ARTISTS AND ARTISANS

ARTIST
 The word “artist” is generally defined as an art practitioner, such as a painter, sculptor,
choreographer, dancer, writer, poet, musicians, and the like, who produces or creates indirectly
functional arts with aesthetic value using imagination
o Thus, artists provide us with paintings, sculptures, dances, music, literary pieces, and so
on, as a means of provoking our thoughts, ideas, and emotions that are necessary to
discover ourselves and our being
o Artists are creative individuals who use their imagination and skills to communicate in
an art form. They use the materials of an art to solve visual problems. Artists look to
many sources for inspiration. Some look forward to their natural and cultural
environment for ideas; others look within themselves for creative motivation
o Artists exhibit the courage to take risks. They are able to see their surroundings in new
and unusual ways. They are willing to work intensely for long periods of time to achieve
their goals. Some artists are self-taught and have been called folk-artists because they
are not educated in traditional artistic methods. Just like the artists, the artisan learn
skills and techniques from some other artists but eventually, both artists and artisans,
develop their own unique styles

ARTISAN
 An artisan is a craftsman, such as carpenter, carver, plumber, blacksmith, weaver, embroiderer,
and the like, who produces directly functional and/or decorative arts.
o Artisans help us in meeting our basic needs, such as food, clothing, dwelling, furniture,
and kitchen utensils; they craft everything that makes our life easy. The artisan’s works
are useful, relevant, and essential in our everyday life. They serve us for a long time,
supplying us directly functional arts.
o The artisan is basically a physical worker who makes objects with his or her hands, and
who through skill, experience, and ability can produce things of great beauty, as well as
usefulness. The artist, on the otherhand, is devoted only to creative part, making
visually pleasant work only for the gratification and appreciation of the viewer but with
no practical value.

KEY COMPONENTS OF THE ART MARKET

 The art market is an economic ecosystem that relies not only on supply and demand but also on
the fabrication of a work’s predicted future monetary and/or cultural value. The art market can
appear somewhat unclear since artists do not make art with the sole intention of selling it, and
buyers often have no idea of the value of their purchase.
 The following are the important players in the art market:
1. Curator – is a manager or overseer, and usually a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage
institution (e.g. gallery, museum, library or archive), is a content specialist charged with an
institution’s collections, selecting art to be displayed in a museum, organizing art exhibitions
in galleries or public places, researching artists, and writing catalogs and involved with the
interpretation of heritage.
 To be successful, a curator should be organized, passionate, knowledgeable, adept
at multi-tasking, and proficient at writing
 2. Art Buyer – is a professional who is knowledgeable in art, who may scout talents for an
advertising agency seeking to employ an art director, or who may look for an art for a
collector or a company
3. Art Dealer – is a person or a company that buys and sells works of art
 Art dealers often study the history of art before starting their careers. They have to
understand the business side of the art world. They keep up with the trends in the
market and are knowledgeable about the style of art that people want to buy. They
figure out how much they should pay for a piece and then estimate the resale price.
To determine the artwork’s value, dealers inspect the objects or paintings closely
and compare the fine details with similar pieces.
4. Private Collection – this is personal owned collection of works usually a collection of art.
 In a museum or art-gallery environment, the term signifies that a certain work is not
owned by the institution, but is on loan from an individual or organization, either for
temporary exhibition or for the long term. The source is usually from an Art
Collector, although it could be from a school, church organization, from bank or
from other private company or any institution.

THE CREATIVE PROCESS

Robert Fritz, based on his book, enumerated the steps in the creative process, and said that
creating is a skill that can be learned and developed. Like any other skill, we learn by practice and hands-
on experience – we can learn to create by creating. There are, however, some steps we can follow, not
as a formula to adopt, but as indications to guide our actions.
1. Conceive the result you want to create. Creation starts at the end. We need to have an idea of
what we want to create, of what we want to have and manifest. We need a vision – individual or
collective – that we want to realize.
2. Know what currently exists. It is difficult to create something novel and/or original in any area
of knowledgeable without being aware of what is being done in that area.
3. Take actions. Having a wonderful idea or vision is not enough: You have to do something to
make it real, to manifest it although sometimes you will have to do things that might generate
criticism, sometimes you will make serious mistakes and you will have to start again.
4. Develop your creativity. Every new creation gives you fresh thoughts and knowledge of your
own creative process. You will then increase your ability to picture what you want and your
capacity to bring those outcomes into real-life situations.
5. Learn the rhythms of the creative process. There are three fundamental stages in every creative
process: germination, assimilation, and completion.

THREE STAGES IN THE CREATIVE PROCESS

1. Germination (Idea)
 It is the initial moment when you conceive a new project in your life. It is a moment
with a lot of energy coming out of the future you envision. It is a powerful time you
will have to use wisely for providing the right steps to move forward.
 In the germination stage, you are planting the seeds of your creation. The most
important and difficult thing in this stage is choosing. You need to be more specific
about what you want to do. You have to give to your vision at first shape, from
which you decide your next steps.
 Being more specific means choosing some things and leaving some other things out.
It may be a painful process, but it is necessary in any case. You have to learn to
 choose well, to make good decisions. It is also important to choose what you want
important to choose what you want to do instead of avoiding what you do not want
to do. You will have to take in your own power and not to give it to circumstances.
However difficult it seems to be, you should always choose what you want.
2. Assimilation
 It is a crucial step in the creative process. During this phase you will internalize and
assimilate or incorporate the idea you want to create. Plan, analyze it, and cultivate it
with all the available resources.
 In this stage, your project, which initially was something external to you or to your
group, comes into your own being, becomes one with you. In this way your creation
grows from inside and begins to manifest in everything you do, consciously or
unconsciously. Every idea you have, every new connection you establish acts in your
vision, making it more tangible, giving it life.
 The assimilation stage of the creative process follows an organic path, with its own
rhythms and needs. Sometimes it will look like everything is working, in order and
harmony. Sometimes it will look chaotic and difficult to manage. Do not try to intervene
to change this process or adapt it to your convenience. You will likely be unsuccessful
and put the whole project in danger.
3. Completion
 Completion is the time to finish your project, to give it the final shape before you
present it to the audience. It is a difficult time because your energy will be small and
likely dispersed with a new vision. Put a deadline to your projects and do not get
entangled in small and never-ending details.
 A beautiful way to conclude your projects is by celebrating them. Celebrating is a great
opportunity to share with other people your happiness for what you have done.
Afterward you will be ready to start again.

THREE STAGES IN ART MAKING

Art making can be associated with art exploration, concept development, and art production. In
the creative process, the artist undergoes three stage of experience, which are popularly known as
preproduction, production, and postproduction.
1. Pre-production or subject development – this ends when the planning ends, and the content
starts being produced.
2. Production or medium manipulation - this is a method of joining diverse material inputs and
unimportant inputs (plans, know-how) to make something for consumption (the output). It is
the act of creating output, a good or service that has significance and contributes to the utility of
individuals.
3. Post production (completion) or exhibition – once an artwork is finished, it will be displayed,
circulated, and performed for the audience and public to see or watch.

MEDIUM AND TECHNIQUE

MEDIUM – refers to the material that are used by an artist to create a work of art
 The plural of medium is media
 Without the medium, an idea remains a concept, or it would just dwell in the walls of the artist’s
imagination
  It is challenging to manipulate medium and transform it from its raw state.

TECHNIQUE – refers to the artist’s ability and knowledge or technical know-how in manipulating the
medium.
 It is the manner by which the artist controls the medium to achieve the desired effect; thus, it is
in the technique that artists differ from one another.
 Making an artwork requires technical competence. The ability to manipulate is the driving force
in the birthing of a new form or idea