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Is the item being perceived something that exceeds the expectations of community or of the individual? In either case who decides whether it is art or craft? The artist? The viewer? The teacher? The seller? The buyer? The critic?

An art student spends many years studying the masters, essentially creating reproductions and variations on the theme, until... maybe someday, they too create... Is that craft or art?

What about the classical musician who reproduces music exactly as it was originally rendered? Is art in the interpretation of the original piece? Hmmmm....

I think where art leaves craft is where an unexpected or original result ocurrs. Othewise, it is a reproduction.

I saw Picasso's 'Erotica' on display in the Montreal Art Museum a few years ago, much of which would be considered vulgar by some. Items on display were clearly the result of an emotional response from within a man. When I see his more famous art otherwise, it envokes an emotional response within me by that man, the artist: a realization that here is something different and original. And when I see the number of iterations of his pieces before he finally rendered them, I realize that the process too can be considered art. Picasso's art was not an accident!

Is not Bonsai training a reproduction of nature? Is it craft or art? Hmmm...

In the meantime, I will embrace the struggle to learn Bonsai, because I want to reproduce nature with my hands, based on my memories acquired over decades of exploring the outdoors.

Thanks Vance. Very heady stuff, as evidenced by the interesting and thought provoking responses to your original posting!

B.