Inspiring Art Education Quotes for Teachers and Students
Art teachers play a vital role in nurturing creativity and inspiring the next generation of artists. A meaningful quote can remind us why we got into teaching art in the first place. Here is a collection of inspiring art education quotes by famous artists, educators, and thinkers, and unexpected places. These quotes are intended to be shared wherever it brings you and your students joy.
Quotes by Artists
Artists have long reflected on the nature of creativity, the artistic process, and the role of art in society. Their words offer valuable insights for art educators and students alike.
- Leonardo Da Vinci: "Principles for the Development of a Complete Mind: Study the science of art. Study the art of science. Develop your senses - especially learn how to see."
- Leonardo Da Vinci: "Painting is poetry which is seen and not heard, and poetry is a painting which is heard but not seen."
- Leonardo Da Vinci: "Art is never finished, only abandoned."
- Leonardo Da Vinci: "We, by our arts may be called the grandsons of God."
- Pablo Picasso: "Every child is an artist."
- Pablo Picasso: "Computers are useless. They can only give you answers."
- Pablo Picasso: "I do not seek. I find."
- Pablo Picasso: "We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize truth, at least the truth that is given us to understand. The artist must know the manner whereby to convince others of the truthfulness of his lies."
- Winston Churchill: "The goal of life is rapture. Art is the way we experience it."
- Jean Cocteau: "Happy are the painters, for they shall not be lonely. Light and colour, peace and hope, will keep them company to the end of the day."
- Michelangelo: "I have an idea that the only thing which makes it possible to regard this world we live in without disgust is the beauty which now and then men create out of chaos. The pictures they paint, the music they compose, the books they write, and the lives they lead. Of all these the richest in beauty is the beautiful life."
- Edgar Degas: "Art is not what you see, but what you make others see."
- Paul Klee: "Creativity belongs to the artist in each of us. To create means to relate. The root meaning of the word art is “to fit together” and we all do this every day. Not all of us are painters but we are all artists."
- Wassily Kandinsky: "There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of the people you love."
- Henri Matisse: "Creativity takes courage."
- Vincent Van Gogh: "I want to touch people with my art. I want them to say 'he feels deeply, he feels tenderly'."
- Andy Warhol: "Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art."
- Andy Warhol: "If there’s ever a problem, I film it and it’s no longer a problem."
- Salvador Dali: "Have no fear of perfection, you'll never reach it."
- Georgia O'Keeffe: "I've been absolutely terrified every moment of my life - and I've never let it keep me from doing a single thing I wanted to do."
- Ansel Adams: "You don't make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved."
- Chuck Close: "Inspiration is for amateurs - the rest of us just show up and get to work."
- Robert Motherwell: "Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of a genius."
- Alex Grey: "Artists are like the Phoenix, they periodically have to self-immolate, burn off an aspect of themselves to give birth to something new. The blank canvas demands you exceed yourself. And most times you fail. This pisses you off so bad you want to quit making art or makes some artists want to quit living."
Quotes by Educators and Thinkers
Educators and thinkers from various fields have also offered profound insights into the nature of creativity, learning, and the importance of art in education.
- John Dewey: "Art is not the possession of the few who are recognized writers, painters, musicians; it is the authentic expression of any and all individuality. Those who have the gift of creative expression in unusually large measure disclose the meaning of the individuality of others to those others. In participating in the work of art, they become artists in their activity. They learn to know and honor individuality in whatever form it appears. The fountains of creative activity are discovered and released."
- Paulo Freire: "Education is an act of love, and thus an act of courage."
- Albert Einstein: "Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."
- Dr. Seuss: "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."
- Steve Jobs: "Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it."
- Rollo May: "If you do not express your own original ideas, if you do not listen to your own being, you will have betrayed yourself."
- Ken Robinson: "Creativity is as important in education as literacy and should be treated with the same status."
- Linda Naiman: "Art-making has an alchemical effect on the imagination."
- Brian Eno: "Whatever you think it is, it's not that. Stop using old maps to explore new places."
- Eckhart Tolle: "The past has no power over the present moment."
- Henry Van Dyke: "Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best."
- Joseph Beuys: "Everyone is an artist."
- Scott Adams: "Creativity is allowing oneself to make mistakes. Art knows no rules. Everything is a risk. It is perhaps in this respect that art is different from science. In science, one thing must follow another; in art, anything may come after anything."
Quotes from Literature and Other Sources
Inspiration can be found in unexpected places. These quotes from literature, speeches, and other sources offer unique perspectives on art, creativity, and the human experience.
- John F. Kennedy: "When power leads man towards arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of man’s concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses, for art establishes the basic human truths which must serve as the touchstones of our judgement. The artists, however faithful to his personal vision of reality, becomes the last champion of the individual mind and sensibility against an intrusive society and an officious state."
- Lyndon B. Johnson: "Art is a nation’s most precious heritage. For it is in our works of art that we reveal to ourselves and to others the inner vision which guides us as a nation. And where there is no vision, the people perish."
- Robert Graves: "Creativity exists in the present moment."
- Jean Houston: "Transformative art must express something beyond where you are, it demands that you grow beyond your current self."
- Ben Okri: "Art provides an opportunity for kaleidoscopic thinking."
- Cecil B. DeMille: "Creativity is a drug I cannot live without."
- Henry Miller: "Develop interest in life as you see it; in people, things, literature, music - the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: "A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
The Importance of Art Education
These quotes underscore the importance of art education in fostering creativity, critical thinking, and self-expression. Art is not merely a frill; it is an essential component of a well-rounded education that helps students develop their full potential.
Read also: Thomas Jefferson on Education
- An elementary school that treats the arts as the province of a few gifted children, or views them only as recreation and entertainment, is a school that needs an infusion of soul.
- The arts are not a frill. The arts are a response to our individuality and our nature, and help to shape our identity. What is there that can transcend deep difference and stubborn divisions? The arts. They have a wonderful universality. Art has the potential to unify. It can speak in many languages without a translator. The arts do not discriminate.
Read also: Inspirational Quotes by Nelson Mandela
Read also: Explore Classical Christian Education
