Soul and Space

I. Soul
As Dr. Norman Narciso, one of the leading Filipino thought leaders in the art world, deeply
explains soul-making, “Soulmaking is an alternate place to know oneself to know oneself and
look at the depths and meaning of what we do in our daily lives.” Soulmaking is a step towards
a deeper comprehension of how the world is perceived and how his or her own personality is
seen.
Soul-making plays a major role in art production; it is a form of crafting stories, transforming
brief moments into images, symbols that connect with people, understanding culture and
embodying peace, tolerance, and imagination.
Knowing Oneself
In soul making, “who are you” is the topic that throughout the process serves as a guidepost.
Knowing oneself begins with consciousness. In order to start the process, it is necessary to
realize and embrace one’s truth, history and understanding of existence. With this new found
insight, art, which is usually the very core of soul-making, can now come into play. Therefore, it
is not so much the production that is mostly taken into account, but the method of perceiving
anything.
Depths and essence
Soul making is more than the soul’s religious perspective. Soul refers to a person’s individuality
that resonates with his or her behaviour. Since art is a human expression that is highly valued
and symbolic, a person typically uses different art forms to fulfil the need to communicate and
express him or herself. The human desire to actualize his or her very being is strongly assisted
by soul making.
What We Are Doing
Art gives a person a sense of purpose about what he or she is doing. As any artwork is an
expression of ones perceptions, feelings, emotions, and realities, the key to personal cultural
growth is the process of creating such expression. Soul making utilizes every human experience
to build the influence that can make the artist himself and others improve.
Categories of Soul Making
1. Crafting Images – Crafting images includes the production, by various forms and
methods, of visual representations of images. Any art form such as drawing, sketching,
and sculpting can be used to perform this process. Dancing, poetry, playing musical
instruments, and even filmmaking may also do this.
 2. Crafting Stories – An individual is already creating a story when he writes his own
personal feedback, life values, deep feelings, ideas, ideals, and emotions. Similar to
crafting images, he may be portrayed by different means when one story is presented.
3. Crafting Instruments- Crafting instruments are treated as “a bridge to the unknown”
because the instrument creates sounds that exceed our thoughts, emotions, and senses.
Instruments help people explore the wonders behind music.
4. Crafting Movements – According to Dr. Narciso (2016), “our life is full of movements,
flowing images accompanied by narratives, and this melodic flow symbolizes how the
universe gives every human being the ability to experience the highs and lows in life.”
For artists who are more inclined to crafting movement, the pattern that life serves a
person provides a source of inspiration.
5. Crafting Techniques – Crafting techniques in soul making is the artist’s reflection of his
life and experiences in any piece of art. The approach, preferably, should be
methodological. A soul maker, when he executes his creative expression, is unbounded.

5 Phases of Soul Making

1. Seeking – The first step is seeking or finding. At this point, we recognize that each of us
who are interested in our own growth and the ways of the world is a “seeker”. We are
looking for a discipline or method that can help us live in and make sense of the world.
The best thing about searching is that it is a vital stage in our growth as soul builders. It
gives us the tools to live our lives. These tools and practices can be fitted together
allowing us to settle down, moving us on to a practice that satisfy our creativity and
passion.
2. Settling – Soul making is about communicating as profoundly as possible with the soul,
with other humans and non-human beings, and with the world. We must find ourselves
settled at some point in our lives.
3. Surrender – The capacity to surrender is restricted by the amount of pain and
uncertainty that we can bear. In the midst of crashing, our actions began to be in the
service of the soul.
4. Soul making – At some point between Settling and Surrender, we begin to perceive our
practices and life in the universe as soul making. In this stage, the individual transitions
from a stage of improving reflective practices to becoming a practitioner of soul making.
We are beginning to become experts, injured healers. However, this is still not
completely settled in since it holds all the strengths and disadvantages of the previous
levels. Throughout life, we all settle and re-settle over and over again.
5. Soaring –When we begin the journey, what we desire the most is to soar. We could find
ourselves soaring by enabling to pass through the stages of soul making.
Soulmaking: Making and Deriving Meaning from Art
Semantics and grammatical rules are essential elements to remember in order for human
beings to make sense of language and derive meanings from words. Aside from this, it is often
known that meaning and symbolisms view and evaluate either verbal or written works. In terms
of art, it would involve understanding the visual elements on which art is focused in order for
the people to make sense of the work. It is important to remember that the viewer must have a
certain degree of understanding of the work’s style, shape, and material to fully appreciate
visual arts.

II. Space
Space, as one of the classic seven elements of art, refers to the distances or areas around,
between, and within components of a piece. Space can be positive or negative, open or closed,
shallow or deep, and two-dimensional or three-dimensional. Sometimes space isn't explicitly
presented within a piece, but the illusion of it is.

Using Space in Art

The American architect Frank Lloyd Wright once said that
"Space is the breath of art." What Wright meant was that
unlike many of the other elements of art, space is found in
nearly every piece of art created. Painters imply space,
photographers capture space, sculptors rely on space and
form, and architects build space. It is a fundamental
element in each of the visual arts. Space gives the viewer
a reference for interpreting an artwork. For instance, you
may draw one object larger than another to imply that it is
closer to the viewer. Likewise, a piece of environmental
art may be installed in a way that leads the viewer
through space.
In his 1948 painting Christina's World, Andrew Wyeth
contrasted the wide spaces of an isolated farmstead with
a woman reaching towards it. French artist Henri
Matisse used flat colors
Andrewto
Wyethcreate spaces
(American, 1917-2009). in World,
Christina's his 1948.
Andrew Wyeth, The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Red
Room (Harmony in Red), 1908.

Negative and Positive Space

Art historians use the term positive space to refer to the subject of the piece itself—the flower
vase in a painting or the structure of a sculpture. Negative space refers to the empty spaces the
artist has created around, between, and within the subjects. Quite often, we think of positive as
being light and negative as being dark. This does not necessarily apply to every piece of art. For
example, you might paint a black cup on a white canvas. We wouldn't necessarily call the cup
negative because it is the subject: The black value is negative, but the space of the cup is
positive.
Opening Spaces
In three-dimensional art, the negative spaces are typically
the open or relatively empty parts of the piece. For
example, a metal sculpture may have a hole in the middle,
which we would call the negative space. Henry Moore
used such spaces in his freeform sculptures such as
Recumbent Figure in 1938, and 1952's Helmet Head and
Shoulders.
Outdoor sculpture by Henry Moore is one of several works, by
various artists, arranged around the grounds of the Yorkshire
Sculpture Park, U.K. Ferne Arfin

In two-dimensional art, negative space can have a great impact. Consider the Chinese style of
landscape paintings, which are often simple compositions in black ink that leave vast areas of
white. The Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) painter Dai Jin's Landscape in the Style of Yan Wengui
and George DeWolfe's 1995 photograph Bamboo and Snow demonstrate the use of negative
space. This type of negative space implies a continuation of the scene and adds a certain
serenity to the work.
Negative space is also a key element in many abstract paintings. Many times a composition is
offset to one side or the top or bottom. This can be used to direct the viewer's eye, emphasize a
single element of the work, or imply movement, even if the shapes have no particular meaning.
Piet Mondrian was a master of the use of space. In his purely abstract pieces, such as 1935's
Composition C, his spaces are like panes in a stained glass window. In his 1910 painting Summer
Dune in Zeeland, Mondrian uses negative space to carve out an abstracted landscape, and in
1911's Still Life with Gingerpot II, he isolates and defines the negative space of the curved pot
by stacked rectangular and linear forms.

Space and Perspective

Creating perspective in art relies on the judicious use of space. In a linear perspective drawing,
for instance, artists create the illusion of space to imply that the scene is three-dimensional.
They do this by ensuring that some lines stretch to the vanishing point.
In a landscape, a tree may be large because it is in the foreground while the mountains in the
distance are quite small. Though we know in reality that the tree cannot be larger than the
mountain, this use of size gives the scene perspective and develops the impression of space.
Likewise, an artist may choose to move the horizon line lower in the picture. The negative space
created by the increased amount of sky can add to the perspective and allow the viewer to feel
as if they can walk right into the scene. Thomas Hart Benton was particularly good at skewing
perspective and space, such as his 1934 painting Homestead, and 1934's Spring Tryout.

The Physical Space of an Installation

No matter what the medium is, artists often consider the space that their work will be displayed
in as part of the overall visual impact. An artist working in flat mediums can presume that his or
her paintings or prints will be hung on the wall. She may not have control over nearby objects
but instead may visualize how it will look in the average home or office. She may also design a
series that is meant to be displayed together in a particular order.
Sculptors, particularly those working on a large scale, will almost always take the installation
space into consideration while they work. Is there a tree nearby? Where will the sun be at a
particular time of day? How large is the room? Depending on the location, an artist can use the
environment to guide her process. Good examples of the use of setting to frame and
incorporate negative and positive spaces include public art installations, such as Alexander
Calder's Flamingo in Chicago and the Louvre Pyramid in Paris.

Look for Space

Now that you understand the importance of space in art, look at how it is used by various
artists. It can distort reality as we see in the work of M.C. Escher and Salvador Dali. It may also
convey emotion, movement, or any other concept the artist wishes to portray. Space is
powerful and it is everywhere. It is also quite fascinating to study, so as you view each new
piece of art, think about what the artist was trying to say with the use of space.

References
https://www.thoughtco.com/definition-of-space-in-art-182464
https://www.studocu.com/ph/document/st-michaels-college-iligan/art-appreciation/module-4-
lesson-1-art-appreciation-soul-making/10824645
Activity #1 Multiple Choice
Direction: Choose the letter of the correct answer. Write your answer on the space provided.
1. This is a step towards a deeper comprehension of how the world is perceived and how
his or her own personality is seen. _______
a. settling b. soaring c. soul-making
2. Creating perspective in art relies on the judicious use of _____. _______
a. space b. soul c. surrender
3. This refers to the empty spaces the artist has created around, between, and within the
subjects. _______
a. positive space b. negative space c. soul-making
4. An element in art that gives the viewer a reference for interpreting an artwork. _______
a. soul b. space c. colour
5. A category in soul making that includes the production, by various forms and methods,
of visual representations of images. _______
a. crafting images b. crafting instruments c. crafting movement
6. For artists who are more inclined to crafting ______, the pattern that life serves a
person provides a source of inspiration. _______
a. stories b. techniques c. movements
7. What is the first phase of soul making? _______
a. settling b. seeking c. surrender
8. An individual is already creating a _____ when he writes his own personal feedback, life
values, deep feelings, ideas, ideals, and emotions. _______
a. story b. instrument c. movement
9. One of the classic seven elements of art that refers to the distances or areas around,
between, and within components of a piece. _______
a. soul b. texture c. space
10. In soul making, the question ____________ is the topic that throughout the process
serves as a guidepost. _______
a. “where are you?” b. “who are you?” c. “what are you?”
Activity #2 Essay
Directions: Answer the following questions in a concise manner. The answer should contain a
minimum of five sentences for each item.

1. In your own words, what are the main differences between soul and space?
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2. There are five phases of soul making: seeking, settling, surrender, soul making, and
soaring. In your own point of view, does a person need to complete or achieve full
satisfaction on a certain phase before he can proceed to the next one? Why or why not?
________________________________________________________________________
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3. How is soul-making related to art?

________________________________________________________________________
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4. Differentiate positive and negative space.
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5. How can the concept of space be applied to art?
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Activity #3

As any artwork is an expression of ones perceptions, feelings, emotions, and realities,

the key to personal cultural growth is the process of creating such expression. Using a
long bond paper, create a poster that mirrors your current emotions, experiences, and
perspective regarding the drastic changes that the world has experience ever since the
pandemic began. You may highlight how your life has changed and the lessons that you
have learned during these difficult times.

Criteria for grading:

Creativity and presentation 40%

Originality 30%
Relevance to the theme 30%