You don't have to know anything about a subject as long as you use common sense and imagination, plus enthusiasm! I use all periods of design in my work, for, after all, decorative styles are simply indications of a manner of living.
Interpretation
Creativity and common sense are more important than expertise in design.
Dorothy Draper emphasizes that enthusiasm, common sense, and imagination can be more valuable than technical knowledge when it comes to design. She believes that decorative styles are simply reflections of one's lifestyle, suggesting that the essence of design lies in how it resonates with everyday life rather than just adhering to strict rules or theories.
In practice
In a workshop on creative thinking, I would use this quote to inspire participants to trust their instincts.
Have you ever stopped to think what fun this business of living can be? If you haven't, and if you are one of those who insist upon believing that life is humdrum, grim and boring, then I'm afraid this department is not for you. For I don't believe any such thing. I know that we can all free ourselves and live our lives fully, zestfully and joyfully!
You don't sell a commodity, you sell joy, gaiety, excitement. You aim at people's hearts, not their minds.
That's another way of writing a song, of course. Just talking to somebody that ain't there. That's the best way. That's the truest way. Then it just becomes a question of how heroic your speech is. To me, it's something to strive after.
Music is a defining element of character.
No dancer can watch Fred Astaire and not know that we all should have been in another business.
I don't want people who want to dance; I want people who have to dance.
The theater has to impose itself on the public, and not the public on the theater... The word "Art" should be written everywhere, in the auditorium and in the dressing rooms, before the word "Business" gets written there.
The problem with too beautiful a view is that it's alright for the mulling stage. But for the writing stage, you want to be somewhere without a view, especially if it is very different from what you're writing.
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