So right now an issue i'd like to discuss is boundaries and techniques. But first, i'd like to bring up that I do, in fact, agree with Weitz's idea of definig art as a set of shared necessary conditions, instead of a very rigid definition which attempts to encompass the entirety of an ever changing medium.
Well anyway, going back to boundaries. In art, there are certain rules that have been made over the years, of how to draw a form, the correct way to hold a brush or tool, the way to use that tool, what constitutes a good composition, how to choose colors, etc. And these ideas have constantly been changing since the establishment of art. Art is something which grows with us, as humans, asnd changes as we do. When there is a great event or change in the world or how people think, it is documented in art, whether it be a direct representation of it, or a change in how the work is executed. We like to think that there are rules and boundaries to pertain to in order to easily define art, but an aspect of the nature of art is that new creativity pushes these "boundaries" and "breaks the rules". So now art includes this new thing and the rules change. Because art is ever changing. There can never be one set of rules because art was not created in one single instance and came with an omniscient set of rules, given to one person to share with everyone else (we all know what happened when that occurred, and im not talking about art in that case). Becuase it was created and recognised by man, and man continues to change, the boundaries for art will continue to change.
And now for technique. In class i brought this idea up and i think that no matter what is considered art, the amount of technique that is used is very important to the artwork itself. I am not sure if there are degrees of quality in artwork, but when a master paints an apple, the outcome is much different than when a 5-year old paints an apple. Some of this has to do with intention, but i believe that the "practice makes perfect" is not necessarily a rule for something to be art, but when it is done with a great amount of skill and technique, it can be enjoyed and appreciated even more where it may have not had as much appreciation in not living up to the full potential of the work.

So my question for now is, are there degrees of what is considered art?