I appreciate your question and know that it must be bothering you, possibly because a member of the quilt police came to your guild and accused all who have a long arm artist quilt their tops or a group of hand quilters quilt their tops, "toppers."
"You are not quilters," the one who came to our guild meeting asserted.
There is a cure for ignorance, but none for stupidity. No matter that she had a national reputation as a teacher, I thought then and think now that she was stupid.
Of course you are a quilter/artist if you make the top. You hire a collaborating artist with another set of artistic and technical skills to finish it.
That's called specialization and division of labor and it's the way the modern world works.
Are you any less the owner of your car because you don't change the oil? Because you don't replace the brakes when needed? Because you take it to the detail shop to get it cleaned up?
As Nero Wolfe would have said, "Phooey!"
Merry Christmas and happy new year!