The Process of Art Making and Acts of Appropriation

Soulmaking (Art Making) – is a fun and rewarding way for people to express themselves and to learn a
broad range of skills and concepts
- Students explore the materials and techniques used by artists and architects and
experience the decision-making practices that artists have used over the centuries
- When students make art, they have the opportunity to express their feelings,
fantasize, tell stories and give their ideas concrete form
- They can reflect and draw upon their everyday experiences and observations

The Art Making Process

Phase 1 – begins with sketching, grid-lining, drawing, or filling in under-paintings
- Students learn about introductory best practices on techniques and approaches and
understanding the art concepts
Phase 2 – includes adding multiple layers of tone, color or paint within an artwork
- Students are required to problem solve and are encouraged in their art to explore,
manipulate and master technique based art applications
Phase 3 – ends with students adding final detail and craftsmanship showcasing their finished
projects
- Includes demonstrating the understanding of the art elements, habits of mind and
effort, communication skills, habits of work, composition concepts and execution
into a well crafted project

Stages of Art Making

1. Inspiration – the most exciting moments in the process of creating art: that beautiful moment
when inspiration strikes
- Perhaps it’s a film or piece of fine art that inspires you; perhaps it something from
nature or an event that has occurred in your life
- Sometimes, an idea seems to come out of nowhere
2. Percolation – this is the time that elapses after you’ve had your idea, but before you start
making art
- It can transpire in many different ways
- Sometimes it involves refining your idea by making sketches and tossing out just as
many or playing around with ideas visually
3. Preparation – includes the time spent obtaining and organizing your supplies, plus creating a
blueprint for what your piece will be
4. Creation – is the time during which you are solidly on your path
- The process of creation can vary depending on your personal temperament, your
artistic style and your medium
5. Reflection – after you create a piece of art, there might be a slight tizzy of activity: sharing it
with family and friends, delivering it to a client or hanging it on the wall
- But regardless of the end point of the art, its completion often leads to a period of
reflection
- Regardless of how it feels to create a piece, though, its completion is a milestone
Seven Da Vincian Principle
1. Curiosita (Curiosity) – an insatiable curious approach to life and an unrelenting for continuous
learning
2. Dimonstrazione (Demonstration) – a commitment to test knowledge through experience,
persistence and a willingness to learn from past mistakes
3. Sensazione (Sensation) – continual refinement of the senses as the means to enliven experience
- To be innovative we must be aware of what is going on around us
4. Sfumato (Going Up in Smoke) – the literal translation or this term is going up in smoke
- it is about our willingness to embrace ambiguity, paradox and uncertainty
5. Arte/Scienza (Art and Science) – developing a balance between logic and imagination
- Imagination without a logic is daydreaming and logic without imagination is boring
6. Corporalita (Of the Body) – this is about maintaining a healthy body as well as a healthy mind
- One of the core concepts of Da Vinci’s approach is keeping our bodies fit being a
function of keeping our minds fit
- Fit minds lead to more innovative and creative solutions
7. Connessione ( Connection) – this is the simple recognition of the interconnectedness of all
things and phenomena

Acts of Cultural Appropriation

- Is a concept in sociology dealing with the adoption of the elements of a minority
culture by members of the dominant culture
- It is distinguished from equal cultural exchange due to the presence of a colonial
element and imbalance of power
- We live in a culture that overflows with images and objects
- Appropriation is the practice of creating new work by taking a preexisting image
from another source – art history books, advertisements, the media – and
transforming or combining it with new ones
- Cultural appropriation can involve the use of ideas, symbols, artifacts or other
aspects of human-made visual or non-visual culture
- Cultural appropriation is often portrayed as harmful in contemporary cultures and is
claimed to be a violation of the collective intellectual property rights of the
originating, minority cultures, notably indigenous cultures and those living under
colonial rule

Types of Cultural Appropriation

1. Object Appropriation – this appropriation occurs when the possession of a tangible objects
(such as a sculpture) is transferred from members of one culture to members of another culture
2. Content Appropriation – this form of appropriation involves the reproduction, by a member of
one culture, of non-tangible works of art (such as stories, musical compositions or dramatic
works) produced by some other culture
3. Stylistic Appropriation – sometimes artists do not reproduce works produced by another
culture, but still take something from that culture
- in such cases, artists produce works with stylistic elements in common with the
works of another culture
4. Motif Appropriation – this form is related to stylistic appropriation
 - Sometimes artists are influenced by the art of a culture other than their own
without creating works in the same style
5. Subject Appropriation – this occurs when someone from one culture represents members or
aspects of another culture