I became a set designer for opera. I'm a great opera buff, I love classical music, and I needed a time-out.
Maurice SendakI hate, loathe and despise schools.School is bad for you if you have any talent. You should be cultivating that talent in your own particular way.
Maurice SendakI'm totally crazy, I know that. I don't say that to be a smartass, but I know that that's the very essence of what makes my work good. And I know my work is good. Not everybody likes it, that's fine. I don't do it for everybody. Or anybody. I do it because I can't not do it.
Maurice SendakChildren are tough, though we tend to think of them as fragile. They have to be tough. Childhood is not easy. We sentimentalize children, but they know what's real and what's not. They understand metaphor and symbol. If children are different from us, they are more spontaneous. Grown-up lives have become overlaid with dross.
Maurice Sendak