Wanting to be an artist or creative is step one. Following through means investing in learning your craft, but we’ve heard from so many aspiring artists and creatives who feel unsure about where to start and so we’re incredibly grateful to the artists and creatives who’ve agreed to share their stories of how they learned their craft.

Nila Jane Autry

Heartfelt commitments change your soul. Although I was 20 years into my Art Teaching career, I hadn’t yet experienced much success showing or selling any of my artwork. I created art with my students all through the years and no one was more excited to open the kiln than I was because I always had a project getting fired. I found that creating art and having something to put in the kiln kept me excited to get to work every morning, and opening the kiln was like Christmas…sometimes disappointing, but always filled with anticipation. My yearbook quote as a teacher: “I come to work and play all day.” was verily, true. I loved what I was doing with my students. Yes, there were occasional hard days, but mostly, teaching art was just fun. A lot of work, but really fun. Read more>>

Ike Flitcraft

I went to a university with a small media department in which I learned the basics of editing and shooting and that was about it. Though they used my tuition to build it a year after I left, they did not yet have a film department yet. And so anything I know about scriptwriting I taught myself. Luckily, that very same university had peers who were off the charts talented. In fact I remember some of them basically teaching the classes they were in. Our professors did however offer us two majorly important things: access to the gear, and an assurance that we were only ever going to learn by doing. And so that’s what we did. My university afforded me the chance to write and direct for their massive yearly sketch show. This included films, live music, marketing, months of rehearsal, running a writers’ room, getting our sketches approved by the university, etc. Read more>>

Marie Morel

How did you learn to do what you do? I was a very dreamy child (and I’m still like that, haha). I always loved inventing stories and I learned how to draw so I could bring to life the stories in my head. I attended art school in France and have continued taking online classes to improve, buy specialized books, etc. I’m still learning, it’s a never-ending process. Read more>>

Matt Baker

I have been a professional double bassist since the age of 13 when in 1993 I won my first symphonic job with the Sioux City Symphony orchestra – the youngest member to have ever joined. So starting a totally new instrument from scratch wasn’t a task I had really thought about going back to for decades. Read more>>

Darrion Holland

I started drawing at a young age. Members of my family are artists as well so I remember growing up looking through my grandmothers sketchbook. I have an Aunt who was an art teacher and a painter. She taught me a lot. One of my favorite memories was when she took me with her to paint a mural for our church. I come from a long live of creatives. I also took quite a few art classes. But for the most part I am a self taught artist now that I am an adult. I think if I would have found an art college to go to that would have helped speed up my learning process. I like being self taught but sometimes if you’re learning something new it’s better to have structure. Read more>>

Elijah Noble El

I learned by doing and by watching. It’s funny because people complain that I don’t watch movies like a normal person, but I guess I can’t anymore. I’m always studying, always on the lookout, especially for things I want to improve on. Currently, I’m constantly searching for how to pull back more and more without sacrificing anything of substance. Read more>>

Jade John

I attribute my creative foundation to a formal education in visual arts during my early years in Louisiana, guidance from high school art teachers, and a significant portion of my skills are self-taught. My grandpa stuck a camera in my hand at a young age, and I’ve never seen the world through the same lens since. In retrospect, I would adopt a more proactive approach to learning by embracing the mantra ‘just do the thing.’ Overcoming my procrastination and having greater confidence in my execution of my creative visions would have proved beneficial to me. Read more>>

Shelby Bierwalter

Since I first started taking pictures, I consider myself to be self taught in photography. Over the years I have learned technique through both research and trial and error. The style I’m going for feels automatic for me at this point. Since I am lucky enough to have a lifetime of experience in photography, the hardest part for me has been the business side of things. It’s a challenge for me to think of my art from a business mindset. Transitioning from picking up photography gigs here and there to it being my primary source of income was also a big challenge. Thankfully my parents are also small business owners and have been an endlessly valuable resource to me in figuring out how to run a business and actually make money while still having fun doing it. Read more>>

Thoa Nguyen

I’ve been licensed since 2013. Back then, a full set of nails were $25. Manicurists weren’t not seen as a popular profession and finding a nail artist was rare then. At that time, I was pursuing my undergraduate degree, while, completing my apprenticeship for my manicurist license. I didn’t necessarily take the manicurist career seriously because, at that time, it wasn’t seen as an ideal profession for me. My degree was in business and the goal was to go to law school after completing my undergrad. Read more>>

Ace the Rapper

Everything I learned about making music and the industry in general, has either been self taught or from networking. There’s a lot of information that’s easily accessible that can help anyone on their relative journey. Music is about connections and networking is a big part of that. Taking the time to surround yourself by other creatives will help you pick things up easier, and promote growth. Read more>>

Caite Mae Ramos

My practice utilizes woodworking, growing plants, and works on paper to name a few… but it’s all based in drawing. Drawing taught me how to see. It gave me the ability to observe and translate my surroundings through whatever filter I needed it to be; it gave me a voice and the tools to understand and create my own narratives. Regardless of what medium I’m using, my starting point is always how I start a drawing- and that’s with a singular line. Read more>>

Jaya Armstead

The moment writing clicked for me was in the eighth grade. We were assigned to adapt our own version of a classic fairytale, and I chose to retell the story of Little Red Riding Hood. I had always been a daydreamer, but being able write down my ideas was exciting. I had already had the idea wanting to work in entertainment from always being glued to my tv, but now I had a path. Read more>>

Ryan White

In 2018, I saw a rise in social media and how things were presented to the public. I like to stay ahead of the game so I started teaching myself how to use Canva, Google Analytics, Shopify, and Squarespace. After launching my eyewear business, I created my own graphics, promotional videos, social media pages, and packaging. It was also quite the experience to team up with other creatives to produce content. By 2020, I had carefully planned out a product launch and marketing strategy for my eyewear and completely sold out one week after the launch date. Read more>>

Cher Shaffer

I am a self-taught artist. I grew up on a small Georgia farm, with parents who knew how to grow, and preserve food., and survive on not much money. We used what we had, found joy in discovering the land and critters around us, and learned to see the value in simple things. Read more>>

Brittany Borges

It started as a hobby so I felt free to experiment with what I wanted to create. I looked at other pieces of content and other creators and picked out what I liked and it made it more of my own. It was also a common interest in my friend group so naturally, we talked a lot about it and gave each other inspiration for our content. Read more>>

Kathleen Krucoff

I took private lessons from a metalsmith who had seen my glass art jewelry and told me she would help me to take my work to the next level. She gave me a solid foundation in metalsmithing. However, knowing what I know now, I think going to a university with a metal art program probably would have given me a more diverse knowledge. I think if I had been able to explore a wider variety of techniques in a college curriculum, I may have been able to make better decisions about which techniques I would focus on to refine. Read more>>

Margaret Haas

People come to me for my hand lettered styles. I design wedding invitations, party invitations, birth announcements, envelope addressing- you name it. The uniqueness of handwriting, with its subtle nuances and eccentricities adds a layer of intimacy that is often lost in the digital age, and I think people crave it now more than ever. I have always loved handwriting, typography, fonts and graphic design. When we learned cursive writing in elementary school, I immediately fell in love with it. Read more>>

K Beau Foster

The most meaningful project that I’ve had the opportunity to work on would definitely be Ghostrunner II. I’m a huge fan of the first game and to have the chance to be a character in the sequel is just mind blowing. I can’t wait to get to play it along with everyone else. Read more>>

Gracia The Artist

I’ve always been grateful for how organically it all began. It started with a camcorder, making short films, music videos and sketches after school with the kids in my neighborhood. We had BIG imaginations and because we were working without editing software back then we spent a lot of time getting really creative coming up with in-camera effects and transitions. We made entire music videos by pressing start and stop on a CD player in unison with the record button on my camcorder! Haha. I think it was low-key brilliant some of what we managed to pull off. Read more>>

 DJ BERN

I’ve been DJing for 16+ years, and at the beginning everything was all self-taught. I spent a lot of time watching YouTube videos and just experimenting with different techniques until it sounded right to me. I also spent time soaking up knowledge from DJs I would work events with, but most of my knowledge came from trial and error. Knowing what I know now, I would’ve definitely spent more time interacting with as many DJs as possible to learn from a variety of perspectives. I also would’ve practice more routinely, because in the beginning I didn’t spend as much time practicing the technical side of DJing as I should have. Read more>>

 MJ Adams

I believe the people that shine through in their endeavors are those who truly know their craft. Attending culinary school later in life, I felt it was important to have the degree but the degree was just part of it. I felt I really needed to understand the basis of cooking. Sautéing, braising, making a sauce, a pastry dough. I feel that a lot of people do not want to pay their dues to their craft. If you understand the basics it can take you far. It can also allow you to further your creativity. The fact that I had a grasp of the basic allowed me to expand my culinary repertoire with food. I always tell people that even after all these years of cooking, I am almost the full E of the word CHEF. Read more>>

Clarissa Lewis

Honestly, when learning photography I definitely went to “Youtube University” to educate myself. A lot of it was learning the basics of composition, editing and how to use a DSLR camera in general. I wish I had done a local course on photography and simply using that to understand the complexities to creating intriguing portraits. I love where I am now though, and I think that if I didn’t take the time to learn how I did, I wouldn’t have the unique style I have now. Read more>>

Juan Arguello

Learning the craft is something we never stop doing. Specially in music. There is always so much to learn and so much room to improve, no matter where you are in life. As a bassist I started learning the instrument, like I’m sure most people have. Just by learning songs and trying to play them as well as possible with the limited tools I had. Years later I studied bass performance formally in college. Read more>>

Irfan Hossein

Learning is the essence of life; when one ceases to learn, they halt their very existence. The art of learning is akin to nurturing a garden – a process of continual growth. Acting, in its origin, springs from the realm of a child’s play. Every child is inherently drawn to learning, exploring the world around them. It’s crucial to create an environment that fosters this natural curiosity and growth. Instead of imposing opinions, gentle guidance towards refinement is essential, coupled with patience, encouragement, and a touch of playfulness. Read more>>