Nothing dies harder than a bad idea.

Creativity - like human life itself - begins in darkness... bright ideas are preceded by a gestation period that is interior, murky, and completely necessary.

Our modern ideas of 'functioning' through things are really quite inhuman. We have this idea that no matter what is going on we still have to color between the lines, act normal.

We have this idea that we need to be in the mood to write. We don't.

In limits, there is freedom. Creativity thrives within structure. Creating safe havens where our children are allowed to dream, play, make a mess and, yes, clean it up, we teach them respect for themselves and others.

We have a lot of pressures on children very young. We have ambition. We over-schedule our children. We want them to have soccer lessons and violin lessons... I think children need to have at least an hour of fun a day.

The original 'Artist's Way' focused on the nurturing of the self. The 'Artist's Way for Parents' focuses both on nurturing the self and nurturing the children in our care.

Don't try to 'fix' the child's boredom - rather, let the child find his or her inner resources.

Our internal artist is always our creative child.

No matter how sophisticated our lives may be we need to think of ourselves as creative children.

As children we hoard and gloat over words. Words give ownership: we name our world and we claim it...Children trust the power of words.

I have learned, as a rule of thumb, never to ask whether you can do something. Say, instead, that you are doing it. Then fasten your seat belt. The most remarkable things follow.

Growth is an erratic forward movement: two steps forward, one step back. Remember that and be very gentle with yourself.

Remembering that God is my source, we are in the spiritual position of having an unlimited bank account. Most of us never consider how powerful the creator really is. Instead, we draw limited amounts of the power available to us. We decide how powerful God is for us. We unconsciously set a limit on how much God can give us or help us. We are stingy with ourselves. And if we receive a gift beyond our imagining, we often send it back.

There will be many times when we won't look good-to ourselves or anyone else. We need to stop demanding that we do. It is impossible to get better and look good at the same time.

Setting skepticism aside, even briefly, can make for very interesting explorations. It is not necessary that we change any of our beliefs. It is necessary that we examine them.

The creator made us creative. Our creativity is our gift from God. Our use of it is our gift to God. Accepting this bargain is the beginning of true self-acceptance.

In times of pain, when the future is too terrifying to contemplate and the past too painful to remember, I have learned to pay attention to right now. The precise moment I was in was always the only safe place for me.

Art used to be made in the name of faith. We made cathedrals, we made stained-glass windows, we made murals.

Art is the imagination at play in the field of time. Let yourself play.

I grew up in what you might call a relentlessly creative household. We were given art supplies, music supplies... Our mother knew enough to get us started and then stand back and not meddle. My parents never said to us, 'Don't you think you'll need something to fall back on?' They acted as though creativity was completely normal.

Art is not about thinking something up. It is the opposite -- getting something down.The Artist's Way

Art is a spiritual practice. We may not, and need not, do it perfectly.

Nothing dies harder than a bad idea. And few ideas are worse than the ones we have about art.

Making art is a rite of initiation. People change their souls.

I am what I am again: a writer. I have metabolized the injury into art.

It is not the act of making art that is painful. It is the desire to make something and not acting on it that causes pain....A day when I don't write is less happy. This is not discipline. It is affection, enthusiasm, adventure-any number of other words besides discipline.

The artist brain is the sensory brain: sight and sound, smell and taste, touch. These are the elements of magic, and magic is the elemental stuff of art. In filling the well, think magic. Think delight. Think fun. Do not think duty. Do not do what you should do-spiritual sit-ups like reading a dull but recommended critical text. Do what intrigues you, explore what interests you; think mystery, not mastery.

We are the ORIGIN of our art, its homeland. Viewed this way, ORIGINALITY is the process of remaining true to ourselves.

I don't want to sell my soul or anything, but to go on a huge tour would be next level.

I spent a lot of my teenage years experimenting with who I was as a person and not really getting it right. And then, I think, I realized that I just had to chill out in life.

People would always ask me how I came up with my music and what it felt like to make music, and I would always see colours, and then I found out that that was synaesthesia. It helps me understand songs and what I like.

I've been really inspired by Paris Hilton, small dogs, and a glitter, luxe lifestyle.

I really want to work with Chris Martin. I think he's a genius.

I do appreciate the '80s as an era, the general sounds and aesthetics of the era. The Cure, that whole kind of image is really kind of amazing, I think. The power ballads and how everything sparkles and words are really dramatic. Huge drums, things like that. I do really find it inspiring.

I do this weird thing in studios where I climb stuff when I get nervous.

Being nice is awesome. You have more fun; you meet more people.

To be honest, my usual makeup is the same as in my music video looks.

I used to try to bully my friends into imitating the Spice Girls on the playground.

Most of my youth I spent being obsessed with Baby Spice, so she was my favorite for a really long time. Now that I'm older, I actually really like Posh Spice the best. Nineties Victoria Beckham is perfection, I think.

The second someone tries to put me in a box, I will do everything to rebel against that.

If you're in control of everything, then no matter what it is, you can make that feminine.

I was in the playground, like, 'Let's imitate the Spice Girls and form a girl group!' I would go home and sing into my hairbrush and act like Britney Spears. I was no Mozart.

Anyone that thinks 'pop' is a dirty word is living in the '90s.

I made video art for quite a long time, and I made this video covering myself in burgers and dancing to Major Lazer and doing covers of Britney Spears songs... I can't remember how I got there, but my teacher said he'd have to fail me because it had mild nudity.

I believe I deserve everything that could maybe happen. And I don't think that's a cocky thing to say because I've worked really hard, and I've never bitten the hand that fed me, and I've always been really respectful.

I think I'm a girl's girl in the sense that I support women a lot, and I'm definitely all for girl power, but I think I'm quite a tomboy at heart - even though I love my fashion and dressing up, I think my essence is very boyish.

One time, I gave Chris Martin a My Little Pony for good luck. He said, 'Oh, you should keep it,' but I was like, 'You guys probably need it a lot more than I do.' I said that to Coldplay!

I'd love to work with Cher Lloyd; that would be my dream person to work with.

I've heard people say to me, 'How can you claim to be a feminist when you dress like that?' I wear a lot of slip dresses and nightwear and stuff. People always question my credibility because of that: 'Oh, are you selling sex? Are you doing this or that to be recognized more or to sell your music?' No, it's just a fashion thing for me.