--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The thing about writing or making art is…" description: "\"The thing about writing or making art is that I'm not thinking about that stuff while I'm doing it. Like the driver's ed kid, in retrospect I see that ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/087/chelsea-martin-18667_art_the-thing-about-writing-or-making-art-is_18842.jpg" --- # The thing about writing or making art is that I'm not… ![“The thing about writing or making art is that I'm not thinking about that stuff while I'm doing it. Like the driver's ed kid, in retrospect I see that that was meaningful, and I felt close to him in that way, but at the time I just thought it was fun to draw, and that's all it was. I think that's…” quote by Chelsea Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/087/chelsea-martin-18667_art_the-thing-about-writing-or-making-art-is_18842.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/087/chelsea-martin-18667_art_the-thing-about-writing-or-making-art-is_18842.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/087/chelsea-martin-18667_art_the-thing-about-writing-or-making-art-is_18842.jpg) > “The thing about writing or making art is that I'm not thinking about that stuff while I'm doing it. Like the driver's ed kid, in retrospect I see that that was meaningful, and I felt close to him in that way, but at the time I just thought it was fun to draw, and that's all it was. I think that's what's weird about life and about making art. You have to talk about it later. I guess I should be prepared to talk about it now. That is why I'm here. But again, pass.” [Chelsea Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-martin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker reflects that creative work often feels effortless and playful in the moment, yet later gains deeper significance when analyzed or discussed. **In simple terms:** Creation feels spontaneous, meaning emerges later. Key Takeaway Art can be fun first, meaningful later. Themes creativity self-awareness meaning-making reflection process Mood contemplative nostalgic curious Type personal anecdote philosophical observation When to use this quote - while drawing - after completing a piece - in a discussion about art Key Concepts artist's mindset subjective experience post-hoc interpretation Practical Applications - artistic self‑reflection - educational workshops on creative process Questions to Reflect On - Why do we often overlook the significance of our actions at the time? - How can we balance enjoyment with intentionality in creation? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Fun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fun/) [Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids/) [Making Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-art/) [Meaningful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaningful/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I'd rather get back to making art than talk about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jock-sturges/i-d-rather-get-back-to-making-art-than-talk-about-it/) [Jock Sturges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jock-sturges/) > [The silver lining of those years when I was trying to get 'Tinkers' published but couldn't were the years when I had to decide,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/the-silver-lining-of-those-years-when-i-was-trying-to-get-tinkers/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [It is the natural instinct of a child to work from within outwards; "First I think, and then I draw my think." What wasted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/it-is-the-natural-instinct-of-a-child-to-work-from-within-outwards/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [When I close my eyes to draw I always think Chicago in 1975.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-clowes/when-i-close-my-eyes-to-draw-i-always-think-chicago-in-1975/) [Daniel Clowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-clowes/) > [“You know, I was stumped one day when a little boy asked, 'Do you draw Mickey Mouse?' I had to admit I do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/you-know-i-was-stumped-one-day-when-a-little-boy-asked-do-you-draw/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [I just draw what I think is funny, and I hope other people think it is funny, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-schulz/i-just-draw-what-i-think-is-funny-and-i-hope-other-people-think-it-is/) [Charles M. Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-schulz/) > [If you want to know about what's good in art, you should talk to an artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-barry/if-you-want-to-know-about-what-s-good-in-art-you-should-talk-to-an/) [Robert Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-barry/) > [Art talk is punk. Let the movie do your speaking for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-denby/art-talk-is-punk-let-the-movie-do-your-speaking-for-you/) [David Denby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-denby/) > [I'm not a megaphone sort of guy. I just let my art talk for itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anh-do/i-m-not-a-megaphone-sort-of-guy-i-just-let-my-art-talk-for-itself/) [Anh Do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anh-do/) > [The educational aspect of art shows has become overbearing: some of exhibits can leave you bleary from trying to read the walls. Presumably a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-educational-aspect-of-art-shows-has-become-overbearing-some-of/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [If some people are right, artists are put into this world not to practice their art, but to talk about it. And judging by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-smyth/if-some-people-are-right-artists-are-put-into-this-world-not-to/) [Ethel Smyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-smyth/) > [In art it's not the thinking that does the job, but making.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/in-art-it-s-not-the-thinking-that-does-the-job-but-making/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I think what's happened in art criticism, or art thinking, in last 30 or 40 years is a confusion between the "what" - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-bradley/i-think-what-s-happened-in-art-criticism-or-art-thinking-in-last-30/) [Joe Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-bradley/) > [Art is not about thinking something up. It is the opposite - getting something down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/art-is-not-about-thinking-something-up-it-is-the-opposite-getting/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [There is an art of reading, an art of thinking, and an art of writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-d-israeli/there-is-an-art-of-reading-an-art-of-thinking-and-an-art-of-writing/) [Isaac D'Israeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-d-israeli/) ## More by Chelsea Martin > [“It is something to consider, if we're making a list of things to consider, that most relationships are mirrors of yourself, and that those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-martin/it-is-something-to-consider-if-we-re-making-a-list-of-things-to/) [Chelsea Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-martin/) > [In fiction you can make up everything to create the feeling. You can manufacture a story with whatever tools you want. With nonfiction you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-martin/in-fiction-you-can-make-up-everything-to-create-the-feeling-you-can/) [Chelsea Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-martin/) > [“Romance is such a funny term. Funny as in, "I have a fake body part. Guess what it is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-martin/romance-is-such-a-funny-term-funny-as-in-i-have-a-fake-body-part/) [Chelsea Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-martin/) > [I don't really like to write anywhere but my own apartment. I send a lot of text messages to myself as email when I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-martin/i-don-t-really-like-to-write-anywhere-but-my-own-apartment-i-send-a/) [Chelsea Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-martin/) > [I think it's really important to have a sense of humor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-martin/i-think-it-s-really-important-to-have-a-sense-of-humor/) [Chelsea Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-martin/) > [I have hundreds of Word documents filled with pages of one-liners. If I begin to write a story, or if one of my thoughts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-martin/i-have-hundreds-of-word-documents-filled-with-pages-of-one-liners-if/) [Chelsea Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-martin/) > [It's uncomfortable to just say the first thing that pops into your head, but you have to when you're speaking in front of people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-martin/it-s-uncomfortable-to-just-say-the-first-thing-that-pops-into-your/) [Chelsea Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-martin/) > [I hide my documents in many different places on my computer, because I often write things that I would never want anybody to read,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-martin/i-hide-my-documents-in-many-different-places-on-my-computer-because-i/) [Chelsea Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-martin/) > [I don't know how to talk about technology in a positive or negative way because it's just the way the world is to me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-martin/i-don-t-know-how-to-talk-about-technology-in-a-positive-or-negative/) [Chelsea Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-martin/) > [I think I've been able to express some of the more complicated feelings I had.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-martin/i-think-i-ve-been-able-to-express-some-of-the-more-complicated/) [Chelsea Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-martin/) > [There is a lot of stuff I write that makes it seem like my intention is to make people think I'm speaking about myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-martin/there-is-a-lot-of-stuff-i-write-that-makes-it-seem-like-my-intention/) [Chelsea Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-martin/) > [“There is a piece of clothing thrown on the floor in the shape of what I look to myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-martin/there-is-a-piece-of-clothing-thrown-on-the-floor-in-the-shape-of-what/) [Chelsea Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-martin/) > [I basically have two ways I start writing. Either I'll start with something about myself, or something that happened to me that seemed important,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-martin/i-basically-have-two-ways-i-start-writing-either-i-ll-start-with/) [Chelsea Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-martin/) > [I like being around funny people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-martin/i-like-being-around-funny-people/) [Chelsea Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-martin/) > [I want to draw subjects that seem very boring and everyday... Stuff that would be normal except for one thing. Or two things. Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-martin/i-want-to-draw-subjects-that-seem-very-boring-and-everyday-stuff-that/) [Chelsea Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-martin/) [Explore all 34 Chelsea Martin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-martin/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The thing about writing or making art is that I'm not thinking about that stuff while I'm doing it. 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