Looking for the Unexpected

"Creativity comes from looking for the unexpected 

and stepping outside your own experience."

~ Masaru Ibuka

What Is Possible

"Knowledge of what is possible 

is the beginning of happiness."

~ George Santayana

The Power of Memory

"Perhaps it is the power of memory 

that gives rise to the power of imagination."

~ Akira Kurosawa

Moves Us Forward

"Awe is what moves us forward."

~ Joseph Campbell

Beforehand

"Nothing is so good as it seems beforehand."

~ George Eliot

Corresponding Advantage

"To every disadvantage there is a corresponding advantage."

~ W. Clement Stone

Between Two Gardens

"Sadness is but a wall between two gardens."

~ Kahlil Gibran

The Artist Finds

"The scholar seeks, the artist finds."

André Gide

To Wake the Soul

"To wake the soul by tender strokes of art."

~ Alexander Pope

Life Is Worth Living

"Laughter is wine for the soul-- 

laughter soft, or loud and deep, 

tinged through with seriousness-- 

the hilarious declaration made 

by man that life is worth living.” 

~ Seán O'Casey

Great Gymnasium

"The world is the great gymnasium

where we come to make ourselves strong."

~ Swami Vivekananda

A Confession

"A guilty conscience needs to confess. 

A work of art is a confession."

~ Albert Camus

The Creative Urge

"The creative urge is the demon 

that will not accept anything second rate."

~ Agnes de Mille

First or Last Time

"Look at everything as if you are seeing it for the first or last time."

~ Betty Smith

That's Rare

"I don’t know how you define masterpiece. 

Yes, lights go on, bells ring. 

You can’t think about anything else. 

You keep calling everybody, carrying on. 

That’s rare."

~ Joni Evans

Then It Goes Out

"Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open. 

Your stuff starts out being just for you, 

in other words, but then it goes out."

~ Stephen King

This quote made me smile as I continue to work on my essay about my Grandma Emily.

Oh Sun

"Return me, oh sun, to my wild destiny."

~ Jalaluddin Rumi

Catch Their Stars

"Most folks never catch their stars."

~Paul Simon

The morning sun is so bright, it fills the sky with blazing light and looks like a gigantic star.

I Just Close My Eyes

"Daydreams, as it were… I look out the window sometimes to seek the color of the shadows and the different greens in the trees, but when I get ready to paint I just close my eyes and imagine a scene."

~ Grandma Moses

Expect the Dawn

"Expect the dawn of a new beginning in the dark nights of life."

~ Lloyd John Ogilvie