Often there is no book or course to learn how to do what you want to do – so how artists and creatives overcome such challenges? How have some of the most talented artists and creatives in the community managed to learn their craft?

Autumn Green

I learned to write stories through practice, workshops, and a lot of trial and error. Over time, the more I wrote and the more feedback I received, the better I understood what made a story connect with readers. If I could go back, I would have pushed myself to attend more writing workshops earlier, especially ones that encouraged sharing work and receiving intentional, constructive feedback. Getting comfortable with that vulnerability sooner would have accelerated my growth as a writer.  Read more>>

J.E. Irvin

Writing stories is something I have always done since I was old enough to write. When my father was alive, he kept several of my early writings in a folder and reminded me often that “they should be published.” His belief in my worth kept me going when no one else seemed to care. Read more>>

Rachel Hardy

I always knew I wanted to do music for a living, and I knew that creating music for film and video games was my dream, but I didn’t think it was an attainable goal when I first began to pursue music. I went to University to study music and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Music, but the education I received was quite classical and didn’t really equip me for a career in writing and producing music for media in the modern age. Because of this, a lot of the skills that I utilize now on a daily basis were things I had to practice and learn on my own; how to use a DAW and create realistic mock-ups, how to mix a track, how to work and communicate with developers, how to design and implement interactive music into a game… honestly, the learning process never truly ends when you work in this industry. Read more>>

Katie Nelson

I learned to write from reading first and foremost. Reading the books of others is the best teacher! But, I’ve also had some amazing teachers as well. If you want to be a writer – just start writing! Journal, take classes, read books. If there’s a book you love, analyze what the author does well. One of the best (and hardest) things about writing is that you can always get better. Read more>>

Heather Sweeney

I found my way to writing in a roundabout way, basically learning the craft by simply doing it. Like most writers, I’ve loved writing since I was a child, whether I was keeping a diary or stapling handwritten short stories into books. In high school and college I wrote poetry, but kept my poems private, never considering publication. It wasn’t until I started a blog in 2010 that writing became a passion that ultimately led to a career. Read more>>

Jessica Rose

There are some things about me that have stayed constant since childhood. One being that I have always loved history and specifically constantly wondering how people did anything 300 years ago or earlier (and could I figure out how to do those things). The other being a little slightly left of the mainstream when it came to interests. I was usually the one kid off to the side of everyone else coloring while everyone was running around screaming at recess or making homemade lanterns out of tin cans in middle school or playing ragtime music from 7 different instruments in high school. People would inevitably mosey over, crouch down, and ask “What are you doing… What are you making… How do you do that? Read more>>

Ciana Dunivan

I first discovered my passion for content creation during COVID, when I started making TikTok videos. It was very much a trial-and-error process — I found my niche as an outdoor creator, sharing solo hiking tips, safety advice, and encouragement, especially for women adventuring alone. Committing to posting every day, I learned SEO strategies, started reaching out to outdoor brands, and steadily grew my account to over 10,000 followers. That journey sparked my love for content creation, video editing, and brand storytelling. Soon, local businesses in Arizona began asking me to create content for them, and I realized I could turn my skills into a business — helping brands show up authentically online. Read more>>

Danielle Deraleau

I went to my first “comic con” in 2015. I had always been a big fan of dressing up for Halloween, and getting to do that once a year just didn’t seem like enough. When researching Halloween costumes, I saw that some of them were labeled “cosplay” costumes, which lead to me discovering that people dress up as their favorite characters at conventions. At my first convention I wore a really simple outfit, but the artistry I saw around me was incredible. Attendees were wearing hand sewn gowns and carrying hand made life size props. I was so inspired that I immediately started planning to attend my next event. Read more>>

Ella Van Haren

The genesis of my career in themed entertainment all started pretty much by accident. I was a broke college student in desperate need of a job, and I saw that the theater department scene shop was actively hiring. I was a fine arts major at the time and assumed they could use my help painting sets and backdrops, but on my very first day of work the shop manager brought me into the wood shop and asked, “so, how familiar are you with power tools?” At 18 years old I think the most complicated tool I’d ever handled was a screwdriver, but the shop staff took me under their wings, and before long I was a solid carpenter and had developed a love for production design. Read more>>

Erin Fritts

I learned to macramé during the 2020 lockdown—my mom taught me everything I know, and it became this beautiful creative outlet during a difficult time. That experience sparked my journey as a fiber artist, and I soon realized I could merge it with my background in digital marketing and eCommerce. Read more>>

Ash Raymond James

Despite having a degree in creative writing, I don’t credit a lot of what I have learned towards it. Almost everything I have learnt about writing has come from workshops or classes run by poets outside of a strictly educational space. Button Poetry has always been a fantastic place to learn, and now they provide workshops and courses that I recommend to anybody wanting to hone their craft. It was also a lot of self-teaching. It is reading poetry books, watching videos, going to slams and throwing yourself into the scene. Now I coach poetry and run a writers club; one of the most important things I teach is stress lines. Stress lines are these tiny pieces of dialogue that circulate in our heads and become obstacles. Read more>>

Sam

I’m a musical theatre composer, orchestrator, arranger, and music director based in New York City. I music direct at venues like 54 Below and Green Room 42, play jazz gigs around the city, and teach private lessons in piano, voice, and musical theatre songwriting. I also regularly present concerts and workshops of my original work, collaborating with producers and teams on musicals currently in development. Read more>>

Diane Phelan

I went to NYU and studied drama with a concentration in musical theater and film and TV. But I started learning elements of the craft much earlier! My parents and teachers started realizing I was musically inclined at age 5 and started me on piano and singing. In high school I started classical voice and on camera classes. NYU was instrumental in laying down a solid acting technique. I learned to take telling stories very seriously there, to really learn to excavate the humanity of my characters. I have a lot of amazing teachers I credit like my voice teacher Paul Elkin and so many amazing teachers at Cap21- but I was just thinking of Wendy Waterman who taught me how to ground my work. I think I grew up loving musicals because of the fun and the community and the music aspect. I came to theater with an emphasis on the music, but conservatory was where I found my love for the craft of acting and telling stories and finding what connects us as humans. Read more>>

Fred Wessel

My professional art career began as a lithographer, an art form that I practiced professionally and taught at the Hartford Art School for 35 years. In 1984, a two-week trip to Italy had a profound and enduring impact on my artistic journey. My purpose was to trace my Italian heritage and immerse myself in the art of the Italian Renaissance. I firmly believe that all visual artists, particularly realists, should experience and study this art firsthand. Little did I know that this trip would have a dramatic, both direct and indirect, influence on my subsequent artistic endeavors. Read more>>

Taylor Sizemore

I took a meandering path to painting, though I always loved art. I picked up a camera in 8th grade, I took it with me everywhere. I desperately wanted to go to college to learn more about art but it wasn’t an option for me at the time. I compromised and went for International Relations (haha). I had some medical struggles and took a break from school and eventually became a bartender. Read more>>

Maggie Eliot

The beginning of my writing career wasn’t in fiction. I started off as an actor in sketch comedy. I gained incredible writing experience from my time with The Second City and once I left there, went on to write plays. That work employed both my sketch writing skills and my BFA in Theatre. Read more>>

Elisabeth Gordon

My fascination with the camera began in middle school when I started carrying my dad’s DSLR around, relying on manual mode alone to force myself to understand the fundamentals. Middle school is also when I started my education in lighting design at Denver School of the Arts, which blended well into my studio photography practice later. My formal education in photography then took shape during college when I started studying 35mm black and white film photography, primarily focusing on mastering composition, contrast, focus, and depth, and then continued learning several alternative printmaking practices in addition to modern digital photography techniques. Read more>>

Micaela Torain

Learning the art of songwriting and making meaningful music has been a combination of formalized training and experiential inspiration. I wrote my first song when I was around nine or ten, inspired by a passage in the Bible. I was taking piano lessons and occasionally singing, but I had no knowledge of how to write songs. The song was well-received when I performed it publicly, but I didn’t actually write anything else until I was in middle school. At that time, I started writing songs as a way to process the things happening around me, and within me. I wrote about a boy in my class who was being bullied, my own struggles with depression and general growing pains, and anything else that moved me. Read more>>

Anelia Lazaroff Torres

My love of art and design began as a child. My parents were both artists who nurtured that interest. I went on to study art at California State University Long Beach and earned a BFA in sculpture. Shortly after graduating from college, I taught myself to use Adobe Illustrator. At the time I was creating sculptures from flat cutouts assembled into 3 dimensional forms. They were hand cut from various sheet materials such as acrylic, steel and wood. My pieces looked handmade and imperfect. This certainly had its own charm but I wanted then to have a cleaner, sleeker look. In order to achieve the look I was after I would need to have the material I was working with machine cut, using processes such as laser or water jet cutting which require a digital file to work from. Although I initially learned Illustrator to enhance my work as a sculptor, I quickly fell in love with the program and all its possibilities. Read more>>

Felicity LuHill

While I was lucky enough to have attended one of the best film schools in the world — USC’s Peter Stark Producing Program — a major lesson I’ve learned since graduating is that producing largely can’t be learned in the classroom. While school is great for learning the basics, producing out in the world, where the environment is no longer controlled, is a very different experience. Like so much in life, experience is so much more useful than what you read in a book. Nothing can prepare you for putting out the proverbial “fires” like doing the real thing. Read more>>

Melissa Zanussi

I was lucky enough to have a structured apprenticeship. I worked the front desk of a tattoo shop to help a friend out and was told there were no apprentice opportunities- don’t bother asking. After about a year of asking the artists questions, completing all my daily tasks, and drawing in my downtime- I was offered my apprenticeship. Having been a front desk assistant for a year, I had learned a lot about working with different individuals, talking to people, setting appointments, and managing a schedule. I think this part of tattooing is grossly overlooked and great knowledge to have. I spent the following year shadowing all the artists, but primarily the owner- Lisa Schmoldt. She taught me a lot. Read more>>

Carolyn Jordan

From an early age, I was surrounded by talented performers, directors, and designers at every turn. I tried my best to be a sponge – watching, listening, and learning everything that I could during rehearsals and performances. I saw as many productions as I could from the audience too…it was all a chance to learn and grow (plus, it was fun!). I took voice lessons, dance, and gymnastics. I attended theatre camp and auditioned for as many shows as I could fit into my schedule from elementary school all the way through college. Read more>>

Heather Nusz

I believe to my core that everyone is a photographer— we all take pictures and we are all constantly documenting the human experience. I am learning every day how to take better photographs because as I move throughout my life, I change, I see things differently, even things that I see every day change because I change as time constantly passes. Being an artist only requires autheticity and vulnerability. Anyone can learn the technical skills of photography but I would argue that all someone needs to be a great photographer is a perspective. Walead Beshty’s work comes to mind as someone who doesn’t even use a camera in his photography. Read more>>

Mandy Burke

It never occured to me that I would be anything else but a singer and performing artist. As a kid, I would sit in my room, lyrics in hand, memorizing every note and nuance until the songs were etched into my memory.

I started formal voice lessons at 15, submersing myself in classical genres, performance technique and competitions while singing pop, musical theater and jazz in school. I loved it all and the challenges that came with it.

This drive carried me through 2 degrees in vocal and opera performance. The training was intense — you have to have an incredible amount of drive, focus, patience and humility to master your art. There were hours in the practice rooms and courses like music theory, music history, keyboard, voice lessons, choir, song repetoire, diction, vocal developement, recitals-you name it. I’ve heard it takes 10,000 hours of practice to master your field-let’s just say I’m on my way. Read more>>

Filippo Bubbico

My first connection with music started in my childhood. Both of my parents are musicians, and when I was born, they opened a music school. I basically grew up surrounded by instruments, which quickly became my favorite toys, and it was so much fun!! Over time my passion for music never faded, and when I was 13 I started writing my own songs and, at the same time, exploring computer-based composition for the first time. Read more>>

Andrew Magarian

In fourth grade, I went to school in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. The fourth graders were taught in what was once Cape Elizabeth’s town hall. A great old wooden building with these huge steps in and out of it.
Now, this was the time of Apollo. America was going to the moon, and we couldn’t get enough of it. So one day on the back steps I saw two of my classmates in deep discussion. I asked what was up? They explained that they wanted to do a skit on the Apollo astronauts for class, but they were only two and the Apollo program had three astronauts. I offered that maybe I could help and they welcomed me in. Read more>>

Zella Horton

Coming from a family of artists, I have always had a propensity for all things creative. I was pretty much self-taught before high school, but then I began to take weekly lessons with my art teacher. It was around this time that my love for and skill in art started to grow more, however, I was still not making new work very quickly or frequently. Becoming an art major in college was a huge turning point for my work since I was constantly immersed in the subject. Pieces that used to take me months to create were being completed each week. Looking back, I wish I understood that not every piece of art I make has to be a masterpiece; the process and learning aspect of creating is often more important than clinging to perfection. This lesson is one that I am still learning each time I make a piece of art, but I think it is invaluable and will make me a better artist as I continue to grow. Read more>>

JAVIER COTTLE

I learned how to YouTube primarily from watching other YouTubers! Amongst the sea of content out there on YouTube, there’s always something for someone and I find it easy to learn from other creators regardless of the subject or niche. Likewise, I did take a small YouTube course from one of my favourite creators Matt D’Avella which helped nudge me into actually creating my first video. Read more>>

MJ Golzari

My filmmaking journey began unconventionally. I started taking photographs with my father’s film camera when I was just 10 years old, which sparked my interest in visual storytelling. However, due to financial challenges, I initially pursued a degree in engineering. Still, my passion for cinema grew stronger over time and eventually took over the direction of my life. I began learning the craft hands-on—by working on as many projects as I could, often in different roles, from BTS videography to directing and cinematography. This practical experience became my informal education. Read more>>

Raphaele Cohen-Bacry

Early on I learned a great deal by visiting museums, observing and copying any artwork I loved, just for the pleasure of feeling closer to it. That was an effective way to train and educate the eye. Then I attended several academic classes in Paris, including live model sessions, printmaking and painting. Since then it has been a lot of experimentation, exploration of different media, pushing them to their limits. I particularly like to revisit ancient methods or divert techniques towards new territories to obtain unusual textures, volumes and disconcerting results. Read more>>

Noam Arbel

I started off pretty standard, going to a drum teacher once a week and practicing a couple of time between the lessons. Although, soon enough I absolutely fell in love with the instrument and realized I’m fully willing to dedicate ny life to music and since then everything changed. I ‘rehabbed’ from video games, basketball, TV, and basically everything else that wasn’t absolutely essential and took time that could’ve been spent on music. Read more>>

Irja Bodén

Growing up in Sweden north of the Arctic Circle, I was raised by skilled parents—my dad, a woodworker and hunter, and my mom, who loved baking, knitting and writing poetry. I learned the value of hands-on skills early on and, as a young woman, explored ceramics, sewing and embroidery. Read more>>

Stacy Randall

In 2020 after being locked down for so long, I decided to take up the art of painting and fell in love with it! I started watching tutorials of YouTube, and learned some skills and techniques. The most essential skills were blending and color mixing- I recently took up oil painting which I love even more and blending was even easier for me. Time stands in the way of me doing more, but I love to do it when I do have time. Read more>>

Ashley Harris

I’ve had a camera in my hand since elementary school days, my first camera was a Canon PowerShot SD900. I didn’t bother with a manual at that age, and it definitely wasn’t the era of YouTube University yet, haha. By experimenting with camera settings and finding ways to capture light reflecting off the world around me, I fell in love with photographing raw, candid moments. Memories can be fleeting, but something tangible like a photograph never loses the essence of that particular moment. There weren’t any obstacles back then, and truly when I reflect on this question, I recognize the only obstacles *mainly* faced are from what I’ve imposed on myself. I’m grateful to have reached a point of self-awareness where I no longer tolerate environments built on fear instead of faith. That kind of energy stifles the craft. Read more>>

Gretchen Lohse And Thomas Hughes

We’ve been making things since we were kids – whether they be drawings, plays, films, albums, videos, sculptures. I think the best way of learning these skills is to just do them. Experiment, play, and collaborate with like-minded folks. I don’t think there’s really a way to optimize that. I think the only obstacle is the occasional voice in your head that tells you these pursuits are not valuable or worth your time and you just have to ignore that. Read more>>