--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: not wholly consciously, but not quite…" description: "\"not wholly consciously, but not quite unconsciously, as far as I can remember, I determined to fashion my future as a sculptor his marble, and there wa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cda/freya-stark-3403_artist_not-wholly-consciously-but-not-quite-unc_959235.png" --- # not wholly consciously, but not quite unconsciously, as… ![“not wholly consciously, but not quite unconsciously, as far as I can remember, I determined to fashion my future as a sculptor his marble, and there was in it the same mixture of foresight and the unknown. The thing in the mind of the artist takes its way and imposes its form as it wakens under…” quote by Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cda/freya-stark-3403_artist_not-wholly-consciously-but-not-quite-unc_959235.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cda/freya-stark-3403_artist_not-wholly-consciously-but-not-quite-unc_959235.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cda/freya-stark-3403_artist_not-wholly-consciously-but-not-quite-unc_959235.png) > “not wholly consciously, but not quite unconsciously, as far as I can remember, I determined to fashion my future as a sculptor his marble, and there was in it the same mixture of foresight and the unknown. The thing in the mind of the artist takes its way and imposes its form as it wakens under his hand. And so with life.” [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An artist shapes the future with a blend of vision and mystery, mirroring life's unpredictable shaping. **In simple terms:** Artists blend foresight and unknown to shape life. Key Takeaway Balance planning with openness to the unknown. Themes creativity future uncertainty Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career planning - personal development - creative projects Key Concepts artistic process life design Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance foresight and spontaneity? - What unknowns shape your path? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on destiny may downplay agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Determined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/determined/) [Fashion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashion/) [Foresight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foresight/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Future Sculptor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future-sculptor-1762485/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [Marble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marble/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mind Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-artist-1762487/) [Mixtures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mixtures/) [My future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-future/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Quite Unconsciously](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quite-unconsciously-1631019/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Sculptor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sculptor/) [Sculptor Marble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sculptor-marble-1762486/) [Sculptors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sculptors/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [It follows that at the beginning of his life the individual can accomplish wonders without effort and quite unconsciously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/it-follows-that-at-the-beginning-of-his-life-the-individual-can/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Psychology lures even most serious people into romancing, and quite unconsciously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/psychology-lures-even-most-serious-people-into-romancing-and-quite/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [A sculptor is a person obsessed with the form and the shape of things, and it's not just Ihe shape of any one thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-moore/a-sculptor-is-a-person-obsessed-with-the-form-and-the-shape-of-things/) [Henry Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-moore/) > [If I had been born one or two hundred years ago, I might have been a sculptor, but photography is a very quick way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mapplethorpe/if-i-had-been-born-one-or-two-hundred-years-ago-i-might-have-been-a/) [Robert Mapplethorpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mapplethorpe/) > [I'm not a sculptor; I'm a hard-edged model maker. You give me a drawing, you give me a prop to replicate, you give me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-savage/i-m-not-a-sculptor-i-m-a-hard-edged-model-maker-you-give-me-a-drawing/) [Adam Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-savage/) > [I would have loved to have been a painter or a sculptor. I'm still fascinated by those things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-whishaw/i-would-have-loved-to-have-been-a-painter-or-a-sculptor-i-m-still/) [Ben Whishaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-whishaw/) > [Before I start carving the idea must be almost complete. I say 'almost' because the really important thing seems to be the sculptor's ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-hepworth/before-i-start-carving-the-idea-must-be-almost-complete-i-say-almost/) [Barbara Hepworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-hepworth/) > [You can't understand how strange it was to be a sculptor who exhibited photographs. (On exhibitions of his earthworks and land art pieces.)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-oppenheim/you-can-t-understand-how-strange-it-was-to-be-a-sculptor-who/) [Dennis Oppenheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-oppenheim/) > [What can a sculptor do without the chisel and the hammer? And what can an impostor politician do without the ignorants and the uneducated?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/what-can-a-sculptor-do-without-the-chisel-and-the-hammer-and-what-can/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [In my view, the composer, just as the poet, the sculptor or the painter, is in duty bound to serve Man, the people. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-prokofiev/in-my-view-the-composer-just-as-the-poet-the-sculptor-or-the-painter/) [Sergei Prokofiev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-prokofiev/) > [The sculptor represents the transition from one pose to another he indicates how insensibly the first glides into the second. In his work we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auguste-rodin/the-sculptor-represents-the-transition-from-one-pose-to-another-he/) [Auguste Rodin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/auguste-rodin/) > [It's very inconvenient being a sculptor. It's like playing the double-bass; one's so handicapped by one's baggage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/it-s-very-inconvenient-being-a-sculptor-it-s-like-playing-the-double/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [Every young sculptor seems to think that he must give the world some specimen of indecorous womanhood, and call it Eve, Venus, a Nymph,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/every-young-sculptor-seems-to-think-that-he-must-give-the-world-some/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [I'm an ice sculptor. Last night I made a cube.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-m-an-ice-sculptor-last-night-i-made-a-cube/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [Carving is a source of joy to the artist. . . . To attack the raw material, gradually to extract a shape out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristide-maillol/carving-is-a-source-of-joy-to-the-artist-to-attack-the-raw-material/) [Aristide Maillol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristide-maillol/) ## More by Freya Stark > [I do think we should be provided with a new body about the age of thirty or so when we have learnt to attend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/i-do-think-we-should-be-provided-with-a-new-body-about-the-age-of/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [The world has become too full of many things, an over furnished room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/the-world-has-become-too-full-of-many-things-an-over-furnished-room/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [From love one can only escape at the price of life itself; and no lessening of sorrow is worth exile from that stream of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/from-love-one-can-only-escape-at-the-price-of-life-itself-and-no/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [The unexpectedness of life, waiting round every corner, catches even wise women unawares (...) To avoid corners altogether is, after all, to refuse to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/the-unexpectedness-of-life-waiting-round-every-corner-catches-even/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [Words are the only arteries of thought our poor human body possesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/words-are-the-only-arteries-of-thought-our-poor-human-body-possesses/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [The past is our treasure. Its works, whether we know them or not, flourish in our lives with whatever strength they had. From it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/the-past-is-our-treasure-its-works-whether-we-know-them-or-not/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [On the other hand, there is a certain advantage in traveling with someone who has a reputation for shooting rather than being shot: as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/on-the-other-hand-there-is-a-certain-advantage-in-traveling-with/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [If one were given a single window from which to look upon the changing Eastern world, it should face, I think, the road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/if-one-were-given-a-single-window-from-which-to-look-upon-the/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [advertisement ... has brought our disregard for truth into the open without even a figleaf to cover it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/advertisement-has-brought-our-disregard-for-truth-into-the-open/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [Who dares to be intellectual in the presence of death?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/who-dares-to-be-intellectual-in-the-presence-of-death/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [The Persian's mind, like his illuminated manuscripts, does not deal in perspective: two thousand years, if he happens to know anything about them, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/the-persian-s-mind-like-his-illuminated-manuscripts-does-not-deal-in/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [Curiosity is the one thing invincible in Nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/curiosity-is-the-one-thing-invincible-in-nature/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [There are, I sometimes think, only two sorts of people in this world - the settled and the nomad - and there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/there-are-i-sometimes-think-only-two-sorts-of-people-in-this-world/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [Nearly all trouble comes from mis-timing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/nearly-all-trouble-comes-from-mis-timing/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [“I have no reason to go, except that I have never been, and knowledge is better than ignorance. What better reason could there be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/i-have-no-reason-to-go-except-that-i-have-never-been-and-knowledge-is/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) [Explore all 131 Freya Stark quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) ## 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": "not wholly consciously, but not quite unconsciously, as far as I can remember, I determined to fashion my future as a sculptor his marble, and there was in it the same mixture of foresight and the unknown. The thing in the mind of the artist takes its way and imposes its form as it wakens under his hand. And so with life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Freya Stark" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/not-wholly-consciously-but-not-quite-unconsciously-as-far-as-i-can/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/not-wholly-consciously-but-not-quite-unconsciously-as-far-as-i-can/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cda/freya-stark-3403_artist_not-wholly-consciously-but-not-quite-unc_959235.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cda/freya-stark-3403_artist_not-wholly-consciously-but-not-quite-unc_959235.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cda/freya-stark-3403_artist_not-wholly-consciously-but-not-quite-unc_959235.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“not wholly consciously, but not quite unconsciously, as far as I can remember, I determined to fashion my…” — Freya Stark", "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": "Freya Stark", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "not wholly consciously, but not quite...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/not-wholly-consciously-but-not-quite-unconsciously-as-far-as-i-can/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/not-wholly-consciously-but-not-quite-unconsciously-as-far-as-i-can/#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 } } ] } ```