Fine new images Mike.
I like doctor Ledray, and also that Jeff is so hungry that he eats the mail.

The obsticle would be pain.
Life is full of pain and artists are full of pain. And have to talk about it. Remember "skriget" by Edvard Munch.

So get some pain on your shoulders. And since you are in Japan, you can go to Fukushima or you can photograph some ships far inland.

( I have gone to all kinds of fancy schools, art included, but I have learnt most out in nature, by looking and observing or out in the workshop by turning the lathe)

Interesting debate you have just started.
Why are we here? and what is important? and why is the artistic challenge so important to us?
It sounds like you are a little bewildered, and also that you have an urge to do something splendid.
It also sounds like you are asking for advice.
The last i can understand, it is called ambition and thats a good thing. ( in relevant doses).
Now adressing some of the questions you are raising: How to find art? and what do you have to learn to become an artist that has an impact.
You are talking about going to a photography school. So you can learn what? Photography? You can learn that on youtube.
Art? Im not sure you can learn art in a photography school.
It is characteristic that all great artists learned by themselves, because they couldnt help it, they were engaged and took great pain and effort to produce things they had to produce, so they need to learn from all kinds of sources to get knowledge so they could produce what they wanted.
I bet you, that da Vinci had both studied carpentery, so he could propose a framework for his amoured tank, and also masonery and mineralogy, so he could make a statue. not to mention pigments and varnishes.

Same with stock photography, you need to learn to cook to make food images, and you need to have studied biology to make butterfly metamorphosis pictures.
Plus more.
You need to know about the basics of art, and that is colours and media, in the meaning pigment, blending and prints.
I think you may benifit a lot from your ambition, since that can be the motivation to go and learn all kinds of different things that you need in your photography.
So Id say... forget schools, instead study things by yourself, and best by working with them. Get a job in the printing industry, or as a school photographer, learn about colours by working in the cobalt mines or as an auto varnisher. Or just paint you motorbike yourself.
Then there are two other aspect of art, that you dont come by so easily.
One is having something to say, or show, or display. A message so to speak. If you want to be recognized as an artist, the message should be relevant in time and culture. That is why a graphic photo of dandelion seeds does not have the same impact as the greeneyed Kurdish girl from National Geographic.
There are actually rules that can raise the impact of visionary art. Those are good to learn, start with Goethe and Newton, then proceed to game theory.
You as a person is also important, remember yoko ono, a famous artist, but what was she famous for?

And my story? Not interesting, Im not an artist, but I am a good mechanic and a polyhistor. I use microstock as a playground and learning place.

I agree on that.
especially "PPM"

"posts per minute"

there is a time/ quality relation.

thats called crowdsourcing, and the crowd is big and the source is limited.

No it wont, it will just deteriorate the forums further.

1/3 below March and April.

Oh yes.
I do filters. I have actions for photoshop based on topaz and a lot more that add pep and pop to the images.

Funny thing, how the bugs always work for istock.

The important part, the legal part, is that you can prove you have sent them notice.

Do you have a screenshot of anything that proves the date? Then save it.
Send them a letter, the type that is signed when it is recieved. "I hereby (date) terminate my exclusivity with istock)"

If so, you are free to go and feel free in a free way.

None of the above.
What you need is imagination, research abilities and a nice looking girlfriend.

You can even do it with a dog, if you dont have a girlfriend, or a butterfly.

Istock are masters in shooting themselves in the foot.

I opted out following the advice from the clever people here.
Despite I have had no problems with fotolia before, I do need to protect my sales elsewhere.

That make me think, that now, we contributers and our reaction is a competitive parameter.
That is good, we should be!