Hello Derek,
Maybe the distinction which you might draw is the difference between that which is accepted as art and that which is fine art. Just a thought but maybe the latter has more to do with drawing, painting and sculpture, whether abstracted or representational. Art without the fine is a much more broad concept ?
You say in your post, "The problem being that so much has already been done from past and present turners that it becomes very difficult to have a truly 100% original piece.
We as turners also borrow ideas from other formats of art pottery being one and there are many more including the biggest of all nature."
I could not agree more. I have seen it quoted as less than 1% is truly original but if you are taking bits of lots of other things, whether consciously or subconsciously, the end product is original to you at the very least and maybe truly original in a wider sense. Dyson reportedly invented his vacuum cleaner after looking at the extraction system at a sawmill. Yes it is product design and maybe not art but the really clever thing he did though was to perceive the existence of a real problem and then make the connections. So, your piece of woodturning is a product of all of your influences after you set yourself a precise brief based on the original theme.
ATB John