--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The recipe for great art has always been…" description: "\"The recipe for great art has always been misery and a good bowel movement.\" — Don Roff" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe8/don-roff-15089_art_the-recipe-for-great-art-has-always-been_525535.png" --- # The recipe for great art has always been misery and a good… ![“The recipe for great art has always been misery and a good bowel movement.” quote by Don Roff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe8/don-roff-15089_art_the-recipe-for-great-art-has-always-been_525535.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe8/don-roff-15089_art_the-recipe-for-great-art-has-always-been_525535.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe8/don-roff-15089_art_the-recipe-for-great-art-has-always-been_525535.png) > “The recipe for great art has always been misery and a good bowel movement.” [Don Roff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-roff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art often emerges from deep personal struggle and moments of physical release, suggesting that intense experiences fuel creativity. **In simple terms:** Creative work can stem from hardship and bodily relief. Key Takeaway Channel personal hardships into art. Themes creativity pain humor Mood wry reflective Type humorous philosophical When to use this quote - artist block - writing slump - performance anxiety Key Concepts psychology physiology Questions to Reflect On - How does discomfort shape your creative process? - Can relief be a catalyst for inspiration? A Different Perspective Not all art requires misery; joy can also inspire. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Bowel movements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bowel-movements/) [Great art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-art/) [Misery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misery/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) ## Related quotes > [“A good story is like a good bowel movement: it's only really satisfying once it's ended, because if you just keep going eventually your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yahtzee-croshaw/a-good-story-is-like-a-good-bowel-movement-it-s-only-really/) [Yahtzee Croshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yahtzee-croshaw/) > [I saw the abyss of my misery; whatever there is of good in me is Yours, O Lord. But because I am so small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-faustina-kowalska/i-saw-the-abyss-of-my-misery-whatever-there-is-of-good-in-me-is-yours/) [Mary Faustina Kowalska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-faustina-kowalska/) > [“A little misery is good for the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth/a-little-misery-is-good-for-the-soul/) [Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/) > [“No boyfriend, just misery. Well, misery is good for the figure. And only misery can teach you what happiness is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-meg-evans/no-boyfriend-just-misery-well-misery-is-good-for-the-figure-and-only/) Natalie Meg Evans > [“Xander let the full extent of his misery show on his face for his mother. She gave his knee a shake, sharing his misery.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-liparulo/xander-let-the-full-extent-of-his-misery-show-on-his-face-for-his/) [Robert Liparulo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-liparulo/) > [Hell is hot, fire. But I tell you, you are providing your own coal. This is how things are: If you move against nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/hell-is-hot-fire-but-i-tell-you-you-are-providing-your-own-coal-this/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I know you have not thought about it. Italians always act without thinking, it's the glory and the downfall of your civilisation. A German…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-de-bernieres/i-know-you-have-not-thought-about-it-italians-always-act-without/) [Louis de Bernieres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-de-bernieres/) > [How much reverence can you have for a Supreme Being who finds it necessary to include such phenomena as phlegm and tooth decay in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/how-much-reverence-can-you-have-for-a-supreme-being-who-finds-it/) [Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) > [When people start talking about their bowel movements, they are inexorable as the processes of which they speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/when-people-start-talking-about-their-bowel-movements-they-are/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [Most people would never admit it, but they'd been bitching since they were born. As soon as their head popped out into that bright…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/most-people-would-never-admit-it-but-they-d-been-bitching-since-they/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Frequent bowel movements were associated with an increased risk of rectal cancer in men, and constipation was associated with a decreased risk.” Mike Jones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/frequent-bowel-movements-were-associated-with-an-increased-risk-of/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [I'd like to have two armies: one for display with lovely guns, tanks, little soldiers, staffs, distinguished and doddering generals, and dear little regimental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-larteguy/i-d-like-to-have-two-armies-one-for-display-with-lovely-guns-tanks/) [Jean Larteguy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-larteguy/) > [When I wrote the opera, I made a deal with myself that for at least an hour a day I would work on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/when-i-wrote-the-opera-i-made-a-deal-with-myself-that-for-at-least-an/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [There's three things in this world that you need: Respect for all kinds of life, a nice bowel movement on a regular basis, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/there-s-three-things-in-this-world-that-you-need-respect-for-all/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [You're gonna die. You're gonna die. And nobody's gonna care which version of the iPhone you used to make something on Twitter, or to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/you-re-gonna-die-you-re-gonna-die-and-nobody-s-gonna-care-which/) [Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) ## More by Don Roff > [When you print out your manuscript and read it, marking up with a pen, it sometimes feels like a criminal returning to the scene…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-roff/when-you-print-out-your-manuscript-and-read-it-marking-up-with-a-pen/) [Don Roff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-roff/) > [A day of bad writing is always better than a day of no writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-roff/a-day-of-bad-writing-is-always-better-than-a-day-of-no-writing/) [Don Roff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-roff/) > [“Yeah, episodic doesn't work. Your coolest character needs something big and meaningful to do. Otherwise, well, it's just narrative shit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-roff/yeah-episodic-doesn-t-work-your-coolest-character-needs-something-big/) [Don Roff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-roff/) > [Nothing's a better cure for writer's block than to eat ice cream right out of the carton.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-roff/nothing-s-a-better-cure-for-writer-s-block-than-to-eat-ice-cream/) [Don Roff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-roff/) > [“I don't use big words to show off because it's ostentatious.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-roff/i-don-t-use-big-words-to-show-off-because-it-s-ostentatious/) [Don Roff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-roff/) > [“If you write a kid's book only for kids, then you have failed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-roff/if-you-write-a-kid-s-book-only-for-kids-then-you-have-failed/) [Don Roff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-roff/) > [“Creativity and intelligence, rather than violence, are the best problem solvers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-roff/creativity-and-intelligence-rather-than-violence-are-the-best-problem/) [Don Roff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-roff/) > [“If you don't love what you're writing, stop right now: it's not worth your time and certainly not the reader's.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-roff/if-you-don-t-love-what-you-re-writing-stop-right-now-it-s-not-worth/) [Don Roff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-roff/) > [“Writing is dreaming with your eyes open — and your heart on fire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-roff/writing-is-dreaming-with-your-eyes-open-and-your-heart-on-fire/) [Don Roff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-roff/) > [“There was talk of the Centaur being moved into the elephant cages to make room for a banjo-picking Minotaur. Surrendering his meager furnishings to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-roff/there-was-talk-of-the-centaur-being-moved-into-the-elephant-cages-to/) [Don Roff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-roff/) > [Write about the thing that scares you most or your most private confession and you'll never have a problem coming up with decent fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-roff/write-about-the-thing-that-scares-you-most-or-your-most-private/) [Don Roff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-roff/) > [But people in a small town tend to do a lot of talking, even when they don’t know what they’re talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-roff/but-people-in-a-small-town-tend-to-do-a-lot-of-talking-even-when-they/) [Don Roff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-roff/) > [“You're never as good a writer as you think you are, and you're never as bad. Just keep reading and writing, writing, writing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-roff/you-re-never-as-good-a-writer-as-you-think-you-are-and-you-re-never/) [Don Roff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-roff/) > [“Kindness, motherfucker, kindness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-roff/kindness-motherfucker-kindness/) [Don Roff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-roff/) > [When you're writing what you love, it's the most fun you can have with your clothing still on, unless of course, you write naked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-roff/when-you-re-writing-what-you-love-it-s-the-most-fun-you-can-have-with/) [Don Roff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-roff/) [Explore all 44 Don Roff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-roff/) ## 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 recipe for great art has always been misery and a good bowel movement.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Don Roff" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-roff/the-recipe-for-great-art-has-always-been-misery-and-a-good-bowel/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-roff/the-recipe-for-great-art-has-always-been-misery-and-a-good-bowel/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe8/don-roff-15089_art_the-recipe-for-great-art-has-always-been_525535.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe8/don-roff-15089_art_the-recipe-for-great-art-has-always-been_525535.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe8/don-roff-15089_art_the-recipe-for-great-art-has-always-been_525535.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The recipe for great art has always been misery and a good bowel movement.” — Don Roff", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Don Roff", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-roff/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The recipe for great art has...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-roff/the-recipe-for-great-art-has-always-been-misery-and-a-good-bowel/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-roff/the-recipe-for-great-art-has-always-been-misery-and-a-good-bowel/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```