Art vs Craft
I've been thinking about this for a while, but starting the Art Medicine Practitioner Certification and hearing Alexis Cohen talk about her definition of Art Medicine has given me the motivation to actually post.
People sometimes have exclusive definitions of what art is, and relegate everything else to craft. I disagree and I think that framing does a disservice to artists.
Art is a thinking living being's expression related to their inner states. A machine can't make art unassisted. (Not until we have truly thinking machines!) At least some animals could make art, if they can think. (I'm quite sure a raven or an elephant could make art if they wanted, for example.) Humans have been making art for at least as long as we have been human, and cave art was made with hands and natural pigments. It doesn't take much. If you're expressing your inner thoughts uniquely, even with just stick figures, it's art.
Making art makes humans feel better and that alone is enough of a purpose to making art. We often feel naturally drawn to share it and this can bring us closer together, which is even better.
Craft, on the other hand, is the skill of making something look a certain way or look good, and often must be developed with repeated practice over time. Experimentation or study under a teacher may also be involved. If you're making something to an exact specification without any touches of your own, I would call it "a craft" rather than art, even if you picked it out.
Some people are naturally gifted and get an early advantage in craft, but it only takes them so far. I was a gifted kid in school and when I reached the limits of that giftedness, I hadn't learned some of the foundational study skills that I needed to advance beyond what I had learned easily. It was hard to move past that point. I imagine it's the same with art, so I don't envy gifted painters or illustrators.
On the other hand, I'm delighted to see people starting out in art regardless of how rough it may be in the beginning, and sticking with it to develop their craft.