My elementary school had a program called “art docent” in which parents would volunteer to come in and teach the class about the life of a famous artist, and then to do a project imitating that artist’s style. This was the first art training I was exposed to and in the very first lesson the “art docent” of the day asked us the same question we are discussing here; “what is an artist?”. After receiving various answers from the elementary school children in the class the parent volunteer announced to us that an artist is someone who makes art, and that we, 3rd graders, were artists, as much as any of the famous masters were, because we were making art. That was the first time I can remember identifying myself as an artist and I believe that that definition has subconsciously stuck with me ever since. To me, artists are makers, who chose to call what they make “art”. By my definition both my 7 year old sister and person who displays in a gallery are both equally deserving of the title “artist”.