Kurt Vonnegut Quotes

You are going to have to give and give and give, or there's no reason for you to be writing. You have to give from the deepest part of yourself, and you are going to have to go on giving, and the giving is going to have to be its own reward. There is no cosmic importance to your getting something published, but there is in learning to be a giver.

So many people think that practicing an art is a good way to make a living. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake. I'm talking about singing in the shower, I'm talking about dancing to the radio, I'm talking about writing a poem to a friend.

The only thing in life that really gives me any peace is just being lost in the process of creating something, whether it's the film or painting and drawing, which has been a big part of my life, for a long time.

It is almost impossible to reconcile self expression with the creative act.

The creative process must be explored... as the expression of the normal people in the act of actualizing themselves.

Do the thing itself. Don’t pay much mind to critics or what anyone says about it. Just do it, in any form possible, and watch others doing it. Take it in viscerally, get it by osmosis. Don’t ever read your own reviews, certainly not the good ones.

It is important to make your own stuff. Even if you are not an actor, it is important to not stop involving yourself as a creative person.

I believe the right question to ask, respecting all ornament, is simply this; was it done with enjoyment, was the carver happy while he was about it?

My writing was liberated once I abandoned acting.

My life is in the art that I make, and I'm very happy with it.

Making art has never been a mystery to me. It's never been something that's very difficult.

I really understand what that process is all about and how important it is, especially with young folk and creative folk that love looking for some platform that makes it easier for them to express themselves.

I think the idea of art kills creativity.

I think I've grown a lot in the last few years, and I needed to express myself as an artist on this. It wasn't necessarily about going in and making an album chocked full of hit singles... there were a lot of things I did out of the joy and the want to do it.

Rule of art: Cant kills creativity!

I take my craft seriously, of course, but I don't feel the need to always play a certain character or a certain part or persona. I'm not going to cut something out of my life because it's not 'my image.' I want to be open enough that if I love something, I can do it, and it will add to myself as an entertainer.

Artists today think of everything they do as a work of art. It is important to forget about what you are doing - then a work of art may happen.

We all take from our artistic endeavors what we as individuals need, to make the process unique and fulfilling to ourselves.

People ask, like, 'How are you going to incorporate what you do onstage into everything else?' I'm not too worried about that. Whether it's theater or a TV show idea, or an animated thing or, I don't know, an animated screensaver. I really just want to keep creating things. And I've always been able to do that.

My identity started developing through the songs I was writing.

Joanne' is a progression for me. It was about going into the studio and forgetting that I was famous.

With art and the work you do, it has to be constantly dictated by what you're feeling and where you want to go with it.

For me, working on original material is very important.

I create music for myself first of all because if I'm not happy with the music I create, I can't make anybody else happy.

I don't make art to make money, I make art so I can make art.