Book excerpt: This collection of thoughts from artists and thinkers of the past and present has been lovingly gathered over many years in the personal journals of the artist Astrid Fitzgerald and reveals something of the mystery in which creativity finds its way from the energies of the cosmos into the imagination and faculties of the individual artist and eventually into the solitude of the studio and finally into a work of art. From the reports of mystics to the observations of scientists, these passages have been arranged in this volume to provide brief glimpses into the recesses of artistic being, into the tentative formations in consciousness, the first glimmers of imagination, the distinctive faculties of the creative mind, and the tensions of artistic expression in the workshop and the creative life. Fitzgerald's great contribution has been to gather into a meaningful collection the words of 2,500 years of genius as a resource and inspiration for all those who would break out of creative limitations and take a bold step into the future. Illustrated with the art of the author and others. CONTENTS: The Ground of Artistic Being The Field of Creative Play The Universal Qualities and Forces of Creativity The Flowering of Creative Energy The Faculties of Creative Expression The Nature of the Calling The Ideals of Artistic Expression Infinite Forms of Expression The Dynamics of Creative Work The Experience of the Creative Life Bibliography and Index of Authors