I have not always considered myself an artist. It's never been a primary component of my identity, but it's always been lurking in the background. It's funny how even when you are working quite hard and improving rapidly at something like art, you still may not consider yourself to be an artist. I think the main difference for me is that I consider myself to be more of a designer than an artist. The images that I print are so graphic as to be more 'design-y' vs 'art-y'.
Where this distinction begins to break down is the non-reproducible pieces that I create. In my monoprints (uses a marked plate) and monotypes (does not use a marked plate, but uses stencils, feathers, etc.), I am using more painterly gestures to create a once of a kind work of art that expresses an emotion or mood. These monoprints utilize my plates (reproducible elements) most of the time, but not always. Other times I use stencils or just ink in my monotype prints. The examples you see below are a mix of monotypes and monoprints.
So where does that leave me? An artist by night and a designer by day? I suppose there are worse things to be!
P.S. I highly recommend Maybe an Artist by my friend Liz at Large aka Liz Montague!