What does it mean to be an artist?

So you want to be an artist or you feel the muse within you!  What drives an artist is an overwhelming desire to create.  It is not the desire to share the creation or even to be acknowledged for the creation, it is just the process and thrill received when creating the work.  Of course, being recognized and making a living off your art  is a great thing, but  if someone is driving the creation of their art for profit only, the question I wish to ask is "where is the humanity in the art".  At the point that an artist decides to create their work  because it is the vogue of the day, the work becomes more about social design and less about fine art.  This is not to say that design is a bad thing, it is all around us daily.  It is just to say that a fine artist answers to only themselves and not the greater social need or desire.