What is it about you that allows you to call yourself an artist?

It seems that anyone can decide they are an artist. It does not require any education. It does not require any experience. It does not require intensive study. It does not require a large body of work. It does not require a small body of work. All that is required is the declarative statement "I am an artist". No need to back-up the statement with any facts or art or anything resembling a creative idea, just POOF, an artist is born. The term "I am an artist" has lately been used to describe anyone who has ever made or done anything creative, even if it was thirty years ago. I engineered a tent made out of blankets in our yard when I was ten– does that mean I get to call myself an engineer for the rest of my life? I have a problem with the overuse and arbitrary nature of the term "I am an Artist". In 2009 it is used to describe just about anyone really. How did this happen? and why is this okay?

I work hard to be an artist, every single day. It is not easy. It is not fun or cool. It is generally not profitable. It does not come and go, depending on whether I get a better offer to do something else. It requires sacrifice. It requires struggle. It requires time. It requires years. It requires everything. And I keep making artwork. And then I make more. Does this mean if there is no sacrifice or struggle, there is no real art? Does this mean that if one puts down the paintbrush for a time, one is no longer an artist? What does it mean to be an artist in 2009? Fuck if I know. I just wish people would STOP calling themselves "Artist" when there is no reason on earth to think so.