i get and understand that side too Mario. and i definitely don't think i'm better than the next person who's coming in to get a tribal armband or a heart with the word mom in it. but at the same time, i recognize that i am actively seeking out individuals based on their artwork, just as i could do with any other form of art, and having work made. i have invested money and time into trying to get work done by certain individuals, and i am actively collecting this work that happens to cover my body. so i'm sorry if my word choice was seen as comment on status, as it wasn't intended to be so. however, i'm not sure that there's a better word to describe who i or many others are.
and i, as a client of you Mario, sincerely appreciate that you value every customer that you have, because that's part of what makes you a great artist. and like any good business, the client should be valued and respected, because they are supporting you financially, regardless of how small or big the task they're asking you to do.
i just wrote this whole long response, thinking i had gotten to the end of the thread, then realized i hadn't and that everyone had basically said what i wanted to haha.
also Pat, i was in no way angry, just sort of annoyed haha.