Creativity quotes
3.3K quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
Explore further
Browse quotes that often appear alongside creativity — connected by shared ideas and recurring themes.
Quote collection
Follow a thought to its author, or read the full quote page.
"If NATURE has made any one thing less susceptible than all others of exclusive property, it is the action of the thinking power called an idea... No one possesses the less, because every other possess the whole of it. He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me."
"I don't think creativity is mine to maintain. It automatically comes when we declare that "I am an expression of life, and life will express itself through me in the most playful and wonderful of ways, if I let it.""
"Art is not in the ...eye of the beholder. It's in the soul of the artist."
"Putting a stamp on things just helps you say, 'Hey, yesterday I was there, and today I'm here.' It's another step forward, and it feels like another turning point and an unleashing of creativity, and now I'm going to start focusing on the show and the production, the fun stuff that comes with it."
"Intelligence looks for what is known to solve problems. Creativity looks for what is unknown to discover possibilities."
"Creativity is neither the product of neurosis nor simple talent, but an intense courageous encounter with the Gods."
"It is necessary for the birthing process to begin to move in its own organic time. It is necessary that the artist have this sense of timing, that he or she respect... periods of receptivity as part of the mystery of creativity and creation."
"If you're going to be an artist, real life is your inspiration."
"Clear thinking at the wrong moment can stifle creativity."
"When I create music, the feeling that you get... I get first. You [the listener] have a delayed experience with the feeling I initially get when I have a creative insight. Not just the voice, but all the creativity - the production, the idea, the concept, the music involved. There is a high. There is an emotional experience that happens when everything comes together... I made music as consistently as I did, especially back in the day, because it made me feel so good... When everything is on, it's a wonderful feeling."
"Observe Everything. Communicate Well. Draw, Draw, Draw."
"I got half-a-dozen paintings from that shattered plate."
"The most striking aspect of linguistic competence is what we may call the 'creativity of language,' that is, the speaker's ability to produce new sentences, sentences that are immediately UNDERSTOOD by other speakers although they bear no physical resemblance to sentences which are 'familiar."
"It hinders the creative work of the mind if the intellect examines too closely the ideas as they pour in."
"Now, everyone is excited about food - cooking, growing, learning - watching it on TV, buying books, trying things at home. It's the greatest time ever to be in food - which is why it's so hard to see so many people still relying on processed food. I am hoping that we had a generational blip - and that these young people will continue on and pass on their love of food and creativity to the next generation of kids."
"Invention strictly speaking, is little more than a new combination of those images which have been previously gathered and deposited in the memory; nothing can come from nothing."
"I worshipped Berry Gordy for the creative dreams he had made come true."
"I think that everything is part of creativity - the more you create, the more you have ideas, and the more you meet people."
"Unprecedented technological capabilities combined with unlimited human creativity have given us tremendous power to take on intractable problems like poverty, unemployment, disease, and environmental degradation. Our challenge is to translate this extraordinary potential into meaningful change."
"Genius is infinite painstaking."
