012; p. 289. 

via: Sketchbook A, 2018, p. 68.

Quotes: William Blake

"In the universe there are things that are known, and things that are unknown, and in between, there are doors." 

–– William Blake (1757-1827), British poet, painter, and printmaker

via: Sketchbook 11, 2010, p. 24

Women's quotes: Rebecca Solnit

"Leave the door open for the unknown, the door into the dark. That's where the most important things come from, where you yourself came from, and where you will go." 

–– Rebecca Solnit (b. 1961), American author