thoughts on getting towards making visible identity

From a book that one of the students has been reading .. an excerpt.. it may be useful for those who are a bit lost:
"....the famous example of Michelangelo's theory of sculpture: the statue is already in the stone, has been in the stone since the beginning of time, and the sculptor's job is to see it and release it by carefully scraping away the excess material."
In other words its a case of getting inside of whatever is there... I know a lot of artist would say its a case of exploring in the language they use (sound, film, digital etc). The point is you need to start somewhere - to stop trying to over plan or to write. Get in there like a child who will incorporate anything into their play—whatever small piece of stuff is lying on he ground, whatever piece of information they have picked up and play with it- keep the idea open and working till you get it to a point where its found or what mathematicians say has ‘elegance,’ that is, such economy of statement that a single line of thought has a great many implications and outcomes. . .
Its a case of taking something common and finding what is unique in it... Keep refining it with the eye of a good aircraft mechanic.
I feel that some of the class have not quite got this or perhaps are not used to the freedom and the difficulties that freedom presents..