What is an artist?

I don't know that I fully understand the meaning of being an artist, but I'm starting to feel more and more like I am becoming one. I'm not entirely sure that being an artist is really as easy as fitting yourself into a stereotype, but more of a way to live life with full appreciation. I honestly think that that's a big part of it: pure, honest appreciation.

I have been asked in the past who I am inspired by. I have my favorite artists, writers, musicians, performers, etc., but I feel like I'm not really inspired by all of them. However, now I believe that I am wrong.

I think my inspiration to create art or "express" comes from each piece of art form that I come into contact with. Whether I like or dislike the piece plays a part in what I create myself. I take different characteristics, combine it with my own style, and voila: Art.

As of the moment, my inspiration is being pulled strongly from two artists:

The first is David Sedaris. Sedaris' sharp wit and sarcastic writing style really hits my sense of humor. I often read his things and think about how wonderful it might be to be friends with Sedaris and have actual conversations with him. His personality bursts through the words on the page. These are things I wish to pull from Sedaris when writing in my own style. Sedaris is just a great storyteller, which is really an important part of being a good writer.

The second is Jason Mraz. I have never been more inspired by someone's words before. His musical style alone is enough to make me fall in love with him (since I'm a sucker for a boy with a guitar), but honestly, his lyrics are just wonderful. The reason I'm so drawn to them is because Mraz himself is a good writer. I read his blog whenever he posts and he just has such a healthy appreciation for everything around him. In fact, his post today on Twitter was "Sometimes I get too blind to see the beauty in the songs I sing - and I am grateful for the re-learning." I thought that was really cool. Through his blog, I get the sense that, because of his gratitude, he is one of the happiest people in the world. Now I don't know him personally (to my great dismay), but I really feel like you can get a sense of a person by what they write, which I think is pretty cool. This video shows a little bit of where Mraz gets his inspiration:

But again, no set conclusions here about my status as an artist, but I feel like I'm well on my way.