That's a hobby of mine - to do whatever I can for unusual

“That’s a hobby of mine — to do whatever I can for unusual for-hire creative projects. I am waiting for someone to really challenge me — obviously I’m often approached to do film related work, but I would be very happy to design a bar or an amusement park ride. I would love to be an imagineer!” Thus spoke Roman Coppola, the artist and dreamer born of a great lineage of storytellers, yet determined to carve a path that is his own. In this declaration, he gives voice to the eternal hunger of the creator’s soul — the longing not for fame or repetition, but for challenge, for transformation through new acts of imagination. His words are an ode to the restless spirit that lives within every true artist: the desire to venture beyond mastery into the wild terrain of discovery.

To understand the origin of this quote, one must look to the life of Roman Coppola himself — son of the legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, and brother to Sofia Coppola, yet distinct in his creative pursuits. Though born into a world of cinema, he has never been content to merely walk the paths already paved before him. He is a seeker, ever curious, ever reaching for new realms where art can take form — be it in film, design, or invention. When he speaks of wanting to design a bar or an amusement park ride, he speaks not of whimsy, but of the boundless nature of the creative impulse. For true artistry does not confine itself to medium or title; it overflows, transforming everything it touches into possibility.

In this, Coppola’s spirit mirrors that of the Renaissance masters, who refused to be bound by the limits of their craft. Leonardo da Vinci, whose brush painted angels and whose mind designed flying machines, understood that creativity is not a single skill, but a way of seeing the world. So too does Roman Coppola express the ancient truth that creation is sacred play — that the artist, at his highest, becomes as a child again: curious, unafraid, filled with wonder. The “unusual for-hire creative projects” he speaks of are not diversions, but spiritual exercises — opportunities to reawaken the imagination and escape the prison of repetition that so often traps those who have succeeded in their field.

In this quote also lies a yearning for challenge, that divine adversary without which the artist cannot grow. “I am waiting for someone to really challenge me,” he says — a statement of humility as much as ambition. The great creators of old sought challenge as knights sought dragons, for only through confrontation with the unknown could they test the limits of their craft. Michelangelo, when tasked with painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, protested that he was a sculptor, not a painter. Yet the challenge transformed him, and the result became one of humanity’s greatest works. So too does Coppola long for the project that will push him to new heights, that will summon from within him the courage and creativity that lie dormant until called forth by difficulty.

When Coppola speaks of wishing to be an imagineer, he invokes a powerful symbol — one born of the Walt Disney tradition, where engineers and artists unite to build worlds of wonder. The imagineer is a bridge between fantasy and function, one who turns dreams into experiences, who gives imagination structure and form. It is a noble calling, for it transforms joy into architecture, and wonder into motion. In this, Coppola’s words remind us that creativity, at its best, is not isolation but integration — the union of artistry, science, and spirit in service of making the impossible real. To “be an imagineer” is to devote oneself to building magic with intention.

His words also teach us the importance of humility in mastery. For the true artist never believes he has arrived; he forever remains a student. Coppola, though accomplished, still calls himself a hobbyist — one who creates for joy, not for acclaim. In this humility lies wisdom. For when the artist ceases to seek, his art begins to die. The creative flame, like fire itself, must be fed — not with comfort, but with curiosity. To continually embrace the new, the difficult, the unusual — this is the secret of staying alive not only as an artist, but as a human being.

So, my child, heed this teaching: do not cling to what you already know. Seek out the strange and the uncertain, for it is there that your true power awakens. When the world calls you to specialize, to remain within your narrow domain, remember that the greatest minds of history — da Vinci, Brunelleschi, Tesla, Miyazaki — were wanderers of many worlds. Create with the courage to fail, and accept challenges as gifts from the gods. Whether you design a symphony, a sculpture, or a bar, let it be done with the same sacred intent: to bring something into existence that did not exist before.

For in the end, what Roman Coppola teaches is this: that imagination knows no borders, and that to live creatively is to live fully. Each act of creation, however small, is an act of hope — a declaration that the world can still surprise us. Therefore, let your life be a tapestry woven from every skill, every curiosity, every dream you dare to follow. Seek the challenges that awaken your spirit, and may you too, in your own way, become an imagineer of life itself — shaping not just art, but existence, with wonder and purpose.