Art is an activity that has historically invited self-reflection, self-immersion, and self-explorationfor example, in self-portraits, exhibitions, experimentation with mediaand that as such may open a window onto the relationship between self and activity. In this article, we describe two cases studies involving observation of and interviews with two artists to explore what it feels like to invest oneself in an activity emotionally, cognitively, sensuously, and reciprocally to make oneself through this activity. These case studies highlight the importance of authenticity in both the activity of making art and the making of self through making art. The implications for agency, emotion, and ethical activity are analysed and some of the implications for a sociocultural approach to activity discussed. Copyright © 2007, Regents of the University of California on behalf of the Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition.