What does it take to be a "master" teaching artist (TA)? Are there certain skills and abilities that are common to all TAs that are at the top of their field. In this article, the author describes the process and purpose behind the first national fellowship for teaching artists. The fellowship was a significant event: (1) no such national award for teaching artists had existed in the past; and (2) the selection process and discussions that led to the identification of the first four Teaching Artist Fellows yielded significant observations about the necessary qualities for a teaching artist to be successful in the fellowship experience.