People are just as wonderful as sunsets if I can let them be. In fact, perhaps the reason that we can truly appreciate a sunset is that we cannot control it. When I look at a sunset as I did the other evening, I don t find myself saying, Soften the orange a little on the right-hand corner, and put a bit more purple along the base, and use a little more pink in the cloud color. ( ) I watch it with awe as it unfolds. (Rogers, 1995, p. 22) Carl Rogers s depiction of humans guided the methodological choices in my study of motivation. To learn how and why motivation develops, I analyzed the history of artists: their struggle for acceptance in the art world and their choice to create art in unfavorable circumstances such as state censorship. For an insightful perspective, I conducted a case study of a textile artist's motivation to create works of art. My findings illustrate that motivation is shaped by socio-cultural influences and by certain experiences, which I refer to as spellbinding because of their spell or powerful long-term influence on the artist s creative life, and which have never been emphasized in the traditional, less holistic studies of motivation.