Quotes 341: Lao Tzu

"If you tell me, I will listen.

If you show me, I will see.

If you let me experience, I will learn." 

–– Lao Tzu (c. 500 BCE), Chinese philosopher and writer

via Sketchbook 9, 2009, p. 77

Quotes 340: Keri Smith

"Never limit your playtime. Even if your brain is telling you otherwise.

All your best stuff comes from it if you allow yourself to remain open to the unknown." 

–– Keri Smith (b. 1975) Canadian writer, illustrator, and conceptual artist

Quote from Keri Smith blogpost on December 16, 2009

via Sketchbook 9, 2009, p. 66

Quotes 339: C. S. Lewis

"Every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before." 

–– C. S. Lewis (1898-1963), Irish-born British writer and lay theologian 

via Sketchbook 9, 2009, p. 61

Quotes 338: William Morris

"If you want a golden rule that will fit everybody, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." 

–– William Morris (1834-1896), British artist, craftsperson, textile designer, and social activist

Quote from The Beauty of Life 1880.

via Sketchbook 9, 2009, p. 56

Quotes 337: T.S. Eliot

"What we call the beginning is often the end

And to make an end is to make a beginning

The end is where we start from."

–– T.S. Eliot (1888-1965), American-born British author 

via Sketchbook 9, 2009, p. 55 

Quotes 336: Italo Calvino

 "Myth is the hidden part of every story, the buried part, the region that is still unexplored because there are as yet no words to enable us to get there. Myth is nourished by silence as well as words."

–– Italo Calvino (1923-1985), Cuban-born Italian author and journalist 

via Sketchbook 9, 2009, p. 52

Quotes 335: Henry David Thoreau

"The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it."

–– Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), American essayist, philosopher, and poet  

via Sketchbook 9, 2009, p. 52 

Quotes 334: Author unknown

"Only dead fish go with the flow." 

–– Author unknown

via Sketchbook 9, 2009, p. 51

Quotes 333: Joseph Campbell

"The privilege of a lifetime is to be yourself." 

–– Joseph Campbell (1904-1987), American author and professor 

via Sketchbook 9, 2009, p. 46

Quotes 332: Des Walsh

"There is no disease in the world like desire." 

–– Des Walsh (b. 1954), Canadian poet and writer

Quote is from the play Rocking the Cradle, performed at the Tarragon Theatre in Toronto, 2009 which was written by Des Walsh and freely adapted from Federico Garcia Lorca's play Yerma (1934)

via Sketchbook 9, 2009, p. 45

Quotes 331: Carl Jung

"What did you do as a child that made the hours pass like minutes? Here is the key to your earthly pursuits." 

–– Carl Jung (1875-1961), Swiss psychiatrist and psychologist

via Sketchbook 9, 2009, p. 31 

Quotes 330: Paul Romer

"A crisis is a terrible thing to waste." 

–– Paul Romer (b. 1955) American economist 

via Sketchbook 9, 2009, p. 3

Quotes 329: Frank McCourt

"Stock your mind, stock your mind. You might be poor, your shoes might be broken, but your mind is a palace." 

–– Frank McCourt (1930-2009), American writer and teacher

Quote from Angela's Ashes. 

via Sketchbook 8, 2009, p. 155 

Quotes 328: Maurice Sendak

"Make it dangerous or it's not worth doing." 

–– Maurice Sendak (1928-2012), American artist, illustrator and writer 

via Sketchbook 8, 2009, p. 137

Quotes 327: Sol LeWitt

"Relax and let everything go to hell." 

–– Sol LeWitt (1928-2007), American artist 

via Sketchbook 8, 2009, p. 136

Quotes 326: Joan Baez

"I've never had a humble opinion in my life. If you're going to have one, why bother to be humble about it?" 

–– Joan Baez (b. 1941), American singer, songwriter, musician and activist 

via Sketchbook 8, 2009, p. 137

Quotes 325: Brice Marden

"I know it's tricky ground, but I like to define painting in spiritual terms. Whatever subject matter or structure I bring to the painting –– and use and work through and rely on as factors –– for me painting is always about getting toward something I don't know about or understand. The way I get there is visual." 

–– Brice Marden (b. 1938), American artist

Quote from In the Power of Painting. Zürich: Alesco AG, 2000.

via Sketchbook 8, 2009, p. 131

Quotes 324: Mahatma Gandhi

"True art takes note not merely of form but also of what lies behind." 

–– Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948), Indian lawyer, writer, and social activist 

via Sketchbook 8, 2009, p. 76 

Quotes 323: Milan Kundera

"Mysticism and exaggeration go together. A mystic must not fear ridicule if he is to push all the way to the limits of humility or the limits of delight." 

–– Milan Kundera (1929-2023), Czech-born French writer 

via Sketchbook 8, 2009, p. 57

Quotes 322: old maxim

"You can't see the picture when you are inside the frame." 

–– old maxim 

via Sketchbook 8, 2009, p. 47

Quotes 321: Emily Dickinson

"Tell the truth but tell it slant." 

–– Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), American poet 

via Sketchbook 8, 2009, p. 46

Quotes 320: Eleanor Snyder

"Pay attention to the ordinary and the mundane." 

–– Eleanor Snyder 

via Sketchbook 8, 2009, p. 45

Quotes 319: Ezra Pound

"Artists are the antenna of the race." 

–– Ezra Pound (1885-1972), American poet and critic 

via Sketchbook 8, 2009, p. 39

Quotes 318: André Gide

"What seems different in yourself; that's the rare thing you possess. The one thing that gives each of us his worth, and that's just what we try to suppress. And we claim to love life."

–– André Gide (1869-1951), French writer 

via Sketchbook 8, 2009, p. 35

Quotes 317: Édith Piaf

"Use your faults." 

–– Édith Piaf (1915-1963), French singer 

via Sketchbook 8, 2009, p. 34

Quotes 316: Robert Hughes

"The greater the artist, the greater the doubt. Perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize." 

–– Robert Hughes (1938-2012), Australian writer and art critic 

via Sketchbook 8, 2009, p. 26 

Quotes 315: John Ashbery

"misunderstanding is a creative process, another word for metaphor." 

–– John Ashbery (1927-2017), American poet and art critic; quote from Jane Hammond: Paper Work 

via Sketchbook 8, 2009, p. 13

Quotes 314: Hazel Henderson

"We are all making the future every minute that we live, by way of our collective and individual decisions. If we think like that, everybody is a futurist." 

–– Hazel Henderson (b. 1933), British writer, futurist, and economic iconoclast; quote from Massive Change by Bruce Mau. 

via Sketchbook 7, 2009, p. 104

Quotes 313: Oscar Wilde

"Colour can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways." 

–– Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), Irish poet and playwright 

via Sketchbook 7, 2009, p. 97

Quotes 312: Sun Tzu

"Opportunities multiply as they are seized." 

–– Sun Tzu (544-496 BC), Chinese military strategist, writer, philosopher 

via Sketchbook 7, 2009, p. 88

Quotes 311: James Hillman

"The world does not ask for belief. It asks for noticing, attention, appreciation, and care." 

–– James Hillman (1926-2011), American Jungian psychologist 

via Sketchbook 7, 2009, p. 77 

Quotes 310: Willa Cather

"If you're an artist and you want to get steadily better at your craft, you need to continually refine your approach to telling the truth." 

– Willa Cather (1873-1947) Pulitzer prize winning American author 

via Sketchbook 7, 2009, p. 73.

Quotes 309: Charles Pierre Baudelaire

"A multitude of small delights constitutes happiness." 

–– Charles Pierre Baudelaire (1821-1867), French poet, essayist, art critic, and philosopher 

via Sketchbook 7, 2009, p. 68.

Quotes 308: Gertrude Stein

"Art isn't everything. It's just about everything." 

–– Gertrude Stein (1874-1946), American writer

via Sketchbook 7, 2009, p. 52.

Quotes 307: Colette

"You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm." 

–– Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (1873-1954), French writer

via Sketchbook 7, 2009, p. 52.

Quotes 306: Friedrich Nietzsche

"We have art so that we will not be destroyed by the truth." 

–– Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) German poet and philosopher 

via Sketchbook 7, 2009, p. 46

Quotes 305: Stendhal

"To make women truly equal would be the surest sign of civilization, and it would double the intellectual strength of humankind." 

–– Stendhal, pen name of Marie-Henri Beyle (1783-1842), French writer

via Sketchbook 6, 2008, p. 127

Quotes 304: Joseph Campbell

"A sacred space is any space that is set apart from the usual context of life. ... You really don't have a sacred space, a rescue land, until you find somewhere to be that's not a wasteland, some field of action where there is a spring of ambrosia –– a joy that comes from inside, not something external that puts joy into you –– a place that lets you experience your own will and your own intention."

–– Joseph Campbell (1904-1987), American author and professor 

via Sketchbook 6, 2008, p. 121.

Quotes 303: Julia Cameron

"The grace to be a beginner is always the best prayer for an artist. The beginner's humility and openness lead to exploration. Exploration leads to accomplishment. All of it begins at the beginning, with a few small and scary steps."

–– Julia Cameron (b. 1948), American writer 

via Sketchbook 6, 2008, p. 121

Quotes 302: T.S. Eliot

"The end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and to know the place for the first time." 

–– T.S. Eliot (1888-1965), American-born British author 

via Sketchbook 6, 2008, p. 25

Quotes 301: Amor Towles

"But just as important, a careful accounting of days allows the isolated to note that another year of hardship has been endured; survived; bested. Whether they have found the strength to persevere through a tireless determination or some foolhardy optimism, those 365 hatch marks stand as proof of their indomitability. For after all, if attentiveness should be measured in minutes and discipline measured in hours, then indomitability must be measured in years. Or, if philosophical investigations are not to your taste, then let us simply agree that the wise man celebrates what he can." 

–– Amor Towles (b. 1964), American novelist

Amor Towles. A Gentleman in Moscow. New York: Viking (Penguin Random House), 2016; p. 109-110. 

via Commonplace Book 2020-2021, p. 138

P.S. Today is the 615th day of the pandemic.

Quotes 300: Anne Lamott

"When there is nowhere to go, you realize that most of the time you are racing purposefully from place to place, missing out on how wondrous it all is." 

–– Anne Lamott (b. 1954), American writer 

Anne Lamott. Dust, Night, Dawn: On Revival and Courage. New York: Riverhead Books, 2021; p. 163.

via Commonplace Book 2020-2021, p. 118.

Quotes 299: J. Carl Heywood

"Picasso and Braque and others invented collage early in the 20th century as a way of forcing together visual experiences that didn't belong together, just as our lives are filled with experiences that don't really fit." 

–– J. Carl Heywood (b. 1941), Canadian artist

via Sketchbook 5, 2008, p. 138

Quotes 298: Daniel Hudson Burnham

"Make no little plans." 

–– Daniel Hudson Burnham (1846-1912), American architect

via Sketchbook 5, 2008, p. 130

Quotes 297: Oliver Schroer

"Embrace any mistake and turn it into something cool." 

–– Oliver Schroer (1956-2008), Canadian instrumentalist and composer 

via Sketchbook 5, 2008, p. 130

Quotes 296: Carl Rogers

"The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change." 

–– Carl Rogers (1902-1987), American psychologist

via Sketchbook 5, 2008, p. 99

Quotes 295: Henry Moore

"The secret of life is to have a task, something you devote your entire life to, something you bring everything to, every minute of the day for your whole life. And the most important thing is –– it must be something you cannot possibly do." 

–– Henry Moore (1898-1986), British artist, as told to poet Donald Hall

via Sketchbook 5, 2008, p. 99

Quotes 294: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

"An interesting plainness is the most difficult and precious thing to achieve." 

–– Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969), German American architect

via Sketchbook 5, 2008, p. 96

Quotes 293: Isamu Noguchi

"We are a landscape of all we have seen." 

–– Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988), Japanese American artist and landscape designer 

via Sketchbook 5, 2008, p. 97

Quotes 292: Louis Pasteur

"Chance favours the prepared mind." 

–– Louis Pasteur (1822-1895), French chemist and microbiologist 

via Sketchbook 5, 2008, p. 60

Quotes 291: Ann Davies

"The greatest poverty is boredom. The greatest hell is not having a goal." 

–– Ann Davies 

via Sketchbook 5, 2008, p. 58

Quotes 290: Ovid

"In our play we reveal what kind of people we are." 

–– Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō, known in English as Ovid (43 BC -17 AD), Roman poet 

via Sketchbook 5, 2008, p. 58

Quotes 289: Charles Handy

"Necessity may be the mother of invention, but curiosity is the mother of discovery." 

–– Charles Handy (b. 1932), Irish writer and philosopher (quote from The Age of Unreason) 

via Sketchbook 5, 2008, p. 56

Quotes 288: Pierre Nora

"The quest for memory is the search for one's history ... Modern memory is, above all, archival. It relies entirely on the materiality of the trace, the immediacy of the recording, the visibility of the image." 

–– Pierre Nora (b. 1931), French historian 

via Sketchbook 5, 2008, p. 56

Quotes 287: J.K. Rowling

"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." 

–– J.K. Rowling (b. 1965), British writer 

via Sketchbook 5, 2008, p. 54

Quotes 286: Demosthenes

"Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises." 

–– Demosthenes (384-322 BC), Greek orator 

via Sketchbook 5, 2008, p. 54

Quotes 285: Leonard Cohen

"I didn't kill myself when things went wrong, I didn't turn to drugs or teaching."

–– Leonard Cohen (1934-2016), Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist 

via Sketchbook 5, 2008, p. 32

Quotes 284: Edgar Allan Poe

"Those who dream by day know many things which escape those who dream only by night." 

–– Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) American writer, poet, editor, and critic 

via Sketchbook 5, 2008, p. 32

Quotes 283: Vincent van Gogh

"Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together." 

–– Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890), Dutch Post-Impressionist painter 

via Sketchbook 5, 2008, p. 23

Quotes 282: Bruno Munari

"Simplification is a sign of intelligence, says an ancient Chinese proverb: what cannot be said in a few words, cannot be said in a lot of words either." 

–– Bruno Munari (1907-1998), Italian artist and designer 

via Sketchbook 5, 2008, p. 19 

Quotes 284: Friedrich Nietzsche

"We only hear questions that we are able to answer." 

–– Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) German poet and philosopher  

via Sketchbook 5, 2008, p. 32 

Quotes 281: Author unknown

"Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want." 

–– Author unknown 

via Sketchbook 5, 2008, p. 10

Quotes 280: E. H. Gombrich

"Delight lies somewhere between boredom and confusion." 

–– Ernst Hans Josef Gombrich (1909-2001), Austrian-born British art historian 

via Sketchbook 5, 2008, p. 8

Quotes 279: Michaela Coel

"Write the tale that scares you. That makes you feel uncertain. That isn't comfortable. I dare you. In a world that entices us to browse through the lives of others, and to in turn feel the need to be constantly visible –– for visibility these days seems to somehow equate to success –– don't be afraid to disappear from it, from us, for a while and see what comes to you in the silence." 

–– Michaela Coel (b. 1987), Ghanaian-British actress, screenwriter, and director

via Austin Kleon

Quotes 278: Thomas Merton

"... one cannot truly know hope unless he [or she] has found out how like despair hope is."

–– Thomas Merton (1915-1968), American Trappist monk, writer, scholar, and social activist 

via Sketchbook 4, 2008, p. 143

Quotes 277: Albert Einstein

"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." 

–– Albert Einstein (1879-1955), German-born American theoretical physicist 

via Sketchbook 4, 2008, p. 139 

Quotes 276: Brenda Case Scheer

"Like the proliferation of economic poverty, aesthetic poverty affects us all. Our interaction with the impoverished environment of strip malls and burger joints coarsens us, limits our options, dismisses the subtleties of the natural world, and trains us to see nothing that is not loud, red, and obnoxious." 

–– Brenda Case Scheer (b. 1951), American urban designer, architect, and writer, from The Culture of Aesthetic Poverty (Titanium, 1999) 

via Sketchbook 4, 2008, p. 129

Quotes 275: Henry David Thoreau

"If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, one will meet with success unexpected in common hours." 

–– Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), American essayist, philosopher, and poet 

via Sketchbook 4, 2008, p. 110 

Quotes 274: Pablo Picasso

"To be young, really young, takes a very long time."

–– Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), Spanish artist 

via Sketchbook 4, 2008, p. 108

Quotes 273: Italo Calvino

"The universe is the mirror in which we can contemplate only what we have learned to know in ourselves." 

–– Italo Calvino (1923-1985), Cuban-born Italian author and journalist. The quote is from the novel Mr. Palomar (1983) 

via Sketchbook 4, 2008, p. 108

Quotes 272: Joanna Macy

"The heart that breaks open can contain the whole universe." 

–– Joanna Macy (b. 1929), American environmental activist, scholar & author 

via Sketchbook 4, 2008, p. 108

Quotes 271: Hella Jongerius

"My design philosophy is: form follows feeling." 

–– Hella Jongerius (b. 1963), Dutch industrial designer 

via Sketchbook 4, 2008, p. 103

Quotes 270: George Washington Carver

"Anything will give up its secrets if you love it enough." 

–– George Washington Carver (1864-1943), American agricultural scientist and inventor 

via Sketchbook 4, 2008, p. 98

Quotes 269: Robert F. Kennedy

"Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly." 

–– Robert F. Kennedy (1925-1968), American lawyer and politician 

via Sketchbook 4, 2007, p. 95

Quotes 268: Marianne Williamson

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." 

–– Marianne Williamson (b, 1952), American writer (quote is from A Return to Love)

via Sketchbook 4, 2007, p. 81

Quotes 267: Andrée Putman

"To not dare is to have already lost. We should seek out ambitious, even unrealistic projects ... because things only happen when we dream." 

–– Andrée Putman (1925-2013), French interior and product designer 

via Sketchbook 4, 2007, p. 76

Quotes 266: Quaker saying

"Go inside and greet the light." 

–– Quaker saying 

via Sketchbook 4, 2007, p. 66

Quotes 265: Frederick Buechner

"God calls you to the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." 

–– Frederick Buechner (b. 1926), American author and Presbyterian minister 

via Sketchbook 4, 2007, p. 34 

Quotes 264: Anonymous

"As a field must be plowed before being sown, so a mind must be troubled before being introduced to a new idea." 

–– Anonymous 

via Sketchbook 3, 2007, p. 139 

Quotes 263: George Bernard Shaw

"It's all that the young can do for the old, to shock them and keep them up to date." 

–– George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), Irish playwright, critic, and social activist 

via Sketchbook 3, 2007, p.116

Quotes 262: Abraham Lincoln

"The best way to predict your future is to create it." 

–– Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), American lawyer, statesman, and the 16th president of the United States 

Quotes 261: Duane Michals

"Don't try to be an artist: try to be true. If your vision is honest, art will find you." 

–– Duane Michals (b. 1932), American photographer

Quotes 260: Logan Pearsall Smith

"How many of our daydreams would darken into nightmares were there any danger of their coming true." 

–– Logan Pearsall Smith (1865-1946), American-born British essayist and critic 

via Sketchbook 3, 2007, p. 112

Quotes 259: Carly Simon

The stuff that dreams are made of 

Take a look around now

Change the direction

Adjust the tuning

Try a new translation 

–– Carly Simon (b. 1945), American singer-songwriter

via Sketchbook 3, 2007, p. 111

Quotes 258: Winston Churchill

"To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often." 

–– Winston Churchill (1874-1965) British Prime Minister 1940-1945; 1951-1955 

via Sketchbook 3, 2007, p. 94

Quotes 257: Theodore Dreiser

"Art is the stored honey of the human soul." 

–– Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945), American journalist and novelist 

via Sketchbook 3, 2007, p. 47 

Quotes 256: Price Pritchett

"Change always comes bearing gifts." 

–– Price Pritchett (b. 1941), American author and management expert 

via Sketchbook 3, 2007, p. 6

Quotes 255: Leonard Cohen

Anthem

"Ring the bells that still can ring

Forget your perfect offering

There is a crack in everything

That's how the light gets in." 

–– Leonard Cohen (1934-2016), Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist

via Sketchbook 2, 2007, p. 118

Quotes 254: Anna Castelli Ferrieri

"It's not true that what is useful is beautiful. It is what is beautiful that is useful. Beauty can improve people's way of life and thinking." 

–– Anna Castelli Ferrieri (1918-2006), Italian architect and industrial designer 

via Sketchbook #2, p. 20

Quotes 253: Albert Einstein

"Games are the most elevated form of investigation."

–– Albert Einstein (1879-1955), German-born American theoretical physicist 

via Sketchbook #2, p. 21

Quotes 252: Marcel Proust

"Only through art can we emerge from ourselves and know what another person sees." 

–– Marcel Proust (1871-1922), French writer and critic 

via Sketchbook #2, p. 14

Quotes 251: Rumi

"This is now. Now is, 

all there is. Don't wait for Then,

strike the spark, light the fire. 

Sit at the Beloved's table, 

feast with gusto, drink your fill. 

then dance 

the way branches of jasmine and cypress 

dance in a spring wind. 

The green earth 

is your cloth; 

tailor your robe 

with dignity and grace.

–– Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī (1207-1273), Persian poet and Sufi mystic; interpretation by Coleman Barks (b. 1937), American poet 

via Sketchbook #2, p. 1

Quotes 250: Edgar Degas

"Only when he no longer knows what he is doing does the painter do good things." 

–– Edgar Degas (1834-1917), French artist 

via Sketchbook #2, p. 1

Quotes 249: Mickey Hart

"Adventures don't begin until you get into the forest. That first step is an act of faith." 

–– Mickey Hart (b. 1943), American percussionist and musicologist 

via Sketchbook #2, p. 1

Quotes 248: Juan Gris

"You are lost the instant you know what the result will be." 

–– Juan Gris (1887-1927), Spanish-born, French painter 

via Sketchbook #2, p. 1

Quotes 247: Laura Ingalls Wilder

"It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all." 

–– Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957), American writer

via Sketchbook #1, p.105

Quotes 246: Anatole France

"To accomplish great things, we must dream as well as act." 

–– Anatole France (1844-1924), French novelist, poet, and journalist 

via: Sketchbook #1, p.66

Quotes 245: Leo Tolstoy

"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."

–– Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), Russian writer 

via Sketchbook #1, p. 62 

Quotes 244: Pablo Picasso

"Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone." 

–– Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), Spanish artist 

via Sketchbook #1, p. 31

Quotes 243: Anton Chekhov

"If you want to work on your acting, work on yourself." 

–– Anton Chekhov (1860-1904), Russian writer

via Sketchbook #1, p. 4 

Quotes 242: Charles Darwin

"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change." 

–– Charles Darwin (1809-1882), British biologist, geologist, and naturalist

via Sketchbook #26, p. 97

Quotes 241: Victor Hugo

"Certain thoughts are prayers. There are certain moments when, whatever be the attitude of the body, the soul is on its knees."

–– Victor Hugo (1802-1885), French writer

via Sketchbook #26, p. 80

Quotes 240: Anonymous

"Pay attention to whom your energy increases and decreases around, because that's the universe giving you a hint of who you should embrace or stray from." 

–– Anonymous 

via Sketchbook #26, p. 74

Quotes 239: Ludwig Wittgenstein

"If people did not sometimes do silly things, nothing intelligent would ever get done." 

–– Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951), Austrian-born British philosopher

via Sketchbook #26, p. 55

Quotes 238: Thomas Merton

"To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything, is to succumb to the violence of our times." 

–– Thomas Merton (1915-1968), American Trappist monk, writer, scholar, and social activist

via Sketchbook #26, p. 44

Quotes 237: Mario Batali

"Always choose joy." 

–– Mario Batali (b. 1960), American chef, restauranteur, and writer

via Sketchbook #26, p. 44

Quotes 236: William Powers

"The moments we enjoy most as they unfold, and that we treasure long afterward, are the ones we experience most deeply. Depth roots us in the world, gives life substance and wholeness. It enriches our work, our relationships, everything we do. It's the essential ingredient in a good life and one of the qualities we admire most in others." 

–– William Powers (b. 1961), American writer, journalist, and technologist 

via: Sketchbook #26, p. 94 

Quotes 235: José Ortega y Gasset

"Tell me what you pay attention to and I will tell you who you are." 

–– José Ortega y Gasset (1883-1955), Spanish philosopher and essayist 

via Sketchbook # 26, p. 93 

Quotes 234: Yohji Yamamoto

"I think perfection is ugly. Somewhere in the things humans make, I want to see scars, failure, disorder, distortion." 

–– Yohji Yamamoto (b. 1943), Japanese fashion designer 

via Sketchbook #26, p. 84

Quotes 233: David Carradine

"If you cannot be a poet, be a poem." 

–– David Carradine (1936-2009), American actor 

via Sketchbook #26, p. 79

Quotes 232: Alan Watts

"Stop measuring days by degree of productivity and start experiencing them by degree of presence." 

–– Alan Watts (1915-1973), British philosopher and writer 

via: Sketchbook #26, p. 76 

Quotes 231: Piet Mondrian

"The position of the artist is humble. He is essentially a channel." 

–– Piet Mondrian (1872-1944), Dutch painter 

via Sketchbook #26, p. 72 

Quotes 230: Robert Penn Warren

"The poem is a little myth of man's capacity of making life meaningful. And in the end, the poem is not a thing we see –– it is, rather, a light by which we may see –– and what we see is life." 

–– Robert Penn Warren (1905-1989), American poet, novelist, and literary critic 

via: Sketchbook #26, p. 71

Quotes 229: Hafiz

"Stay close to anything that makes you glad you are alive." 

–– Hafiz (1315-1390), Persian poet 

via: Sketchbook #26, p. 66

Quotes 228: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"In character, in manner, in style, in all things, the supreme excellence is simplicity."

–– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), American poet 

via: Sketchbook #26, p. 64

Quotes 227: Helen Keller

"The best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard, but must be felt with the heart."

–– Helen Keller (1880-1968), American author, disability rights advocate, political activist, and lecturer 

via Sketchbook #26, p. 59 

Quotes 226: Agnes Martin

"Beauty is the mystery of life."

–– Agnes Martin (1912-2004), Canadian-born American abstract painter

via Sketchbook #26, p. 28

Quotes 225: Thelonious Monk

"Don't play everything or every time. Let some things go by. What you don't play can be more important than what you do play." 

–– Thelonious Monk (1917-1982), American jazz pianist and composer 

via Sketchbook #26, p. 22

Quotes 224: Elizabeth Kübler-Ross

"Our concern must be to live while we're alive ... to release our inner selves from the spiritual death that comes with living behind a facade designed to conform to external definitions of who and what we are." 

–– Elizabeth Kübler-Ross (1926-2004) Swiss-born American psychiatrist and author

Quotes 223: Joni Mitchell

"I use [painting] as crop rotation in my career, like a farmer. So when the words dry up, rather than go: "Ah, I'm in the middle of writer's block," I just paint. You paint your way through it: You let the song rest. It was very good to be able to keep the creative juices flowing by switching crops and keeping the soil fertile, without the panic of a dry up. Just a farmer's trick. I come from farmers. 

–– Joni Mitchell (b. 1943), Canadian singer-songwriter and painter. 

Source: Joni Mitchell - Woman of Heart and Mind (2003) documentary written and directed by Susan Lacy.  

Quotes 222: Rita Mae Brown

"I think the reward for conformity is that everyone likes you except yourself." 

–– Rita Mae Brown (b. 1944), American feminist writer and activist

Quotes 221: John Lennon

"Creativity is a gift. It doesn't come through if the air is cluttered." 

–– John Lennon (1940-1980), British singer, songwriter, musician, peace activist, and founding member of the Beatles

Quotes 220: Mary Catherine Bateson

"We are not what we know but what we are willing to learn." 

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

Quotes 219: Elizabeth Murray

"Try to stay focused and centred in what you want in your work, keeping in mind that your art is about describing your spirit and your life force makes the work better." 

–– Elizabeth Murray (1940-2007), American artist 

Source: @sarahboytsyoder Instagram stories, August 28, 2021

Quotes 218: Eleanor Roosevelt

"A little simplification would be the first step toward rational living, I think." 

–– Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), American author, activist, diplomat, political figure, and First Lady. 

Quotes 217: Nani Marquina

"I don't think you can create if you don't nourish your influences." 

–– Nani Marquina (b. 1952), Spanish designer of rugs and textiles 

Source: Elle Decoration UK September 2021, p. 60 

Quotes 216: Sol LeWitt

"Just stop thinking, worrying, looking over your shoulder wondering, doubting, fearing, hurting, hoping for some easy way out, struggling, grasping, ... Stop it and just DO! ... 

Don't worry about cool, make your own uncool. May your own, your own world. If you fear, make it work for you –– draw and paint your fear and anxiety ... 

You must practice being stupid, dumb, unthinking, empty. Then you will be able to DO! ... 

Try to do some BAD work –– the worst you can think of and see what happens but mainly relax and let everything go to hell –– you are not responsible for the world –– you are only responsible for your work –– so DO IT. And don't think that your work has to conform to any preconceived form, idea or flavour. It can be anything you want it to be ... 

I know that you (or anyone) can only work so much and the rest of the time you are left with your thoughts. But when you work or before your work you have to empty you [sic] mind and concentrate on what you are doing. After you do something it is done and that's that. After a while you can see some are better than others but also you can see what direction you are going. I'm sure you know all that. You also must know that you don't have to justify your work –– not even to yourself."

–– excerpted from a letter from Sol LeWitt to Eva Hesse

–– Sol LeWitt (1928-2007), American artist

Quotes 215: Michele Cassou & Stewart Cubley

"To keep your process flowing, to feel the enjoyment of creation, you first need to go where it is easy. Easy means ripe. Go where you are attracted, whether it be toward a detail or a large shape. While you work on the part that is easy, other parts will mature in you, and they will be ready and waiting. You move step by step, from the easiest to the easiest. It is never tedious or tiring because there is no need to force anything. Depth resides more in surrendering to spontaneity than in hardworking struggle." 

–– Michele Cassou (b. 1942), French-born American artist, teacher, and author and Stewart Cubley, American artist, teacher, and author. 

Source: Michele Cassou and Stewart Cubley. Life, Paint and Passion: Reclaiming the Magic of Spontaneous Expression. New York: TarcherPerigree, 1996.

Quotes 214: Joni Mitchell

"The artist is the canary in the coal mine. We're supposed to be out there on the fringes with an overview. If we're doing our work we should be a little ahead of the strife."

–– Joni Mitchell (b. 1943), Canadian singer-songwriter and painter. 

Source: Joni Mitchell - Woman of Heart and Mind (2003) documentary written and directed by Susan Lacy. 

Quotes 213: Agnes Martin

"Say to yourselves: I am going to work in order to see myself and free myself. While working and in the work I must be on the alert to see myself. When I see myself in the work I will know that that is the work I am supposed to do. I will not have much time for other people's problems. I will have time to be by myself almost all the time and it will be a quiet life." 

–– Agnes Martin (1912-2004), Canadian-born American abstract painter

Source: Agnes Martin. Writings Schriften. Edited by Dieter Schwartz, Kunstmuseum Winterthur Edition Cantz 1991; p. 73.

Quotes 212: John Cleese

"Creativity is not a talent. It is a way of operating." 

–– John Cleese (b. 1939), British actor, comedian & screenwriter

Quotes 211: Nick Bantock

"Ideas are ten-a-penny. Everyone gets them. It's just that we tend to edit them out or throw them away; we dismiss them as irrelevant and unworthy, or we start to develop them but become riddled with self-doubt and lose our energy. Ideas have to be fostered, made friends with, and then encouraged through their various stages until they're strong enough to stand on their own. When they're ready, they'll make their own demands and direct their own completion." 

–– Nick Bantock (b. 1949), British author and artist based in Canada

Source: Nick Bantock. The Artful Dodger. San Francisco, California: Chronicle Books, 2000; p. 103

Quotes 210: Erik Wahl

"The purpose of art is not to produce a product. The purpose of art is to produce thinking. The secret is not the mechanics or technical skill that create art –– but the process of introspection and different levels of contemplation that generate it. Once you learn to embrace this process, your creative potential is limitless." 

–– Erik Wahl, American author, artist & entrepreneur

Quotes 209: Joyce Rupp

"In her book, On the Wings of Self-Esteem, Louise Hart warns: "Comparison sets us up for unhealthy competition. It drives wedges between people, creates separation, and enforces conformity." When we consistently compare ourselves with others we can end up rejecting our self ... and we follow someone else's dream instead of our own." 

–– Joyce Rupp (b. 1943), American Catholic writer and speaker 

Source: Joyce Rupp. The Cup of Our Life: A Guide for Spiritual Growth. Notre Dame, Indiana: Ave Maria Press, 1997, p. 81. 

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 125

Quotes 208: Jay Shafer

"My best advice for people looking to pare down is to get rid of everything that's not contributing to your happiness. Think of it this way: A small house is a big house with all the unnecessary parts removed." 

–– Jay Shafer, American founder of Tumbleweed Tiny House Company 

Source: Met Home. 'Maximizing Mini-Spaces.' February 2006, p. 48. 

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 124

Quotes 207: Thomas King

"Did you ever wonder how it is we imagine the world in the way we do, how it is we imagine ourselves, if not through our stories. And in the English-speaking world, nothing could be easier, for we are surrounded by stories, and we can trace these stories back to other stories and from there back to the beginnings of language. For these are our stories, the cornerstones of our culture."

–– Thomas King (b. 1943), American-born Canadian Cherokee author 

Source: Thomas King. The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative. Toronto, Ontario: House of Anansi Press, 2003; p. 95. This was a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) Massey lecture. Thomas King is the first Massey lecturer of Indigenous descent in its then 42 year history. What took so long???

via Commonplace Book 2020-2021, p. 116.

Quotes 206: Will Rogers

"Too many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like." 

–– Will Rogers (1879-1935), American Cherokee actor, writer, cowboy 

via Commonplace Book 2020-2021, p. 110

Quotes 205: Arthur Ashe

"Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can." 

–– Arthur Ashe (1943-1993), American professional tennis player 

via Commonplace Book 2020-2021, p. 117

Quotes 204: Dr. Samella Lewis

"Art is not a luxury as many people think –– it is a necessity. It documents history –– it helps educate people and stores knowledge for generations to come." 

–– Dr. Samella Lewis 'The Godmother of African American Art' (b. 1924), American artist, scholar, activist 

via Commonplace Book 2020-2021, p. 117

Quotes 203: John Locke

"New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any other reason but because they are not already common." 

–– John Locke (1632-1704), British philosopher and physician

via Commonplace Book, 2006, p. 122

Quotes 202: Clarence Darrow

"To think is to differ." 

–– Clarence Darrow (1857-1938), American lawyer 

via Commonplace Book, 2006, p. 122

Quotes 201: Gill Edwards

"Our outer world is a mirror of our inner world –– so clutter is a symbol of unfinished business, clinging to the past, stagnant energy, unwillingness to change and a belief in scarcity. According to the Huna wisdom, everything we own is connected to us by strands of energy, known as aka threads. Every single object either lifts our energy or depletes it –– and clutter depletes it. Clutter is tiring. It scatters our thoughts, stops our own energy flowing and keeps our lives stuck. It also prevents the subtle energy (Ch'i) of our home from flowing freely, which affects how we feel at home and what we attract into our lives."

 –– Gill Edwards (1955-2011), British writer and psychologist

Source: Gill Edwards. Pure Bliss: The Art of Living in Soft Time. London: Piatkus, 1999; p.282-283).

via Commonplace Book, 2006, p. 117

Quotes 200: Booker T. Washington

"I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed." 

–– Booker Taliaferro Washington (1856-1915), American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several U.S. presidents 

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 122

Quotes 199: Cynthia Heimel

"When in doubt, make a fool of yourself. There is a microscopically thin line between being brilliantly creative and acting like the most gigantic idiot on Earth. So what the hell, leap." 

–– Cynthia Heimel (1947-2018), American feminist humorist writer

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 121 

Quotes 198: George Sand

"One is happy as a result of one's efforts, once one knows the necessary ingredients of happiness –– simple tastes, a certain degree of courage, self-denial to a point, love of work, and, above all, a clear conscience. Happiness is no vague dream, of that I now feel certain." 

–– George Sand, pen name of Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, (1804-1876), French writer

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 120

Quotes 197: Martin Luther King Jr.

"Potential powers of creativity are within us, and we have the duty to work assiduously to discover these powers." 

–– Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American Baptist minister and civil rights activist

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 120

Quotes 196: Willem de Kooning

"Everything is already in art. It's like a big bowl of soup. You stick your head in and you find something there for you." 

–– Willem de Kooning (1904-1997), Dutch-born American artist

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 120

Quotes 195: Eleanor Roosevelt

"One thing life has taught me: if you are interested, you never have to look for new interests. They come to you. When you are genuinely interested in one thing, it will always lead to something else." 

–– Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), American author, activist, diplomat, political figure, and First Lady. 

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 113 

Quotes 194: Beatrice Wood

"We develop through experience. Therefore, hardships and misfortunes challenge us. It is in overcoming mistakes that we touch the song of life." 

–– Beatrice Wood (1893-1998), American artist and studio potter

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 113

Quotes 193: Romare Bearden

"Well, you put down a colour and it calls for an answer, you have to look at it like a melody." 

–– Romare Bearden (1911-1988), American artist

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 113 

Quotes 192: Milan Knížák

"Build yourself wings. Fly straight ahead. Walk a straight line. Visit. Leave a special sign on the door. Make a gift of words. Mark your path with books. With clothes. With food. Join two distant places. Two rocks. Two people. Bridge a river. Build a city of sand. Raise up a mound." 

–– Milan Knížák (b. 1940), Czech multidisciplinary artist

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 113

Quotes 191: James Russell Lowell

"Creativity is not the finding of a thing, but the making something out of it after it is found." 

–– James Russell Lowell (1819-1891), American poet, critic, editor & diplomat 

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 112 

Quotes 190: Robert Henri

"Don't worry about your originality. You couldn't get rid of it even if you wanted to. It will stick with you and show up for better or worse in spite of all you or anyone else can do." 

–– Robert Henri, born Robert Henry Cozad (1865-1929), American painter and teacher

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 111 

Quotes 189: Wallace Fowlie

"The poet, they say, borrows nothing that is foreign or unfamiliar to himself. He takes back what was his to begin with –– those things, precisely, in which he recognizes himself." 

–– Wallace Fowlie (1908-1988), American writer and professor 

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 111 

Quotes 188: Corita Kent

"One purpose of art is to alert people to things they might have missed." 

–– Corita Kent (1918-1986), American artist, designer, educator & former Roman Catholic nun

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 110  

Quotes 187: Mary Catherine Bateson

"Improvisation can be either a last resort or an established way of evoking creativity." 

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

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 110  

Quotes 186: Alan Watts

"A thing is a think." 

–– Alan Watts (1915-1973), British philosopher and writer

via Sarah Urist Green. You Are an Artist. p. 426 e-book

Quotes 185: Anni Albers

"Being creative is not so much the desire to do something as the listening to that which wants to be done: the dictation of the materials." 

–– Anni Albers (1899-1994), German-born American textile artist and printmaker

Quotes 184: Laurie Anderson

"None of us know what will happen. Don't spend time worrying about it. Make the most beautiful thing you can. Try to do that every day. That's it. 

–– Laurie Anderson (b. 1947), American musician and multidisciplinary artist

Quotes 183: bell hooks

"The function of art is to do more than tell it like it is. It's to imagine what is possible." 

–– bell hooks, pen name of Gloria Jean Watkins (1952-2021), American writer, academic, & activist 

Quotes 182: William S. Burroughs

"Your mind will answer most questions if you learn to relax." 

–– William S. Burroughs (1914-1997), American writer

Quotes 181: Benjamin Franklin

"Little strokes fell great oaks." 

–– Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), American writer, scientist, diplomat, publisher, inventor

Quotes 180: Virginia Woolf

"It is in our idleness, in our dreams, that submerged truth comes to the top." 

–– Virginia Woolf (1882-1941), English writer, critic, & publisher

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 106.

Quotes 179: May Sarton

"Every grief or inexplicable seizure –– if we discipline ourselves and think hard enough –– can be turned into account." 

–– May Sarton (1912-1995), Belgian-born American writer

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 105. 

Quotes 178: Kevin Myers

"The problem with popular thinking is that it doesn't require you to think at all." 

–– Kevin Myers (b. 1947), English-born Irish journalist and writer

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 87.

Quotes 177: John Maynard Keynes

"The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from the old ones." 

–– John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946), English economist 

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 87.

Quotes 176: Franz Kafka

"Writing is the axe that breaks the frozen sea within." 

–– Franz Kafka (1883-1924), Bohemian-born writer 

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 85.

Quotes 175: Charles Franklin Kettering

"All human development, no matter what form it takes, must be outside the rules; otherwise, we would never have anything new." 

–– Charles Franklin Kettering (1876-1958), American inventor, engineer, and businessman

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 80.

Quotes 174: Sir Antony Rupert Jay

"The uncreative mind can spot wrong answers, but it takes a creative mind to spot wrong questions." 

–– Sir Antony Rupert Jay (1930-2016), English writer, broadcaster, and director

 via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 79.

Quotes 173: Alvin Toffler

"You've got to think about 'big things' while you're doing small things, so that all the small things go in the right direction." 

–– Alvin Toffler (1928-2016), American writer and futurist

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 76.

Quotes 172: William Martin

"Your conversations help create your world. Speak of delight, not dissatisfaction. Speak of hope, not despair. Let your words bind up wounds, not cause them." 

–– William Martin, American author of The Couple's Tao Te Ching

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 58.

Quotes 171: Diana Whitney & Amanda Trosten-Bloom

"Questions can stimulate ideas, innovation, and invention. New knowledge, theories, and inventions have frequently evolved from unusual questions –– questions that require persistent reflection, consideration of paradoxical possibilities, and synthesis across diverse disciplines. Many scientists and inventors tell of the question that "haunted" them, begging for resolution until the answer emerged and along with it a new idea, or invention." 

–– Diana Whitney (b. 1948), American writer & Amanda Trosten-Bloom, American writer

Source: Diana Whitney & Amanda Trosten-Bloom. The Power of Appreciative Inquiry: A Practical Guide to Positive Change. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2003; p. 59.

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 57.

Quotes 170: Sanaya Roman

"Whatever you appreciate and give thanks for will increase in your life." 

–– Sanaya Roman, American writer 

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 48.

Quotes 169: Gilda Radner

"There is no real security except for whatever you build inside yourself." 

–– Gilda Radner (1946-1989), American comedian and actress

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 45.

Quotes 168: Henry David Thoreau

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler." 

–– Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), American essayist, philosopher, and poet 

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 43.

Quotes 167: Joseph Campbell

 "When you are on your path, and it is truly your path, doors will open for you where there were no doors for someone else."

–– Joseph Campbell (1904-1987), American author and professor 

via Commonplace Book 2006, p. 43