--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Groping in the blackness seems an…" description: "\"“Groping in the blackness seems an appropriate metaphor for the creative life. You are compelled to do this work but cannot know the end result; the tr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/123/elizabeth-ross-67816_artist_groping-in-the-blackness-seems-an-approp_764292.jpg" --- # Groping in the blackness seems an appropriate metaphor for… ![“Groping in the blackness seems an appropriate metaphor for the creative life. You are compelled to do this work but cannot know the end result; the truth of the moment you captured on the plate remains a mystery.” quote by Elizabeth Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/123/elizabeth-ross-67816_artist_groping-in-the-blackness-seems-an-approp_764292.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/123/elizabeth-ross-67816_artist_groping-in-the-blackness-seems-an-approp_764292.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/123/elizabeth-ross-67816_artist_groping-in-the-blackness-seems-an-approp_764292.jpg) > ““Groping in the blackness seems an appropriate metaphor for the creative life. You are compelled to do this work but cannot know the end result; the truth of the moment you captured on the plate remains a mystery.”” [Elizabeth Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-ross/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The artistic journey is like feeling in darkness, uncertain of the outcome but driven to create. **In simple terms:** Creating is a blind, uncertain act. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty in creation. Themes creativity uncertainty process Mood reflective inspired Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - writing - painting - music composition - design - research Key Concepts existentialism artistic intuition Questions to Reflect On - How do you navigate doubt in your work? - What rituals help you trust the process? A Different Perspective Even in darkness, lack of direction can stall progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Blackness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blackness/) [Blackness Appropriate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blackness-appropriate-5920360/) [Creative life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative-life/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [End result](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-result/) [Groping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/groping/) [Groping Blackness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/groping-blackness-5920359/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Metaphor Creative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphor-creative-5920361/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [You can lose your way groping among the shadows of the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/you-can-lose-your-way-groping-among-the-shadows-of-the-past/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [After a battle is over, people talk a lot about how decisions were methodically reached, but actually there's always a hell of a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/admiral-frank-jack-fletcher/after-a-battle-is-over-people-talk-a-lot-about-how-decisions-were/) [Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/admiral-frank-jack-fletcher/) > [“A drowning man groping for a twig.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-goodman/a-drowning-man-groping-for-a-twig/) [Alison Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-goodman/) > [“Tom became distracted by the sight of his own boobs. He reached down to grab them. Wyatt cleared her throat. "What?" Tom said defensively.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-j-kincaid/tom-became-distracted-by-the-sight-of-his-own-boobs-he-reached-down/) [S.J. Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-j-kincaid/) > [“It was the second presidential debate, and Donald Trump was looming behind me. Two days before, the world heard him brag about groping women.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-rodham-clinton/it-was-the-second-presidential-debate-and-donald-trump-was-looming/) [Hillary Rodham Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-rodham-clinton/) > [What is filmmaking but groping in the dark?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-payne/what-is-filmmaking-but-groping-in-the-dark/) [Alexander Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-payne/) > [I am never going to be able to rest easy in having established a posthumous connection to my father. I'll always be groping for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/i-am-never-going-to-be-able-to-rest-easy-in-having-established-a/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [“We are all insects. Groping towards something terrible or divine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/we-are-all-insects-groping-towards-something-terrible-or-divine/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [In war, groping tactics, half-way measures, lose everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/in-war-groping-tactics-half-way-measures-lose-everything/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [“For a guy, nothing is sexier than a girl who craves his little guy and can’t keep her hands off of it… because this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-hogue/for-a-guy-nothing-is-sexier-than-a-girl-who-craves-his-little-guy-and/) [Roberto Hogue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-hogue/) > [“He can feel them, reaching out for the child, groping their way to its purity…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-valor/he-can-feel-them-reaching-out-for-the-child-groping-their-way-to-its/) [J. Valor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-valor/) > [“It’s like they don’t even know how to stand beside each other without one groping the other. Their clinginess has always annoyed me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-warman/it-s-like-they-don-t-even-know-how-to-stand-beside-each-other-without/) [Jessica Warman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-warman/) > [“We are still groping perhaps, but we grope intelligently, like a gynecologist feeling a tumor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/we-are-still-groping-perhaps-but-we-grope-intelligently-like-a/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [Today, the L.A. Times accused Arnold Schwarzenegger of groping six women. I'm telling ya, this guy is presidential material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/today-the-l-a-times-accused-arnold-schwarzenegger-of-groping-six/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Put on your fucking Dom britches and go find your subbie before the show starts and you end up groping around a dark auditorium…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/skye-callahan/put-on-your-fucking-dom-britches-and-go-find-your-subbie-before-the/) [Skye Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/skye-callahan/) ## More by Elizabeth Ross > [“I’ve started to question if the flaws on the finished photograph aren’t an integral part of the portrait: soft focus, underexposure, poorly applied emulsion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-ross/i-ve-started-to-question-if-the-flaws-on-the-finished-photograph-aren/) [Elizabeth Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-ross/) > [“I think that a good portrait reveals a suggestion of the subject’s mind, and not just a representation of how they look. It’s by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-ross/i-think-that-a-good-portrait-reveals-a-suggestion-of-the-subject-s/) [Elizabeth Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-ross/) > [“In taking that photograph, I understood something I will never forget: how I wished to arrest all the beauty that came before me. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-ross/in-taking-that-photograph-i-understood-something-i-will-never-forget/) [Elizabeth Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-ross/) [Explore all 4 Elizabeth Ross quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-ross/) ## More Artist quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [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/) > [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/) > [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [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 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/) > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/) [Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/) > [I am a horrible visual artist. I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) [Browse all 32,600 Artist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Groping in the blackness seems an appropriate metaphor for the creative life. 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