I'm not sure I would have ever started to draw, let alone write, if my childhood hadn't been so happy. It was a mixture of comfort and adventure. An excellent mixture!
Interpretation
A happy childhood fosters creativity and self-expression.
Tove Jansson reflects on the profound impact of a joyful childhood on her artistic journey, suggesting that the blend of comfort and adventure during those formative years inspired her to explore her creativity through drawing and writing. The happiness experienced in childhood acts as a foundation for self-discovery and the courage to express oneself artistically.
In practice
This quote can be shared in a workshop about nurturing creativity in children.
Look at The Adventure. A boat by night is a wonderful sight. This is the way to start a new life, with a hurricane lamp shining at the top of the mast, and the coastline disappearing behind one as the whole world lies sleeping. Making a journey by night is more wonderful than anything in the world.
It is simply this: do not tire, never lose interest, never grow indifferent—lose your invaluable curiosity and you let yourself die. It's as simple as that.
A very long time ago, Grandmother had wanted to tell about all the things they did, but no one had bothered to ask. And now she had lost the urge.
Smell is important. It reminds a person of all the things he's been through; it is a sheath of memories and security.
I love borders. August is the border between summer and autumn; it is the most beautiful month I know. Twilight is the border between day and night, and the shore is the border between sea and land. The border is longing: when both have fallen in love but still haven't said anything. The border is to be on the way. It is the way that is the most important thing.
...by and by a change came: I started to muse about the shape of my nose. I put my trivial surroundings aside and mused more and more about myself, and I found this to be a bewitching occupation. I stopped asking and longed instead to speak of my thoughts and feelings. Alas, there was no one besides myself who found me interesting.
Fashion is only the attempt to realize art in living forms and social intercourse.
I always had the fear of being separated and abandoned. The sewing is my attempt to keep things together and make things whole.
All dress is fancy dress, is it not, except our natural skins?
Jazz is not just 'Well, man, this is what I feel like playing.' It's a very structured thing that comes down from a tradition and requires a lot of thought and study.
What art is, in reality, is this missing link, not the links which exist. It's not what you see that is art; art is the gap.
If you write fiction, you're by yourself. There are certain advantages to that in that you don't have to explain anything to anybody. But when you get in with others who share the loneliness of the whole enterprise, you're not lonely anymore.
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