What was any art but a mould in which to imprison for a moment the shining elusive element which is life itself - life hurrying past us and running away, too strong to stop, too sweet to lose.
Willa CatherRead
An artist's saddest secrets are those that have to do with his artistry.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Artists often keep their deepest struggles about their creative process hidden from others.
This quote by Willa Cather highlights the internal challenges and emotional struggles that artists face regarding their work. It suggests that the most profound and often sorrowful aspects of an artist's life are tied to their creativity and the complexities of expressing their innermost feelings through art. This hidden turmoil can be related to self-doubt, the fear of criticism, or the pressure to perfectly convey one's vision, which ultimately remains largely unseen by the audience.
Themes
ArtistCreativityStruggleSecretsArtistry
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on the emotional challenges of creating art, I could use this quote to illustrate the internal struggles artists face.
More from Willa Cather
All quotes βThat is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great.
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Our tree became the talking tree of the fairy tale; legends and stories nestled like birds in its branches.
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Writing ought either to be the manufacture of stories for which there is a market demand - a business as safe and commendable as making soap or breakfast foods - or it should be an art, which is always a search for something for which there is no market demand, something new and untried, where the values are intrinsic and have nothing to do with standardized values.
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The air and the earth interpenetrated in the warm gusts of spring; the soil was full of sunlight, and the sunlight full of red dust. The air one breathed was saturated with earthy smells, and the grass under foot had a reflection of the blue sky in it.
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This is reality, whether you like it or not--all those frivolities of summer, the light and shadow, the living mask of green that trembled over everything, they were lies, and this is what was underneath. This is the truth.
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