Inquiring Artist Want to Know: When did you finally feel 100% comfortable calling yourself an artist?

Many artists, although creative from birth, struggle with declaring themselves an artist. I decided to ask the artists of ETSY just exactly when they felt 100% comfortable officially calling themselves an artist. Here is what they/we had to say:

ruralabandon says:
I have always known I was an artist but I never felt comfortable proclaiming this to the world until...this past summer when at a juried art fair I won an Outstanding Artist Award. Ever since then, I haven't looked back!

FirenFusion says:
I never considered myself an artist, it was only a hobby, until my first craft show. A "customer" complimented me on my work. As my customer walked away she handed me HER business card. She had a bachelors degree in fine art.

KellieJSK says:
I had an altered book in a library sponsered gallery exhibit last fall. I went to the fancy schmancy reception and was peppered with questions...I was so thrilled, nauseated, and honored...an epiphany moment!!

bijoutery says:
I think after I had made several sales that wasn't to family/friends. It kind of validated for me that people really do like what I create and it's worth owning.

SecretLentil says:
I had done art-ish things for a long time - my friends called me an artist long before I was comfortable with it. But I became okay with the word when I discovered that the way I think and solve problems is the way artists think and solve problems. That made it feel less like something I had to earn, and more like something that just jives with who I am anyway.

AlishaVernon says:
I've been painting on and off my whole life, but this last spring I took a class at a community college from a professor that really believed in me and pushed my abilities. Around the same time I entered a painting into a show. It got in and it even won the People's Choice Award. That was definitely a "real artist" moment for me.

JoyfulAbode says:
for illustration, honestly it was illustrating and designing our moving cards for the first time my husband and I moved. I was SO happy with the final product. Perfect. It made me beam from the inside!

UpfromtheAshes says:
My mom told me that I was an artist since I picked up my first crayon, but I never really felt like one until I realized that making art is the only thing that will make me happy.

harmonyvanlue says:
I had a few paintings in my first juried show this year, and the juror told me I should be teaching painting! I was like, "am I eligible to do that without an art degree?"

StarvnRtist says:
I am a self taught artist, drawing and painting all my life.I would always cringe when someone would refer to me as an artist. I would respond, 'I am not an artist, an artist is someone that is dead and their work hangs in a museum.' It has taken me years to realize that I can do things that some people cannot.With this in mind, What is an artist?

a person whose creative work shows sensitivity and imagination
a person who paints pictures or is a sculptor or is skilled at one of the other arts, a singer, dancer, actor etc
a person whose work shows exceptional creative ability or skilla painter, sculptor, or writer, who is able by virtue of imagination and talent or skill to create works of aesthetic value

DesignsInFloral says:
The first realization that I could be an artist was when I showed my dad one of my first landscapes made with pressed flowers. His response was "this is first class work Cheryl, FIRST CLASS!" What later "sealed the deal" that I was not just crafting with flowers, but creating artwork, was when a friend of mine who works for Disney as an artist asked if he could trade artwork with me! I have such respect for his work, I jumped at the chance. I suddenly realized that he respected my art at the same level as his, and so should I. :)

hiljohn says:
When something was in the mind, twirling and whirling and agitating. After transforming the idea into a tangible thing, something that can be held, viewed and/or shared, a feeling of satisfaction overcomes. Even if in a state imperfection one knows it's complete. The mind is at rest ... for a moment, until the next idea takes form.To me, that's art.

jenrosesegrest says:
...it's a combination between my first craft/art fest and the stumbling upon my own artistic style. It just feels so good for someone to be able to pick your work out of a group and know that it's a "jen" for instance:)

ArtByAnima says:
My friends and family have called me an artist for years, but I only started to consider myself an artist when I made a serious personal committment to creating my art work.

morgansilk says:
My first one-woman show at the local bank when I was 16.

bluedogrose says:
I've never thought I wasn't an artist. Although I guess it was official when I finally picked my major in college(sculpture). I wouldn't have minded so much being an archaeologist though (2nd choice).

littlegirlPearl says:
I realized I was an artist when it dawned on me that I have to "make" to feel myself. If I'm not involved in some project with my hands, I am thinking about being involved with some project with my hands. I have tons of interests, but creating is my passion. Recently I was picking out some colors to coordinate with a fabric, and when the shop owner raised her eyebrow, but then had to admit it looked brilliant, I knew I had that artists' eye. Something that doesn't quite match, but just works.

wittyworkshop says:
I think it never occured to me that I could be something else than an artist. It's just part of my identity, of myself. For me, it's as natural as breathing, and also, as vital! I've alsways been «the creative-one» in my family, in my school, in my friends, as far as I can remember, and it wasn't a surprise to anyone when I decided to have a bachelor degree in visual art.

thecraftykitten says:
I've always been... but I never claimed it until I had college certificates to back it up. I know that one doesn't need formal education to be an artist but it felt that way in my head.

StrangeChild says:
I'm another that has been drawing on things since I was old enough to hold a crayon. (By things I mean everything BUT paper... I even drew on my toy sewing machine.)But more importantly I've considered myself an artist since I realized that making things makes me happy. Making things as gifts makes me happy. Making weird things out of post-it notes and sticking them on my cubicle makes me happy. It doesn't matter if anyone likes what I make (although I prefer it when people do) so long as I enjoyed the process.

castocreations says:
For some reason I don't think there was a single moment of AHA. I'm much more confident now and have no problem calling myself or my work 'artistic'. Some pieces aren't works of art, but others are. But I am an artist. I am not afraid to experiment anymore. For some reason I'd always been scared of trying new things but the last year or so I just keep pushing myself. I think it's that pushing that takes me past 'crafter'.

mycreativeinstincts says:
When I got a call as artistic director for my first movie set.I thought to my self did that guy just call me the artistic director and my friend said" well thats what you are duh."

Candies64 says:
Receiving "Peoples Choice Award" at a local art show which was one of the first shows I did was a real eye opener for me. And then being accepted in another juried art show held at a local college kind of validated it for me. I love what I do and people say it shows in every piece I create.

mosaicroro says:
Motherhood....It changed me and who I am ...or rather who i was. I became selfless and now...I have to do my art and work around them and not just me. So, now, as I see my kids develope their own artistic skills, I try to bring them into my world and visa versa...I do my shop, and I dedicated another shop to them and thier art and ideas for creations.http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5441618I put my life on hold for a very long time...it was when my kids started to be able to draw and express themselves I realized it was wrong for me to stop my art...for them...It was better to do it and show them, that they can do anything artistic...as long as they do it and love it. I may not paint or sculpt anymore, but making a set of crayons or gluing a magnet onto the back of a creation that my 8 year old painted, well, it is artistic satisfaction on a whole selfless scale!

elementclaystudio says:
when i finished putting up my graduate exhibition, and finally got a compliment from the professor that criticized me relentlessly for 3 years.

artsfarm says:
Like pretty much everyone else, I've always been how I am. But one thing that really drove it home as fact was (and this has never changed) whenever I have a job that's not creative, as many of them have been, I feel smothered, and all I can think of is the time I'm wasting there, when I should (note I said "should") be working on something creative. I am constantly planning, visualizing, thinking of what I am "supposed" to be doing instead of working in a atore, cleaning houses, gardening, whatever the current job is. If you've ever seen the original version of the movie "A Dog of Flanders", Theo Bikel, who plays Reubens, tried to talk Nello out of being an artist for a living. He goes on about how it's almost torture, and how, if you are an artist, you're pretty much in it for the long haul, and can't do or be anything else. That really hit home with me.

mixeduppainter says:
I'm still not comfortable calling myself an artist. Of course that's more to do with past experiences. I prefer to call myself a painter. It took me a while to feel comfortable being "a painter", I would say probably about six months. I hadn't been painting all that long and I was a little shy about it. So many people had more experience. It wasn't until I developed my own style that I felt comfortable saying, "I'm a painter," to people.

seaglassdesigns says:
When other people starting calling me an artist, shouldn't be that way, I know, but there you go.

Vintagesnapsandscrap says:
I still feel a bit uneasy calling myself an artist. But I do, because I really think I have learned much and I am one! But...that being said, I still kind of say it and wait for someone to say, "no your not"...

LuckySustainables says:
I have been making objects and furniture from wood for several years (some more successfully than others). When people began asking me to sign my work, I realized that while I may not have considered myself an artist, they did.

AUTUMNBREEZE says:
I have always loved to create Wether it be writing poetry,painting ,drawing . I did it for me . Then one day I thought maybe someone out there would like my work also I listed a item on my other site & it sold & when the buyer received it they really liked it.That was a great day for me.But even if I would have never sold a item I would never stop creating . It's what I love to do : )

artsfarm says:
Funny, a few months ago, I decided to go out to a bar (a rarity nowadays), and a guy I had just met asked the classic question, "What do you do?" I said "I'm an artist", and the next thing out of his mouth was a cynical "Oh yea, and what have you painted?". I realized his perception of 'artist' is someone who makes traditional landscapes in oil and frames them in wide gilded Rococo frames. (not that that's a bad thing, but it's very narrow-minded).I answered "well, some of my work is in MOMA and the American Folk Museum, but most of it is in private collections in Japan and Saudi Arabia". It was hilarious watching his face as he tried to figure out if I was serious or not. After a few minutes, I told him "my work is where it belongs, in people's houses and on their clothing, walls, furniture and vehicles, on the windows of businesses and on their menus, cards and fliers." Then he 'got it', but still, it was fun messing with his head.I was just trying to make a point that an artist isn't always what you'd expect. I guess anyone who doesn't walk around with a beret and smock needs to explain themselves (or not LOL!)

thisisalliknow says:
i finally started calling myself an artist after i just got so tired of people responding to me "houses?" when i said i paint for a living.

ablemabel says:
My mother is the one who gave me the creative gene. She has been doing artsy things for as long as I can remember. Growing up whenever I would make something people would tell me "You are just like your mother." Not cool for a teenager! It's only been within the last few years that I've decided to let my creative side show and have fun with it! (Moral of the story...for me, it was being comfortable with myself and "letting" go!)

spareGus says:
I still don't call myself an artist, really, unless it's for public things, like my shop. Mostly because I've never figured out what I think an artist really is.

candyann says:
I didnt need a milestone to know I was an artist, I just always was.

bayousalvage says:
regardless of your medium, your occupation or how others perceive you, it is how you perceive the world and respond to it that makes you an artist

hillbillyartist says:
I would say selling my first piece of art... even though it was for only 9.99...Just the fact that someone would hang my creation on their wall to enjoy made me feel for the first time like an artist. I met an artist the other day at a show and told her I was an aritst too, and she asked me " Are you a 'real' artist? " I respond with "well I create daily, I must do it, and all my clothes are ruined with paint, does that make me 'real'. :)

feralgirl says:
..i feel like it is the only thing i have ever called myself...tho' not "an artist"..but..something along those lines..it is the only thing that I am..crafter..creative-GENIUS (yep..thas' right:)..um..artistically inclined..I think it started when all of my 1st grade classmates wanted me to cut out their art projects, cuz I was real good with a pair of scissors..and I always felt bad doing it for them..??

315thomas says:
well, i don't think i am yet 100% comfortable calling myself an artist, but...i do a lot of abstract photography, and my senior year of college my photography professor chose a series of my work to be in a student exhibit. my work had never been displayed like that before, and it gave me a kind of verification about what i was doing. around the same time, i entered one of my photographs into an exhibit that was also a silent auction. it fetched $120 from an architecture professor - i was shocked! that was when i felt that i was truly an artist.

MoonMystic says:
I have three milestones for being an artist.1. When I got my work in a Gallery (It was a Co-Op so I had to submit my jewelry and the board had to vote.)2. When I was working at a craft show and a lady said to me,"I had to come see you had this one because I couldn't even get to your booth at the last one because you were so busy."3. When I sold a my first necklace that was over $100. The feeling that someone would pay over $100 for something that I made was just incredible, but parting with something that I had worked so hard on also turned out to be difficult. The first necklace I sold that was over $200 was also a great feeling but painful. You really do put your soul into your original designs and it's hard to let go of a piece of your soul. . .

CraigCarey says:
I'm not a fan of lables, so... It's more of I am who I am, and I just know it, no self identification required. But since my father is a self employed artist (and has been for over 35 years) I've always had this framwork of what being an artist meant. And that was if you could live off of it. And this goes for anything. I can't call myself an actor, because I don't live off of it. And I very nearly threw a snit in high school because some "dancers" came to show us stuff and then said they had to go because they all had real jobs. For me, the fact that they couldn't, or didn't, support themselves meant that they weren't dancers... they just liked to dance. (nothing wrong with that! and just my crazy opinion)So, being able to live off of my art allows me to call myself an artist. Bonus points: Being asked in highschool to make props for dance and choir preformances, being allowed in highschool to teach myself art for a semester, selling a bowl for $350 to a professional art collector, someone coming back a year later and buying something to add to their collection, anytime someone says that they tried to do something artsy that I've done and that they failed terribly. (the last one isn't the niceest, but it does make me go 'oh, yeah. Guess I'm an artist.')

beadygirlbeads says:
littlegirlPearl says: I realized I was an artist when it dawned on me that I have to "make" to feel myself. Wow, YES!You know, even now though, I have a hard time telling people what I do and calling myself an "artist". Then I get, "Oh, you're a painter?" Uh...no... "OH! You're a glass blower?" Uh...no... etc.My father-in-law, who is a high-falutin CPA does our taxes (hey--we're family) and just last year he put "Artist" in for my occupation.