--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As a kid, I wanted to be an inventor and…" description: "\"As a kid, I wanted to be an inventor and realizing that being an artist is like being an inventor because you create problems for yourself and you solv..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb9/michael-c-mcmillen-17032_art_as-a-kid-i-wanted-to-be-an-inventor-and_830289.jpg" --- # As a kid, I wanted to be an inventor and realizing that… ![“As a kid, I wanted to be an inventor and realizing that being an artist is like being an inventor because you create problems for yourself and you solve them and you create things that weren't there before. That's awfully simplified, but that's how it is.” quote by Michael C. McMillen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb9/michael-c-mcmillen-17032_art_as-a-kid-i-wanted-to-be-an-inventor-and_830289.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb9/michael-c-mcmillen-17032_art_as-a-kid-i-wanted-to-be-an-inventor-and_830289.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb9/michael-c-mcmillen-17032_art_as-a-kid-i-wanted-to-be-an-inventor-and_830289.jpg) > “As a kid, I wanted to be an inventor and realizing that being an artist is like being an inventor because you create problems for yourself and you solve them and you create things that weren't there before. That's awfully simplified, but that's how it is.” [Michael C. McMillen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-mcmillen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Inventors and artists share a process of creating problems and solving them, generating novel works. **In simple terms:** Inventors and artists both create and solve problems. Key Takeaway Embrace problem‑creation as a creative catalyst. Themes creativity innovation art Mood inspirational thoughtful Type philosophical creative When to use this quote - studio practice - product design - teaching - collaboration Key Concepts design thinking problem solving Questions to Reflect On - What problems can you intentionally create? - How does solving your own problems inspire others? A Different Perspective Risk of over‑complicating simple ideas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Being an artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-an-artist/) [Inventor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inventor/) [Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) ## Related quotes > [I'd like to be an inventor, as they look at the world in a different way and find solutions for making it better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-jackson/i-d-like-to-be-an-inventor-as-they-look-at-the-world-in-a-different/) [Neil Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-jackson/) > [What I'm realizing about myself as an artist is that I'm not about the glitz and the glam - I don't scream 'Hollywood.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lola-young/what-i-m-realizing-about-myself-as-an-artist-is-that-i-m-not-about/) [Lola Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lola-young/) > [I started blogging because I didn't know if I wanted to be an artist. I wanted to talk to other people online who were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toyin-odutola/i-started-blogging-because-i-didn-t-know-if-i-wanted-to-be-an-artist/) [Toyin Odutola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toyin-odutola/) > [Being an artist is like being an athlete. You have to be in there every day, keeping in shape. You have to be fearless.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-jordan/being-an-artist-is-like-being-an-athlete-you-have-to-be-in-there/) [Lawrence Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-jordan/) > [Being an artist is two things. You accumulate experience and time, and if you have something that's interesting, you have to be persistent. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-mcmillen/being-an-artist-is-two-things-you-accumulate-experience-and-time-and/) [Michael C. McMillen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-mcmillen/) > [“Fame to an artist is like light to a vampire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-harlem/fame-to-an-artist-is-like-light-to-a-vampire/) [Rebecca Harlem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-harlem/) > [The more you work, the less you exist. I believe (at least, I used to believe, because I no longer think this is entirely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-boltanski/the-more-you-work-the-less-you-exist-i-believe-at-least-i-used-to/) [Christian Boltanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-boltanski/) > [What I mean is I'd rather be a Burt Bacharach figure, where if I did gigs there'd be other people there singing the songs.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-heyward/what-i-mean-is-i-d-rather-be-a-burt-bacharach-figure-where-if-i-did/) Nick Heyward > [This is a way for artists to communicate directly to their fans. If you think of an artist like Bruno Mars, he's using Spotify,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-ek/this-is-a-way-for-artists-to-communicate-directly-to-their-fans-if/) [Daniel Ek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-ek/) > [I have always admired Michael Jackson, and he's the one I get most inspiration from. I hope to become an artist like him as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-tae-min/i-have-always-admired-michael-jackson-and-he-s-the-one-i-get-most/) [Lee Tae-min](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-tae-min/) > [It's the honest point of view of an artist: You have to please.I'd like viewers to come away from my films unsure whether they've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-pierre-melville/it-s-the-honest-point-of-view-of-an-artist-you-have-to-please-i-d/) [Jean-Pierre Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-pierre-melville/) > [“The artist, like the God of creation, remains within or behind or beyond or above his handiwork, invisible, refined out of existence, indifferent, paring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/the-artist-like-the-god-of-creation-remains-within-or-behind-or/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [That's kind of the artist I like to be, transparent, honest. I think that's what I'm like in real life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raye/that-s-kind-of-the-artist-i-like-to-be-transparent-honest-i-think/) [Raye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raye/) > [It's silly to call me the new Ed Sheeran. He can fill stadiums as a solo artist, but I'm not like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bay/it-s-silly-to-call-me-the-new-ed-sheeran-he-can-fill-stadiums-as-a/) [James Bay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bay/) > [The artist has to be something like a whale swimming with his mouth wide open, absorbing everything until he has what he really needs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romare-bearden/the-artist-has-to-be-something-like-a-whale-swimming-with-his-mouth/) [Romare Bearden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romare-bearden/) ## More by Michael C. McMillen > [I think good art has good concept behind it. Nothing can always articulate fully the way a Ph.D. candidate can articulate their thesis, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-mcmillen/i-think-good-art-has-good-concept-behind-it-nothing-can-always/) [Michael C. McMillen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-mcmillen/) > [I want to create objects that will stimulate the viewer in ways that I am stimulated by these objects. Now that's an ideal situation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-mcmillen/i-want-to-create-objects-that-will-stimulate-the-viewer-in-ways-that/) [Michael C. McMillen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-mcmillen/) > [I love the idea of engaging the object, whether it be architecture or a piece of good graphic design, or a good painting, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-mcmillen/i-love-the-idea-of-engaging-the-object-whether-it-be-architecture-or/) [Michael C. McMillen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-mcmillen/) > [I think we all have a tendency to have things. Even, I've noticed, people on the street collect things. So I think there's some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-mcmillen/i-think-we-all-have-a-tendency-to-have-things-even-i-ve-noticed/) [Michael C. McMillen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-mcmillen/) > [One nice thing about L.A. is that you can work here in privacy, but that also works against you because you can get forgotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-mcmillen/one-nice-thing-about-l-a-is-that-you-can-work-here-in-privacy-but/) [Michael C. McMillen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-mcmillen/) > [The idea of flux, kind of constant change, whether it be our sense of time or geological time or cosmic time. It's always there,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-mcmillen/the-idea-of-flux-kind-of-constant-change-whether-it-be-our-sense-of/) [Michael C. McMillen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-mcmillen/) > [I always thought that art that is produced somehow has to reflect the zeitgeist or the ambiance and the time and the history in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-mcmillen/i-always-thought-that-art-that-is-produced-somehow-has-to-reflect-the/) [Michael C. McMillen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-mcmillen/) > [In a lot of ways, L.A. has always been kind of colonized or marginalized by New York. It still goes on to this day,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-mcmillen/in-a-lot-of-ways-l-a-has-always-been-kind-of-colonized-or/) [Michael C. McMillen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-mcmillen/) > [I happen to like regionalism, whatever that means. I like the idea of art that somehow specifically reflects some aspect of a community or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-mcmillen/i-happen-to-like-regionalism-whatever-that-means-i-like-the-idea-of/) [Michael C. McMillen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-mcmillen/) > [That's what I like about the idea of the aesthetic experience, the idea of both enjoying looking at works of art and how they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-mcmillen/that-s-what-i-like-about-the-idea-of-the-aesthetic-experience-the/) [Michael C. McMillen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-mcmillen/) > [For me, my work is pretty much a lot of my identity. I mean I live to work, basically. With money I'm able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-mcmillen/for-me-my-work-is-pretty-much-a-lot-of-my-identity-i-mean-i-live-to/) [Michael C. McMillen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-mcmillen/) > [I've always seen L.A. as a giant kind of laboratory for ideas in a caldron for concepts where you can try anything you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-mcmillen/i-ve-always-seen-l-a-as-a-giant-kind-of-laboratory-for-ideas-in-a/) [Michael C. McMillen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-mcmillen/) > [I don't refer to myself as a sculptor, but I use the word "visual artist." I prefer that, because that leaves the medium wide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-mcmillen/i-don-t-refer-to-myself-as-a-sculptor-but-i-use-the-word-visual/) [Michael C. McMillen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-mcmillen/) > [L.A. has a lot of tackiness to it, but at the same time, in that funny kind of fantasy pretentiousness, it's unpretentious because it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-mcmillen/l-a-has-a-lot-of-tackiness-to-it-but-at-the-same-time-in-that-funny/) [Michael C. McMillen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-mcmillen/) > [I think that to be a good artist, you have to have ideas as well as manual skills. It's a blend of the two,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-mcmillen/i-think-that-to-be-a-good-artist-you-have-to-have-ideas-as-well-as/) [Michael C. McMillen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-mcmillen/) [Explore all 38 Michael C. McMillen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-mcmillen/) ## 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": "As a kid, I wanted to be an inventor and realizing that being an artist is like being an inventor because you create problems for yourself and you solve them and you create things that weren't there before. 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