Artists v.s. Artisans

When I was in high school I had a particularly existential English/Poetry teacher that had some pretty unique ideas. One that stuck out to me was his idea of the difference between artists, as the term applies in society, and artisans.

Point #1: Artists and artisan Both work hard to produce a peice of art(art being the root word). The difference is that artists sole motivation is creating, while artisans motivation could be anything. The Domino's pizza maker down the road could be considered an artisan, but the man and his family in Italy making a pizza for dinner that has had the routine past down for generations is an artist! He puts a lot of work to create something beautiful, for nothing more than the chance to create beauty.

Point #2: An artisan may spend a couple years learning his craft and becoming proficient. An artist puts his life into his work and never questions why he devoted his life to something he loves.

My only point in posting this is to say, in everything you do, strive for artistry and do it unselfishly!