who is an artist?

art i saw last month.

can i be creative? typically.
can i be artistic? not really.
can i be crafty? always.
can i be imaginative? sometimes.

i live in what most people define as an "artsy neighborhood." i've also met a number people in the last two months who are artists by profession or want to be. my question for the people in my neighborhood, the people i have met, and anyone else, is this- what makes someone an artist? is it your skill, how much time you spend doing art, or something else?

some people think that everyone is an artist, while others disagree.

last weekend, my friends and i went to a senior art show at the u of m. there were a few pieces i would have bought right there, if they were for sale and i had the money to afford them. some pieces i had questions about and wanted to know what inspired the artists to create them. there was also artwork there that i did not like or understand. i then went to a concert that night and would definitely describe the band as artistic.

does this mean it is the viewer (or audience) who decides what is art or is it the person who created it who decides?

when i think about myself being an artist, i do not typically believe i am (especially as the amount of high-quality art i am exposed to increases).

creative and crafty are words i would associate more with myself. i like to repurpose things. some can be more elaborate than others. a granola bar box now has a cs lewis quote painted on it and is hanging in my room. a beehive box i found in the woods is now a picture frame. dozens of coffee sleeves were glued onto cardboard which is hanging in my kitchen. these items seem like crafts more than art, especially compared to a lot of the artwork that has been created over the last few centuries.

maybe one day i will view myself as artistic, but i might need to take a few classes from my artsy neighbors first.

do you see yourself as an artist? what is the difference being crafty and artistic for you?