--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The extravagant gesture is the very stuff…" description: "\"The extravagant gesture is the very stuff of creation.\" — Annie Dillard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/993/annie-dillard-509_creation_the-extravagant-gesture-is-the-very-stuf_1547223.jpg" --- # The extravagant gesture is the very stuff of creation. ![“The extravagant gesture is the very stuff of creation.” quote by Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/993/annie-dillard-509_creation_the-extravagant-gesture-is-the-very-stuf_1547223.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/993/annie-dillard-509_creation_the-extravagant-gesture-is-the-very-stuf_1547223.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/993/annie-dillard-509_creation_the-extravagant-gesture-is-the-very-stuf_1547223.jpg) > “The extravagant gesture is the very stuff of creation.” [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creativity thrives on bold, lavish acts that spark new ideas. **In simple terms:** Bold acts fuel creation. Key Takeaway Embrace extravagance in creative work. Themes creativity expression risk Mood inspirational reflective Type philosophical creative When to use this quote - writing - visual arts - entrepreneurship - performance Key Concepts artistic inspiration innovation Questions to Reflect On - What bold gesture could unlock your next idea? - How to keep extravagance purposeful? A Different Perspective Excessive extravagance can distract from substance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) [Extravagant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extravagant/) [Extravagant Gesture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extravagant-gesture-5774921/) [Gesture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gesture/) [Gesture Stuff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gesture-stuff-5774922/) [Gestures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gestures/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Stuff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuff/) ## Related quotes > [After the one extravagant gesture of creation in the first place, the universe has continued to deal exclusively in extravagances, flinging intricacies and colossi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/after-the-one-extravagant-gesture-of-creation-in-the-first-place-the/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [Everybody uses mime and gesture in real life, though we don't realize it. It's very useful as a performance technique, though it can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-daniels/everybody-uses-mime-and-gesture-in-real-life-though-we-don-t-realize/) [Anthony Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-daniels/) > [Writing is, after all, a gesture towards other people, giving something to others. And so it's not a completely hermetic exercise. It's really an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/writing-is-after-all-a-gesture-towards-other-people-giving-something/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [You should draw not what the thing looks like, not even what it is, but what it is doing... Gesture has no precise edges,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimon-nicolaides/you-should-draw-not-what-the-thing-looks-like-not-even-what-it-is-but/) [Kimon Nicolaides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimon-nicolaides/) > [Turning your nose up at a genuine and sincere gesture of hospitality is no way to travel or to make friends around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-bourdain/turning-your-nose-up-at-a-genuine-and-sincere-gesture-of-hospitality/) [Anthony Bourdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-bourdain/) > [When we speak, in gestures or signs, we fashion a real object in the world; the gesture is seen, the words and the song…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-chartier/when-we-speak-in-gestures-or-signs-we-fashion-a-real-object-in-the/) [Emile Chartier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-chartier/) > [You can, when Time is ripe, swope to your feet - at your full height - at a single gesture. Ready to go where?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marita-bonner/you-can-when-time-is-ripe-swope-to-your-feet-at-your-full-height-at-a/) [Marita Bonner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marita-bonner/) > [I've learned that in the theater the story is everything. Every lyric, every line and every musical gesture has to propel the journey of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trey-anastasio/i-ve-learned-that-in-the-theater-the-story-is-everything-every-lyric/) [Trey Anastasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trey-anastasio/) > [“It is only a gesture,” he said, turning back to Shadow. “But gestures mean everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/it-is-only-a-gesture-he-said-turning-back-to-shadow-but-gestures-mean/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [The most shocking act, closely examined, is just a louder version of some habitual gesture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-choi/the-most-shocking-act-closely-examined-is-just-a-louder-version-of/) [Susan Choi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-choi/) > [There's something strange about a laptop, how you can make the tiniest gesture and make the biggest sound. I don't feel I've resolved working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-meredith/there-s-something-strange-about-a-laptop-how-you-can-make-the-tiniest/) [Anna Meredith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-meredith/) > [Then something unexpected happens. At least, I don't expect it because I don't think of District 12 as a place that cares about me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/then-something-unexpected-happens-at-least-i-don-t-expect-it-because/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [All my life I have struggled to make one authentic gesture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/all-my-life-i-have-struggled-to-make-one-authentic-gesture/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [All art is an intensely vulnerable gesture, and it is made with no small amounts of risk, and fear. So, I have plenty of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/all-art-is-an-intensely-vulnerable-gesture-and-it-is-made-with-no/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [Never raise your hand menacingly, but only in a friendly gesture!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-von-la-roche/never-raise-your-hand-menacingly-but-only-in-a-friendly-gesture/) [Sophie von La Roche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-von-la-roche/) ## More by Annie Dillard > [Like everyone in his right mind, I feared Santa Claus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/like-everyone-in-his-right-mind-i-feared-santa-claus/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“This is a spendthrift economy; though nothing is lost, all is spent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/this-is-a-spendthrift-economy-though-nothing-is-lost-all-is-spent/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [The creatures I seek do not want to be seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-creatures-i-seek-do-not-want-to-be-seen/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [Nothing moves a woman so deeply as the boyhood of the man she loves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/nothing-moves-a-woman-so-deeply-as-the-boyhood-of-the-man-she-loves/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [We live in all we seek. 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I am aging and eaten and have done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-am-a-frayed-and-nibbled-survivor-in-a-fallen-world-and-i-am-getting/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [It should surprise no one that the life of the writer - such as it is - is colorless to the point of sensory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/it-should-surprise-no-one-that-the-life-of-the-writer-such-as-it-is/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [It is madness to wear ladies' straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/it-is-madness-to-wear-ladies-straw-hats-and-velvet-hats-to-church-we/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [The sense impressions of one-celled animals are not edited for the brain. This is philosophically interesting in a rather mournful way, since it means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-sense-impressions-of-one-celled-animals-are-not-edited-for-the/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“What can we make of the inexpressible joy of children? It is a kind of gratitude, I think—the gratitude of the ten-year-old who wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/what-can-we-make-of-the-inexpressible-joy-of-children-it-is-a-kind-of/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“If we were to judge nature by its common sense or likelihood, we wouldn't believe the world existed. In nature, improbabilities are the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/if-we-were-to-judge-nature-by-its-common-sense-or-likelihood-we/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [For writing a first draft requires from the writer a peculiar internal state which ordinary life does not induce. ... how to set yourself spinning?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/for-writing-a-first-draft-requires-from-the-writer-a-peculiar/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [I am a fugitive and a vagabond, a sojourner seeking signs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-am-a-fugitive-and-a-vagabond-a-sojourner-seeking-signs/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) [Explore all 509 Annie Dillard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) ## More Creation quotes > [“am not suggesting that successes in academics, athletics, or vocation somehow stand outside God’s good plan. 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The oceans were our America: they reached farther than any prairie, untamed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carsten-jensen/with-no-other-choices-open-to-us-we-d-turned-our-gaze-seaward-the/) [Carsten Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carsten-jensen/) > [In the quiet moments of your day, what do you think and do? When you are with your Self and no one else, how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/in-the-quiet-moments-of-your-day-what-do-you-think-and-do-when-you/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [The creation lives as genesis beneath the visible surface of the work. All intelligent people see this after the fact, but only the creative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-creation-lives-as-genesis-beneath-the-visible-surface-of-the-work/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [When I was in my teens I had a series of intensely religious experiences. They deepened my sense of God as the creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-had-a-series-of-intensely-religious/) [Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/) > [If you are trying to live a life in accordance with the Bible, the concept and call to justice are inescapable. We do justice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/if-you-are-trying-to-live-a-life-in-accordance-with-the-bible-the/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [I think that storytelling and creation are very close to what the center of what magic is about. I think not just for me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/i-think-that-storytelling-and-creation-are-very-close-to-what-the/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [To be part of the creation, I must act humbly. 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