When Words Aren’t Enough: 22 Quotes That Speak to the Power of Art & Creativity

15 June

I don’t know about you, but when I’m feeling a little lost, stumbling across the right quote can feel like a lantern in the dark.

A good quote can echo your truth, give language to something you've only felt, or stir a memory deep in your bones. I’ve gathered 22 quotes that, to me, illuminate how creativity and art-making can help us process emotions and understand ourselves better.

As a transpersonal art therapist, I witness again and again how the creative process bypasses the limitations of language. It offers not only a way to express what words cannot, but also a space to digest and metabolise experience, reconnect with self, and move toward growth and meaning.

Here’s a reflection on each quote, paired with insights into how creativity and art therapy gently invite us home to ourselves.

inspiring art therapy quote “Art is the highest expression of the human spirit.” – Pablo Picasso — **“Art is the highest expression of the human spirit.” – Pablo Picasso**

Through art therapy, people often discover a part of themselves they didn’t know they were longing for. This quote reminds us that creativity isn’t just decoration—it’s soul work. When we create, we make room for the deep, unseen parts of ourselves to rise to the surface and take form.

inspiring art therapy quote “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” – Thomas Merton — **“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” – Thomas Merton**

Art-making invites both self-reflection and surrender. It allows us to explore who we are while softening the grip of our inner critic. It’s a place to lose track of time, to drop into presence, and to return with new insight.

inpsiring art therapy quote “Every artist dips their brush in their own soul and paints their own nature into their pictures.” – Henry Ward Beecher — **“Every artist dips their brush in their own soul and paints their own nature into their pictures.” – Henry Ward Beecher**

In art therapy, each mark made holds meaning. It’s less about how something looks and more about what it reveals and how it *feels*. Whether abstract or representational, our art is infused with our energy. Looking into the marks and behind the image can reveal important information about our rich inner life.

**“The painter tries to master color; the poet tries to master words; both try to master themselves.” – Anonymous**

The creative process is a mirror. It reflects back not only what we’re exploring, but how we meet the unknown. Do we avoid mistakes? Push for perfection? Allow curiosity? In art therapy, the process becomes a rehearsal space for life; perhaps even a portal into who you are becoming.

inspiring art therapy quote “When words fail, art speaks.” – Rachel Wilkins — **“When words fail, art speaks.” – Rachel Wilkins**

So often, people arrive at art therapy because talking alone hasn’t helped. Talking can have us going in loops! We all have patterns that keep us in a loop and really good way to break out of those loops is to see them clearly is to express them through image, metaphor and story.
Art can offer another language or way to express—one that speaks in images, colours, shapes, and symbols. Art is a language that allows our body, mind, emotion and soul to meet in unison.

inspiring art quote “Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” – Scott Adams — **“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” – Scott Adams**

We are often taught to avoid mistakes, but mistakes are often the place of our greatest learnings. Creativity doesn’t require you to be perfect. It is a type of chaos energy that opens the doorway into unexplored places. Art is a form of integration which nods to the creative chaos and captures the way of knowing.

**“Through art, we can communicate our thoughts and feelings in a way that transcends language.” – John Dewey**

Art bridges gaps—between our conscious and unconscious, our inner world and the outer one, and even between us and others. In a world full of inner and outer noise, it offers clarity, connection, and coherence.

**“At the deepest level, the creative process and the healing process arise from a single source.” – Rachel Naomi Remen**

Healing is mysterious, often found in the moments of doing very little. Personal growth is important, but we are not a self improvement project. Constant ‘fixing’ can be a sign of running away from ourselves. True growth and maturity is being able to sit and tend to the parts of ourselves that haven’t felt seen or heard. Art therapy can offer a way to sit with uncomfortable sensations, emotions and thoughts and create new possibilities beyond our past experience and stories.

**“Art speaks where words are unable to explain.” – Pam Holland**

Unspoken trauma, grief, or even joy that hasn’t had space. Art allows expression without explanation. It can be enough to express a feeling or experience that we didn’t and still don’t have words for. Allowing and acknowledging our experience is a crucial step towards healing.

inspiring art therapy quote What we create isn’t always a representation of the outer world—it’s an impression of our inner one. Tuning into sensation, memory, emotion—these are at the heart of creative healing. — **“Painting from nature is not copying the object; it is realising one’s sensations.” – Paul Cézanne**

This quote reminds me how wonderful it is to slow down enough to appreciate the details of the natural world. Not just with our eyes but our whole body as a beautiful sensing instrument. When we can tune into nature through our body something amazing happens; we realise we are looking at ourself and the barriers between me, you and the world dissolves for a moment.

**“Great art picks up where nature ends.” – Marc Chagall**

All humans have a relationship with nature. They intrinsically understand and can relate to nature. Nature is one of the greatest teachers and art speaks to the heart of our nature.

art therapy quote “I found I could say things with colour and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way.” – Georgia O’Keeffe — **“I found I could say things with colour and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way.” – Georgia O’Keeffe**

This is the essence of expressive art therapy. Through shape, colour, texture, and rhythm, our innermost truths emerge—often surprising, often tender, always ours.

**“Art can permeate the very deepest part of us, where no words exist.” – Eileen Miller**

Deep emotion often defies language. Art reaches into these hidden spaces and offers a gentle invitation to bring them into the light.

art therapy quote “The art of healing comes from nature, not from the physician.” – Paracelsus — **“The art of healing comes from nature, not from the physician.” – Paracelsus**

In transpersonal art therapy, we honour the wisdom of the unconscious mind and the body. The therapist is not the healer—you are. Nature, creativity, and your inner knowing do the work.

art therapy quote “Creating artwork allows your mind to be in a safe place while it contemplates the tougher issues you are dealing with.” – George E. Miller — **“Creating artwork allows your mind to be in a safe place while it contemplates the tougher issues you are dealing with.” – George E. Miller**

This is one of the great gifts of art therapy: it creates distance from the intensity of the living memory. You don’t have to speak directly about traumatic experiences. This means even pre-verbal events can surface and be tended to. Externalising through imagery and story allow for observation, acknowledgment and an opportunity hold the part that experienced the rupture.

art therapy counselling person centered quote“I should advise you to put it all down… it will be your church—your cathedral—the silent places of your spirit.” – Carl Jung — **“I should advise you to put it all down… it will be your church—your cathedral—the silent places of your spirit.” – Carl Jung**

Our creative journals, altered books, and sketchpads become sacred containers. They hold the raw, the unfinished, the beautiful and the broken. They become maps of our becoming.

art therapy quote “Art is a wound turned into light.” – Georges Braque — **“Art is a wound turned into light.” – Georges Braque**

Creativity doesn’t erase our wounds—it illuminates them and works to suture the edges of those experiences with golden thread. In that light, we find understanding, soild ground and even a feeling of wholeness.

inspiring art quote “Art has always been the raft onto which we climb to save our sanity.” – Dorothea Tanning — **“Art has always been the raft onto which we climb to save our sanity.” – Dorothea Tanning**

Art-making gives us a way to stay afloat in times of stress, loss, or uncertainty. It doesn’t solve our problems, but it steadies us long enough to meet them. Therapeutic art making engages our senses and can help soothe and settles our nervous system.

inspiring art therapy quote “We share the importance of the arts… the kids really grasp that: they’re confident and proud of themselves.” – Agnes Gund — **“We share the importance of the arts… the kids really grasp that: they’re confident and proud of themselves.” – Agnes Gund**

Art builds confidence and self-esteem. In art therapy, people reconnect with their creativity and with a sense of agency—“I created this.” It’s powerful thing to be able to make choices, to be the creator of your moment to moment experience; particulary if we have experienced having our power and ability to choose taken away.

art therapy quote “Art is unquestionably one of the purest and highest elements in human happiness.” – John Lubbock — **“Art is unquestionably one of the purest and highest elements in human happiness.” – John Lubbock**

Art doesn’t just help us heal—it helps us feel joy, play, and meaning. It colours life. In art therapy and beyond, creativity reminds us of what makes life beautiful and worth living.

art threapy quote “Awe has many important implications for our well-being. Experiencing awe can give us a sense of hope and provide a feeling of fulfillment.” Shilagh mirgain — **“Awe has many important implications for our well-being. Experiencing awe can give us a sense of hope and provide a feeling of fulfillment.” - Shilagh Mirgrain**

Awe is one of those emotions that art evokes with ease. Whether through a sudden insight or a slow unfolding, art-making often stirs a quiet wonder—one that reconnects us to ourselves, others, and the vast mystery of life. In art therapy, awe becomes a gentle catalyst for change.

art therapy quote “The systems they nourish, which include our integrated sensory, attentional, cognitive, emotional, and motor capacities, are, in fact, the driving forces behind all other learning.” Eric Jensen — **“The systems they nourish, which include our integrated sensory, attentional, cognitive, emotional, and motor capacities, are, in fact, the driving forces behind all other learning.” Eric Jensen**

Creative processes engage the whole self—mind, body, emotion, and spirit. This integrative nature of art therapy supports regulation, expression, and insight on multiple levels. It's not just “fun” or “expressive”—it’s deeply developmental and healing.

Do you have a favourite quote? Send it to me!

A note about art therapy:

Art Therapy doesn’t require you to be an artist, it only requires you to desire connection with your inner world. You have stories to tell, feelings to explore, and inner parts waiting to be seen. Art therapy offers a non-judgemental, supportive space to do just that—with curiosity, compassion, and care.

These quotes are more than inspiring—they’re reminders of the deep wisdom that lives in each of us and within the creative process. When we create, we reclaim parts of ourselves lost to stress, trauma, conditioning, or silence. We don’t need to have all the answers. Rather we need space and time to explore and allow the wisdom of our body to show us what we need to know now.

Some of the benefits of art therapy include:

Reducing stress, anxiety, and overwhelm
Supporting emotional regulation and self-soothing
Building self-awareness and self-esteem
Processing grief, trauma, and life transitions
Encouraging playfulness, curiosity, and joy
Reconnecting with parts of yourself that may feel lost or silenced
Creating space for personal growth, insight, and meaning-making

What art therapy is Not:

It’s not an art class or about learning techniques (though you might learn some along the way because engaging with art materials consistently means you develop skills)
It’s not about creating “good” or “beautiful” art. Sometimes you might make bin art!
It’s not only for kids or older people. A common misunderstanding and often tied up with assuming art can only be used an activity rather than a tool.
It’s not about fixing you—it’s about gently uncovering, understanding, and expressing what is true for you.