--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Having that little bit of breathing room…" description: "\"Having that little bit of breathing room to work, and not feeling like it's going to fall apart at any second, has allowed me to recover the feeling I ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7aa/will-sheff-19978_art_having-that-little-bit-of-breathing-room_2611407.jpg" --- # Having that little bit of breathing room to work, and not… ![“Having that little bit of breathing room to work, and not feeling like it's going to fall apart at any second, has allowed me to recover the feeling I had when I was a little kid, when I was writing stories for fun or drawing pictures for my parents to put on their refrigerator. It was about…” quote by Will Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7aa/will-sheff-19978_art_having-that-little-bit-of-breathing-room_2611407.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7aa/will-sheff-19978_art_having-that-little-bit-of-breathing-room_2611407.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7aa/will-sheff-19978_art_having-that-little-bit-of-breathing-room_2611407.jpg) > “Having that little bit of breathing room to work, and not feeling like it's going to fall apart at any second, has allowed me to recover the feeling I had when I was a little kid, when I was writing stories for fun or drawing pictures for my parents to put on their refrigerator. It was about playing and doing something fun, and kind of making your own little world. And that's how art should feel for me, and how having a little bit more distance between my ass and the ground has helped me.” [Will Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-sheff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Having space and distance restores childlike wonder, allowing creative play and personal world‑building, which is how art should feel. **In simple terms:** Space revives playful creativity like childhood. Key Takeaway Make room for playful, personal creation. Themes creativity play space childlike wonder artistic freedom Mood reflective hopeful Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - writing - drawing - personal projects - creative breaks Key Concepts psychology of flow creative process mindset Questions to Reflect On - How can you carve out breathing room for creativity? - What childhood activity sparks your joy now? A Different Perspective Too much pressure can stifle that playful feeling. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Drawing pictures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drawing-pictures/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Fun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fun/) [Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids/) [Little kid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-kid/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-stories/) ## Related quotes > [What art offers is space - a certain breathing room for the spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/what-art-offers-is-space-a-certain-breathing-room-for-the-spirit/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“Show me the woman that leaves a man some breathing room, acknowledges he might know a thing or two about the human heart, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-e-morgan/show-me-the-woman-that-leaves-a-man-some-breathing-room-acknowledges/) [C.E. Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-e-morgan/) > [If you're gone, maybe it's time to come home. There's an awful lot of breathing room but I can hardly move. And if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matchbox-20/if-you-re-gone-maybe-it-s-time-to-come-home-there-s-an-awful-lot-of/) Matchbox 20 > [“Every house should have a room called the breathing room, or at least a corner of a room reserved for this purpose. In this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/every-house-should-have-a-room-called-the-breathing-room-or-at-least/) [Thích Nhất Hạnh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/) > [It's strange not to allow the actor some input and breathing room into what was written on the page - it is their job…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-esmail/it-s-strange-not-to-allow-the-actor-some-input-and-breathing-room/) [Sam Esmail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-esmail/) > [ But it's a whole lot easier to keep\[secrets\] when you've got someone else who knows breathing in the same room. Carrying them alone is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilith-saintcrow/but-it-s-a-whole-lot-easier-to-keep-secrets-when-you-ve-got-someone/) [Lilith Saintcrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilith-saintcrow/) > [Hollywood is like a piranha. They don't give you breathing room. You don't have time to let your career breathe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sissy-spacek/hollywood-is-like-a-piranha-they-don-t-give-you-breathing-room-you/) [Sissy Spacek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sissy-spacek/) > [You make you work for yourself. It's the feeling of, 'If nobody ever saw it, that'd be fine, too.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-odenkirk/you-make-you-work-for-yourself-it-s-the-feeling-of-if-nobody-ever-saw/) [Bob Odenkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-odenkirk/) > [Early on, my emotional work had to do with feeling unheard and invisible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-zuniga/early-on-my-emotional-work-had-to-do-with-feeling-unheard-and/) [Daphne Zuniga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-zuniga/) > [To be finally recognised for my work is a feeling I can't describe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arbaaz-khan/to-be-finally-recognised-for-my-work-is-a-feeling-i-can-t-describe/) [Arbaaz Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arbaaz-khan/) > [It's a good feeling to come away from a day's work feeling like you've achieved something. Tired brain is good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominic-cooper/it-s-a-good-feeling-to-come-away-from-a-day-s-work-feeling-like-you/) [Dominic Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominic-cooper/) > [There are certain scenes you do in a movie that are like catching a wave, and you leave work feeling elated - almost as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-pfeiffer/there-are-certain-scenes-you-do-in-a-movie-that-are-like-catching-a/) [Michelle Pfeiffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-pfeiffer/) > [If you asked me what is the basis of all my work, it's the feeling there's something basically wrong with human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/if-you-asked-me-what-is-the-basis-of-all-my-work-it-s-the-feeling/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [It's important to spend time with your work. That's when you see it, when you have a feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juergen-teller/it-s-important-to-spend-time-with-your-work-that-s-when-you-see-it/) [Juergen Teller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juergen-teller/) > [All that waiting around for a glimmer of stage time, just getting angry every week... It was just an oppressive, horrible, horrible place to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/all-that-waiting-around-for-a-glimmer-of-stage-time-just-getting/) [Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/) ## More by Will Sheff > [Collaboration is such a thrill when you're working with someone you really respect. When it's just one person working alone you get a singular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-sheff/collaboration-is-such-a-thrill-when-you-re-working-with-someone-you/) [Will Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-sheff/) > [This is going to sound really corny, but it's the way I feel: Musicians have been around for a really long time. It's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-sheff/this-is-going-to-sound-really-corny-but-it-s-the-way-i-feel-musicians/) [Will Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-sheff/) > [It's a really common trap to want your life to live up to some standard that you believe in, and then you start to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-sheff/it-s-a-really-common-trap-to-want-your-life-to-live-up-to-some/) [Will Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-sheff/) > [I wanted to be a filmmaker, actually, when I was in high school and college. But I just decided it would be more expensive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-sheff/i-wanted-to-be-a-filmmaker-actually-when-i-was-in-high-school-and/) [Will Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-sheff/) > [If I'm working on a set of songs, and thinking about putting them together in a collection, I start to think about what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-sheff/if-i-m-working-on-a-set-of-songs-and-thinking-about-putting-them/) [Will Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-sheff/) > [When you're a songwriter, people wonder about your personal life and the meanings behind the songs, and that can feel pretty invasive, so you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-sheff/when-you-re-a-songwriter-people-wonder-about-your-personal-life-and/) [Will Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-sheff/) > [When your head is smashing into the concrete you don't have question about whether it's a real sensation. And ultimately, that's what's going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-sheff/when-your-head-is-smashing-into-the-concrete-you-don-t-have-question/) [Will Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-sheff/) > [When people downloading records for free you start to think, "Is it worth spending all this money to make a record sound good, especially…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-sheff/when-people-downloading-records-for-free-you-start-to-think-is-it/) [Will Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-sheff/) > [People think that because they've seen your name in print, you're rich. I assume that. But all it means is that there was some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-sheff/people-think-that-because-they-ve-seen-your-name-in-print-you-re-rich/) [Will Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-sheff/) > [I always just wanted to have the wherewithal to make another record. I never really dreamt of fortune or fame, because it seemed so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-sheff/i-always-just-wanted-to-have-the-wherewithal-to-make-another-record-i/) [Will Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-sheff/) > [I think that anything is a form of folk music. That's just me being glib, but the thing I like the best about humans,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-sheff/i-think-that-anything-is-a-form-of-folk-music-that-s-just-me-being/) [Will Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-sheff/) > [I always think it's far more admirable to confuse people than it is to reassure them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-sheff/i-always-think-it-s-far-more-admirable-to-confuse-people-than-it-is/) [Will Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-sheff/) > [I'm not pro-life. I'm very emphatically pro-choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-sheff/i-m-not-pro-life-i-m-very-emphatically-pro-choice/) [Will Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-sheff/) > [Songwriting is an emotional medium, and rock and roll is an emotional medium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-sheff/songwriting-is-an-emotional-medium-and-rock-and-roll-is-an-emotional/) [Will Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-sheff/) > [I have complicated feelings about nostalgia. I think that sometimes it can be dangerous. It can airbrush the truth, or fictionalize the truth, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-sheff/i-have-complicated-feelings-about-nostalgia-i-think-that-sometimes-it/) [Will Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-sheff/) [Explore all 31 Will Sheff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-sheff/) ## 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": "Having that little bit of breathing room to work, and not feeling like it's going to fall apart at any second, has allowed me to recover the feeling I had when I was a little kid, when I was writing stories for fun or drawing pictures for my parents to put on their refrigerator. 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