Quotes to quote

Time to share some more great quotes from an incredible photographer – John Paul Caponigro. He has prints in the Smithsonian Institute among other places and is very generous with his expertise. He also curates quotes and here are some of his most recent:

"The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision." - Helen Keller

"Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others." - Jonathan Swift

"Dreams are extremely important. You can't do it unless you can imagine it." - George Lucas

"Every creator painfully experiences the chasm between his inner vision and its ultimate expression." - Isaac Bashevis Singer

"So many of our dreams seem impossible, then improbable, then inevitable." - Christopher Reeve

"Vision looks inward and becomes duty. Vision looks outward and becomes aspiration. Vision looks upward and becomes faith." - Stephen S. Wise

"Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world." - Joel A. Barker

 PIC-OF-THE-WEEK

Sunsets and farms - the orange hue of the sun mixed with the red paint on the barns - you can only get this mixture at the right time of day.

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More creativity quotes

Thanks to John Paul Caponigro for these quotes that include the "explorer" theme to creativity:

All art is a kind of exploring. To discover and reveal is the way every artist sets about his business. - Robert Flaherty

An artist is an explorer. He has to begin by self-discovery and by observation of his own procedure. - Henri Matisse

I'm attracted to images that come from a personal exploration of a subject matter. When they have a personal stamp to them, then I think it becomes identifiable. - Leonard Nimoy

Not all who wander are lost. - J R R Tolkien

PIC-OF-THE-WEEK

Back to one of my favorite photo destinations - Beaver Creek State Park. This is the back side of the Old Mill.

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More quotable quotes

Here are some of the best quotes on creativity I've found:

Anxiety is part of creativity, the need to get something out, the need to be rid of something or to get in touch with something within.
David Duchovny 

Anxiety is the hand maiden of creativity.
T. S. Eliot
Creativity comes from a conflict of ideas.
Donatella Versace
Creativity comes from looking for the unexpected and stepping outside your own experience.
Masaru Ibuka

Creativity has more to do with the elimination of the inessential than with inventing something new.
Helmut Jahn

Creativity is a highfalutin word for the work I have to do between now and Tuesday.
Ray Kroc

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.
Scott Adams

Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That's because they were able to connect experiences they've had and synthesize new things.
Steve Jobs

PIC-OF-THE-WEEK

A city scape of Chicago. The lady just fit the scene - one person in the midst of millions - she's still significant and important.

The book revisited

OK - one more post from the book "Untitled: Thoughts on the Creative Process". Consider these:

The refining and time consuming process of self-awareness is one of the biggest and most beautiful steps an artist can take toward creating deeply connected art that calls your audience to more.

If it doesn't mean anything to the artist it won't mean anything to the audience.

We believe in something because the stories they tell give meaning to our lives. In the end, you still must decide what kind of story you will tell.

Your art will never advance unless you are curious about its boundaries and why it sometimes doesn't work the way you want it to. We should approach our failures with curiosity.

Becoming a great artist is about sitting and paying attention to the world that is passing everyone else by.

Beauty is a tricky, slippery bugger. But she must be captured, given shape with our bare hands and open hearts, and then reflected out into the world.

PIC-OF-THE-WEEK

 Another shot from the cool place we visited last week (Hot Rod City).

 

Recommended Reading

I just finished one of the best books I've ever read on creativity: Untitled: Thoughts on the Creative Process. After I read a book like this I always go back and re-read the bookmarks I made (I use the Kindle app on my phone). Allow me to share what I think are some the book's best ideas...

You must always have something more for them to see. Always. Always. Always.

 The best art in the world comes from a place from within the artist. Sure, we're inspired by this or that, but it is our life experience that I find to be the deepest well for developing our creations.

The best ideas must move you before they can move someone else. Find the thing that causes a lump in your throat and moves you deeply - then work from there.

The best works of art are the ones that don't set out to prove a point but that set out to tell a story, create a relationship; seek to put into words or pictures an unexplained feeling.

More on this next week.

PIC-OF-THE-WEEK

 Cows can't be sad... can they? Another drive-by on my way home from work.