I see what you're going for, but I don't agree from the get-go. For one, I don't see learning and teaching as opposites. From my own experience as a teacher, it is often this very attitude that prevents people from getting the most of their learning experiences. Learning is collaborative, teaching is somewhat authoritative.

Furthermore, most "teachers" are also learners-- they have to be in order to be responsive and active in the collaborative learning process.

I'm not saying my friend-the-artist is doing novel, groundbreaking things with her art. But there's clearly skill there

Now, the way my conversation with fuffle was going, we weren't talking about skill. Skill is both a part of artistry and apart from whatever it is that drives artistry. Grammar is well and good, but it's not "writing" in the artistic sense, anymore than practicing lines and curves are "drawing". Technical skill contributes to artistry only if a person can combine it with those artistic instincts that so many people either lack or don't discover within themselves, which is what I think is really at the heart of the discussion that sparked this post.