--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had a studio visitor ask me when a…" description: "\"I had a studio visitor ask me when a piece was complete, and afterward, I realized I was kind of annoyed by the question. I wrote down to myself, 'Noth..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07e/martine-syms-15826_kind_i-had-a-studio-visitor-ask-me-when-a-pie_1394320.jpg" --- # I had a studio visitor ask me when a piece was complete… ![“I had a studio visitor ask me when a piece was complete, and afterward, I realized I was kind of annoyed by the question. I wrote down to myself, 'Nothing's ever finished' as an operating value.” quote by Martine Syms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07e/martine-syms-15826_kind_i-had-a-studio-visitor-ask-me-when-a-pie_1394320.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07e/martine-syms-15826_kind_i-had-a-studio-visitor-ask-me-when-a-pie_1394320.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07e/martine-syms-15826_kind_i-had-a-studio-visitor-ask-me-when-a-pie_1394320.jpg) > “I had a studio visitor ask me when a piece was complete, and afterward, I realized I was kind of annoyed by the question. I wrote down to myself, 'Nothing's ever finished' as an operating value.” [Martine Syms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martine-syms/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The artist reflects on the pressure to declare a work finished, adopting the principle that nothing is ever truly complete, encouraging ongoing creative process. **In simple terms:** Art is never fully finished; keep creating. Key Takeaway Embrace perpetual artistic evolution. Themes creativity process perfectionism Mood reflective inspirational Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - studio visits - exhibitions - personal projects - creative blocks Key Concepts unfinishedness artist mindset value Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide when a work is ready? - What benefits come from accepting incompleteness? A Different Perspective Never finishing can stall progress; deadlines may be necessary. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Annoyed Question](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/annoyed-question-4868884/) [Ask Piece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ask-piece-1182761/) [Complete Afterward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complete-afterward-4868886/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Myself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myself/) [Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothing/) [Question](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/question/) [Question Wrote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/question-wrote-1641449/) [Value](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/value/) [Wrote Finished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrote-finished-4868885/) ## Related quotes > [A few months ago, a friend emailed to simply ask, 'Do you get a piece of this?' 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I told him, That's a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/he-wrote-are-you-ok-i-told-him-my-eyes-are-crummy-he-wrote-but-are/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [“Where did this come from?” I bristle at the question. “I wrote it right in front of you. I didn’t cheat.” “I’m not accusing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigid-kemmerer/where-did-this-come-from-i-bristle-at-the-question-i-wrote-it-right/) [Brigid Kemmerer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigid-kemmerer/) > [He objected, though, to indiscriminate reading. 'One must have some question,' he wrote, 'addressed to the book one is going to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kropotkin/he-objected-though-to-indiscriminate-reading-one-must-have-some/) [Peter Kropotkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kropotkin/) > [Why is it so much easier to talk to a stranger? why do we feel we need to disconnect in order to connect? If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/why-is-it-so-much-easier-to-talk-to-a-stranger-why-do-we-feel-we-need/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [Nobody ever wins by the cavalry coming to rescue you. It isn't a question of you're happy if you get married, or you get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maeve-binchy/nobody-ever-wins-by-the-cavalry-coming-to-rescue-you-it-isn-t-a/) [Maeve Binchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maeve-binchy/) > [I visited the archeological site at the northern tip of Newfoundland. There is no question about it. It has been definitely determined that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-freedman/i-visited-the-archeological-site-at-the-northern-tip-of-newfoundland/) [Russell Freedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-freedman/) > [“And if you can’t say yes, answer anyway. Because I’d rather live with the answer than die with the question.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ellis/and-if-you-can-t-say-yes-answer-anyway-because-i-d-rather-live-with/) [Jon Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ellis/) > [“What does he look like? The question was soft- tentative. I knew who he meant. I interlaced my fingers through Rhysand's and squeezed tightly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/what-does-he-look-like-the-question-was-soft-tentative-i-knew-who-he/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [Everything affects hip-hop. The question is, how does it affect the money that corporations are going to invest to put out different kinds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-i-am/everything-affects-hip-hop-the-question-is-how-does-it-affect-the/) [will.i.am](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-i-am/) > [What you are is a question only you can answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/what-you-are-is-a-question-only-you-can-answer/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [Sometimes a question can hurt more than an answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/sometimes-a-question-can-hurt-more-than-an-answer/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) ## More by Martine Syms > [Pipilotti Rist is a Swiss video artist I learned about pretty early on. She's one of the first contemporary artists I knew about and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martine-syms/pipilotti-rist-is-a-swiss-video-artist-i-learned-about-pretty-early/) [Martine Syms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martine-syms/) > [I was very conscious of the film industry - a lot of people, neighbors, worked in it. I actually grew up doing a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martine-syms/i-was-very-conscious-of-the-film-industry-a-lot-of-people-neighbors/) [Martine Syms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martine-syms/) > [There's an uncanniness to living in Los Angeles, from the way you move through the city to the moments of feeling familiarity or deja…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martine-syms/there-s-an-uncanniness-to-living-in-los-angeles-from-the-way-you-move/) [Martine Syms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martine-syms/) > [Pop culture or advertising doesn't work perfectly. No one is watching and mindlessly accepting every part of the narrative or ideology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martine-syms/pop-culture-or-advertising-doesn-t-work-perfectly-no-one-is-watching/) [Martine Syms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martine-syms/) > [Entrepreneurs create value; I wanted to create ideas that became machines for making value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martine-syms/entrepreneurs-create-value-i-wanted-to-create-ideas-that-became/) [Martine Syms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martine-syms/) > [If some things don't make me feel good, I stop them. How simple, yet so hard to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martine-syms/if-some-things-don-t-make-me-feel-good-i-stop-them-how-simple-yet-so/) [Martine Syms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martine-syms/) > [There's a certain amount of absurdity to the idea that having extremely crisp clothes is what's going to get you through the door. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martine-syms/there-s-a-certain-amount-of-absurdity-to-the-idea-that-having/) [Martine Syms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martine-syms/) > [I'm interested in the economy of words and forms: jokes, aphorisms, copywriting, advertising, that way of writing when meaning has to be squeezed into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martine-syms/i-m-interested-in-the-economy-of-words-and-forms-jokes-aphorisms/) [Martine Syms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martine-syms/) > [I guess I can be a little mischievous!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martine-syms/i-guess-i-can-be-a-little-mischievous/) [Martine Syms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martine-syms/) > [My family, my background... it just parallels really nicely with a lot of social and cultural movements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martine-syms/my-family-my-background-it-just-parallels-really-nicely-with-a-lot-of/) [Martine Syms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martine-syms/) > [People act like art is a white thing - or not for people of colour - when, really, so much culture and art comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martine-syms/people-act-like-art-is-a-white-thing-or-not-for-people-of-colour-when/) [Martine Syms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martine-syms/) > [Representation is a sort of surveillance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martine-syms/representation-is-a-sort-of-surveillance/) [Martine Syms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martine-syms/) > [There's no reason to be ashamed of feeling good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martine-syms/there-s-no-reason-to-be-ashamed-of-feeling-good/) [Martine Syms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martine-syms/) > [I have said it before and I will continue to say that I don't think art is the most effective form of protest. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martine-syms/i-have-said-it-before-and-i-will-continue-to-say-that-i-don-t-think/) [Martine Syms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martine-syms/) > [It's very comforting to feel myself getting stronger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martine-syms/it-s-very-comforting-to-feel-myself-getting-stronger/) [Martine Syms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martine-syms/) [Explore all 41 Martine Syms quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martine-syms/) ## More Kind quotes > [Money is the kind of instrument which is very speedily produced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatoly-chubais/money-is-the-kind-of-instrument-which-is-very-speedily-produced/) [Anatoly Chubais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatoly-chubais/) > [Since I worked with Danny Boyle before on Slumdog Millionaire, we have great success and everything. 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Sometimes you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-davis/i-always-step-on-the-plane-with-my-right-foot-and-touch-the-outside/) [Hope Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-davis/) > [Every time I finish a song... most of the time it's in my own head, like this sounds too much like a Townes Van…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/every-time-i-finish-a-song-most-of-the-time-it-s-in-my-own-head-like/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [I did not know that the planning for biological and chemical warfare was so widespread in England, and even in France before France fell.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-did-not-know-that-the-planning-for-biological-and-chemical-warfare/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [The bigger the canvas, the better I do. 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