I was commenting in a photography blog earlier in response to the question, “is an Artist born?” I think it’s quite a nuanced answer. Some of the conversation mirrored what I seem to be hearing a lot today: that creatives are artists. I am of the opinion that there’s a difference between being creative and being an Artist (although Artists are certainly creatives).
In my experience almost all people are creative given opportunities, resources and encouragement. Even without encouragement people will still be creative from time to time to get through a situation etc. Hobbies are often an expression of creativity. But, the Artist is a different beast. There is an obsession with theme and process, determination, and long-term conscious and unconscious observation being melded with an insight. All of this manifests in a pursuit of expressing and representing a vision or perspective. Often through alternative processes and mediums.
I posit that for the Artist there is no other path that is not a living death. There is an interesting documentary called “David Lynch: The Art Life” about David Lynch, often known for his surreal filmmaking but is an extremely prolific sculptor, photographer, painter and practitioner of assemblage. It’s very enlightening around this idea without being overly political.