The noun of self becomes a verb. This flashpoint of creation in the present moment is where work and play merge. Stephen Nachmanovitch More Quotes by Stephen Nachmanovitch More Quotes From Stephen Nachmanovitch Play, creativity, art, spontaneity, all these experiences are their own rewards and are blocked when we perform for reward or punishment, profit or loss. Stephen Nachmanovitch creativity loss art Improvisation is intuition in action, a way to discover the muse and learn to respond to her call. Stephen Nachmanovitch intuition action way An improviser does not operate from a formless vacuum, but from three billion years of organic evolution Stephen Nachmanovitch vacuums three years When we are totally faithful to our own individuality, we are actually following a very intricate design. This kind of freedom is the opposite of "just anything". Stephen Nachmanovitch faithful design opposites If form is mechanically applied, it may indeed result in work that is conventional, if not pedantic or stupid. But form used well can become the very vehicle of freedom, of discovering the creative surprises that liberate mind-at-play. Stephen Nachmanovitch creative stupid play We provide both irritation and inspiration for each other- the grist for each other's pearl making. Stephen Nachmanovitch irritation pearls inspiration Play, intrinsically rewarding, doesn't cost anything; as soon as you put a price on it, it becomes, to some extent, not play. Stephen Nachmanovitch cost play If the art is created with the whole person, then the work will come out whole. Education must teach, reach, and vibrate the whole person rather than merely transfer knowledge. Stephen Nachmanovitch teach persons art Creativity can replace conformity as the primary mode of social being. . . . We can cling to that which is passing, or has already passed, or we can remain accessible to-even surrender to-the creative process, without insisting that we know in advance the ultimate outcome for us, our institutions, or our planet. To accept this challenge is to cherish freedom, to embrace life, and to find meaning. Stephen Nachmanovitch creativity creative art Many musicians are fabulously skilled at playing the black dots on the printed page, but mystified by how the dots got there in the first place and apprehensive of playing without dots. Music theory does not help here; it teaches rules of the grammar, but not what to say. When people ask me how to improvise, only a little of what I can say is about music. The real story is about spontaneous expression, and it is therefore a spiritual and a psychological story rather than a story about the technique of one art form or another. Stephen Nachmanovitch real spiritual art Faithfulness to the moment and to the present circumstance entails continuous surrender. Stephen Nachmanovitch faithfulness surrender moments Any action can be practiced as an art, as a craft, or as drudgery. Stephen Nachmanovitch crafts action art Memory and intention and intuition are fused. The iron is always hot. Stephen Nachmanovitch iron intuition memories The beauty of playing together is meeting in the One. Stephen Nachmanovitch meetings together play Every attempt we make is imperfect; yet each one of those imperfect attempts is an occasion for a delight unlike anything else on earth. Stephen Nachmanovitch imperfect delight earth Looking at the creative process is like looking into a crystal: no matter which facet we gaze into, we see all the others reflected. Stephen Nachmanovitch crystals creative matter There is not ultimate breakthrough; what we find in the development of a creative life is an open-ended series of provisional breakthroughs. In this journey there is no endpoint, because it is the journey into the soul. Stephen Nachmanovitch creative soul journey The conception, composition, practice, and performance of a piece of music can blossom in a single moment. Stephen Nachmanovitch single-mom pieces practice Whispered words can be devastatingly effective. Stephen Nachmanovitch The power of mistakes enables us to reframe creative blocks and turn them around...The troublesome parts of our work, the parts that are most baffling and frustrating, are in fact the growing edges. We see these opportunities the instant we drop our preconceptions and our self-importance. Stephen Nachmanovitch creativity block mistake
