We asked some insanely talented artists, creatives and makers to tell us about when they know they were going to pursue a creative career.

Crown Vega

In the beginning during the early stages of stage performances I would get asked if I had music that was available to purchase. Read more>>

Shelley Poingsett

I knew I wanted to pursue a career in the hair industry when I was a full time student in college but most of my time was spent doing my fellow class mates and friends hair in be tween classes. Read more>>

Aspen Resler

Part of me alway knew that I wanted to pursue a creative path in some capacity. Mostly I believed that I wouldn’t be able to make a living off of it so it stayed on the back-burner as a hobby until after I graduated college. Read more>>

Tyler Tompkins

I’ve loved music for my entire life. There’s videos of me singing and dancing along to music when I was still in diapers, and I loved to strum this beat up acoustic guitar my grandfather had given to me. Read more>>

Rebecca Farr

I went to college with plans to be a Biologist . I had always loved art and it came easy to me …It felt too fun, too easy and too scary. Read more>>

Dennis Sabo

I first became intrigued with photography while attending Florida Tech University in the late 70’s where I majored in Environmental Sciences and honed my craft with a minor in photography. Read more>>

Andressa Da Silva

This mostly stemmed from spending my days reading and watching movies for hours on end as a child. Being an only child, it’s very easy to take up the attention of your parents and I did that exactly! Read more>>

Jean Oh

I first knew I wanted to pursue a creative and artistic path professionally from a very young age. At age 10, I discovered my love for painting and found immense fulfillment in expressing myself through art. Read more>>

Dana Hargrove

From a young age, my uncle, an artist himself, introduced me to the possibility of pursuing art as a career when I visited him at art college. Read more>>

Carolyn Mara

From an early age, I was drawn to creativity and the arts, though I was uncertain about its feasibility as a career. In college, I opted for a psychology degree as a safer choice while still indulging my creative passions by minoring in photography. Read more>>

Kailey Atkinson

Since I was in elementary school, art has always been my passion. I went to a charter arts high school, then later to college for art, and knew that I wanted to pursue art as a career. Read more>>

Nicole Davy

When I was a kid, I would get up early in the morning to watch Bob Ross paint, I could sit for the rest of the day drawing. I was in my grandparents home, fully supported with my aspirations. Read more>>

Jess Martinez

Back when I was a junior in high school, I had this inkling that I wanted to dive into the world of art, but I brushed it off, thinking it was just a passing phase. Read more>>

Cheyenne Lewis

I had the opportunity when I was young to explore many aspects of creativity. I managed to dabble in a bit of things such as cooking, stepping, wood shop and quilting. I started out doodling with only just a pen and paper and drawing just came natural ever since I was 12. Read more>>

Kenneth Alexander

I knew I wanted to pursue an art career when I understood legacy. Ownership of your own business and name means that I can pass this down to generations. Read more>>

Patti Gilstrap

I first knew that I wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally when I was in high school. One of my first jobs as a teenager was working at my local Joanne Fabrics store in Virginia where I grew up. Read more>>

Melinda Tichenor

Since I was a teenager I have always been into photography. It has always been something I enjoy. In 2007/2008 I even won a nature photography contest online for a photo I took when I was a senior in high school! Read more>>

Brittany Butler

My family says I came out singing. Growing up, I sang in church with my dad, in our youth groups and during our sacrament meeting, (main Sunday service). Read more>>

Bradley McKinney

Music has always been a big part of my life and personality and I always had the “dream” to be a musician even as a kid, but I knew for sure that I could professionally pursue my art in January of 2022. Read more>>

Julia Sunay

From a young age, I was always interested in theatre and music. Growing up in Calgary, Alberta provided many opportunities to support both community and professional regional theatre. Read more>>

Karissa Murrell Myers

I’ve been performing since I was 3 years old. I’d love to stand up on a bench and tell made up stories or sing songs to my family or participate in little skits at church. Read more>>

Jeneen Scirocco

I have always loved art from a very young age. It was my escape and passion even from elementary age. I was never an accomplished artist but I love all kinds of art, I love to draw , paint, crochet, wood working , multimedia , jewelry making and so much more Read more>>

Kim Rosen

I have always loved drawing and it was the perfect activity for a quiet, introverted kid. It wasn’t until I was in High School that I learned I wanted to pursue art. I had great art teachers who encouraged me to keep at it and to keep working hard. Read more>>

Sharon Lewis

I knew I wanted to be a musician in a band when I first saw The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. My father had a state-of-the-art stereo system with a huge variety of albums that he liked to play so loud that the music filled our red brick ranch house in Atlanta where I grew up. Read more>>

Douglas Galloway

On my first day in grade school, the teacher asked the class to draw what we wanted to be when we grew up. Most of the children did drawings of policemen, firemen, nurses, etc… I drew an “Artist”… Read more>>

Anne Moore

I knew when I got into my college courses for graphic design that I wanted to work in the field of the arts. Once I took my first ceramic class, I knew that my focus would be on clay. Read more>>

Brando Gould

I’ve always known I wanted to achieve a living by being creative. When I was six years old I wrote “I want to be an artist” when asked what career I wanted to pursue. Read more>>

Adam Yarger

Everyone in the band had a love for music as kids and after high school, the three of us all pursued different career paths in music with Adam moving to Nashville and learning the ropes of town, Read more>>

Alexandra Hurney

I think graduating high school and deciding to go to art school was when I wanted to do art for a career. That thought was more solidified when my husband and I moved to Fairmont MN. Read more>>

Wilson Hernandez

I discovered my first love at nine years old, sports. I had no idea theater was going to sneak up on me and change that. I was captain of my high school’s varsity basketball and football team. Read more>>

Gianna Vicenzo

From the moment I could hold a crayon, creativity coursed through my veins. As a child, I found solace and joy in the world of artistry—whether it was sketching fashion designs, Read more>>

Monae Richards

I knew I wanted to pursue a creative/artist path ever since I was a child. I was drawing on the walls and always got in trouble. Even in elementary school I was so glued to a pen and wrote so many poems. Read more>>

LaRon Dewberry

I realized I was creative from the very beginning. My origins were quite unconventional. I was kidnapped at birth, raised by my abductor, and abused on a daily basis for thirteen consecutive years. Read more>> 

Yiyu Cao

For me, this pivotal moment arose during my high school years when I found myself torn between attending an art college and opting for a more conventional educational path. Read more>>