A very thoughtful and well written post, which is something that most artists will have to think about, specially in the world of blockchain economy that we live in, these days!

I think it is a difficult pull and push, to commercialize and attain monetary success or to stay true to the muses and let your art journey for the sake of art itself.... Hmm, I believe most artists would be somewhere in the middle, because it IS important to be able to make a living through art for artists, but it is equally important to also follow our natural creative processes or else, I believe strongly that those inspirations will rot inside of us.

I also believe that to periodically reflect on our stances of where we stand on this spectrum, as artists, is a healthy undertaking. From time to time, stop and reassess, and so we may able to course-correct (if required)....

And lastly, you spoke about how 'knock off copies' undermine the entire creative process from top to bottom, and this is very true. Specially on social media, and on Steemit in particular, we see there are some 'artists' that are basically out to make a buck, which a veritable quagmire for other legitimate artists to deal with.

Thank you for your insights, and for the food for thought, Ruth ! And thank you, as well, for sharing with us, your beautiful, unique, and precious artworks here on Steemit :) I hope you will continue to thrive both in your success and your artistic journey <3 <3 <3