"I don't have ideas so much as there are things which constantly evolve... there are various threads or layers, if you like, which change"

Harrison Birtwistle's quote recommends that he does not have a single idea that he works from, however rather that his creative procedure is constantly developing. He suggests that there are numerous threads or layers that are constantly altering, which he works with and develops. This indicates that he is constantly in a state of innovative flux, which his concepts are continuously shifting and changing. This might be viewed as a metaphor for life itself, as we are all constantly altering and evolving. It could also be seen as a reflection of the imaginative process, as ideas are often established and altered in time. Ultimately, Birtwistle's quote suggests that imagination is a process of continuous modification and development, which concepts are never ever fixed.