Some thoughts about

    There are painters out there who reproduce works of the
masters, they are capable of  capturing the most minute nuance
of the original painting. Would you call them Artists?  I
would'nt. I don't think most people would either.

I agree with Michael - as much as I would like to think
everything I do is original, it is still a combination of things
I like, have learned, have seen, and all my experiances in life.
I do a lot of crocheting with wire and when I first started I had
not seen any other jewelry made with this technique, until I
started flipping through a book printed when I was about 5 years
old. But I don’t see why anyone would want to precisely copy
someone elses work. I think the way one applies techniques and
uses ideas is what makes him/her an artist.