Thelma Schoonmaker Quotes

Thank goodness I was never sent to school; it would have rubbed off some of the originality.

People should be a little loony, Helena. That's the best thing about them.

I will give a proof to demonstrate with facts that there are no rules in painting and that oppression or servile obligation of making all study or follow the same path is a great impediment for the young who profess this very difficult art.

Even as a kid, I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and magical. Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting and weird.

My shaven head is my way of saying 'I wont take no for an answer,' it is my way of saying 'I believe in my creativity and artistry.'

I always had that sense of being censored for the things that I thought. Why is it wrong to embroider your pants, or paint with acrylics on your clothing? Why is that weird? Isn't it weirder to want to be like everyone else?

I feel like most creative people are total freaks.

I'd just like to inspire people to be themselves and do what they want and not conform to the rigid guidelines of the music or entertainment business.

My mother is the sort of a person who has no boundaries and no filter. She also has a big ego, but it's a very unique one. And I grew up with lots of artists in an environment where conformity and the norm were totally not what anybody was after.

Every writer is an outsider.

They're never gonna not put you in a box. It's something that they have to do, because nine times out of 10 people don't understand creativity.

The world isn't all happy, shiny people, and great art doesn't come from vanilla. Great art comes from people with a point of view and are very passionate.

I know that whatever I put out, whether people think it's pop or noise or whatever, it's always going to be some kind of a freak or mutation. It's not going to be anything pure that a lot of people will relate to. And that's fine.

The diversity of perspective, the unwillingness to generalise - those are good traits in countries as they are in art.

I'm a little insane, and I'm going to be a little different. But hopefully, somewhere in there, in that creative arena, something will emerge that is new and different and unique.

People classify things and that's fair enough. But if somebody wants to make something different, that doesn't make them any less of an artist.

When I stepped into Bollywood, I had my own way because I knew no other way. People see it as unique but it has more to do with my personality.

Being faith-driven, being a hip-hop artist, being artistic in an urban context - all of those things make you unique, and you put yourself on the outside of what's considered the norm.

The kids say, 'Oh are we weird somehow?' and I say, 'It's OK to be different.'

You do not move forward by following convention. You celebrate those who are different, who are not burdened by 'normality.'

You have to support people who want to do weird, different, fun stuff. Otherwise, it'll get very homogenous.

I hope I'm becoming more eccentric. More room in the brain.

All art is based on non-conformity.

I just feel like there's something to be said about feeling comfortable with what you have and don't have. And - for instance, I don't think I'm particularly a great singer, but I feel like I write songs that complement my voice, you know, and I feel like it's unique. And I don't feel like I'm particularly a great actor, for instance, but I feel like I approach each thing that I do with some level of sensitivity. And I would say that comedy in general is the most disarming.

I dare affirm that any artist... who has nothing singular, eccentric, or at least reputed to be so, in his person, will never become a superior talent.