Are artists born or made? To help answer this question, we asked some of the most artistic folks we know to tell us about how they knew they were going to pursue an artistic or creative path. We’ve shared highlights below.

Lynette Winters

It was April 21, 2024 at the end of our show, Brown Bodies on a Blue Earth, a colleague from another agency who is a social worker showed up with a bunch of social workers in support of me and she said, “ I can see you pivoting from being a social worker to doing theater full time.” It was that aha moment where I decided I wanted to do something different. Then, on May 2 at the Watch Party of S2 of Opportunity Knock$, a tv series my family was featured on, my financial coach and the show creator expressed something similar: like, we see another part of your brain working….we didn’t know. That was me referring to theater. Read more>>

Keniah Mosley

The first time I knew i wanted yo pursue a creative/ artistic path was the year after covid, 2021. I had graduated highschool back in 2020 and I didn’t feel the urge to go to college like most people. Not because I wasn’t smart enough, but because something else was pulling me. At the time i was really interested in doing hair and makeup, and i practiced all the time, on myself of course.. Sometime that year a friend of mine reached out and told me about a photographer that was offering to take headshots. I didn’t know what that meant at first but i was interested in knowing more. Read more>>

Jon Aguilar

Since I was a little boy, I’ve always been an artist in my inner imaginative world, but my parents did not cultivate this part of me nor put any attention towards that due to their extreme religious beliefs and practices. At the age of 13 I decided I wanted to go into the military for a career, specifically into the special forces. I followed that track for 6 years, but left when I was 28 years old leaving that dream unfulfilled. I got married at 30 years old and not knowing what to do I decided to get my Bachelors with a loose plan to obtain a graduate degree and then enter the diplomatic or foreign service field. While I was finishing up my undergraduate degree I started a small landscape design-build business to support my family (a wife, 2 step kids and our 2 new baby boys) because I was always interested in designing and building outdoor spaces. Read more>>

Jack Zhang

I think the path to becoming an artist wasn’t one big moment—it was a series of phases that kept pulling me in deeper. I grew up going to New York a lot, especially Brooklyn and Manhattan. Just walking those streets as a kid opened my eyes. The graffiti, the murals, the mix of chaos and beauty—it made me feel alive. I didn’t know it then, but that energy stuck with me. Read more>>

Ben Taylor

I started in college as a computer science major with the goal that I would develop video games that follow my artistic vision. Throughout the first two semesters, however, I realized that I was heading in the wrong direction. I wanted to do something creative, but I was going down a career path that was in the opposite direction. After the first year of school, I decided to drop out of the CS program and join the art program. Ever since then, I’ve been leading a life with more creativity. Read more>>

Kathryn Blommel

I never experienced a specific “ah-ha” moment that influenced my decision to pursue art. Interestingly, I discovered my passion for art during the pandemic. In 2020, at the very beginning of the pandemic, I was a junior in high school when my school canceled classes for two weeks. During that time, I asked my parents to take me to an art store to buy some supplies to keep myself occupied. I walked out with a sketchbook, pencils, kneaded erasers, and oil pastels. Without a desk in my room, I transformed my bedroom floor into my workspace. Every day, I spent hours drawing—mainly portraits and doodles. Read more>>

Hey JP

Well, I have always been very entertaining as a young child. When I was 4 years old I started modeling, which lead me to acting and doing commercials in Hollywood. Fast-forward to the YouTube era, I had a gamer channel that taught me the logistics of editing, voiceovers and embedding music. However in my heart I always knew I wanted to pursue music professionally, as I was approaching high school graduation I strictly focused on engineering and producing. Read more>>

Cass Rees

Art class was the only class I ever looked forward to in school. In my free time, I would paint with acrylics and completed around 20 paintings on canvas as a teenager and in my early 20s. It wasn’t even a thought that I would sell my paintings. Growing up in a small Massachusetts town, I always knew that I wanted to travel. After high school, I didn’t have much of a direction. I moved to New Orleans working as a peddicabber and in the food industry. It wasn’t until I was 24 and moved to Los Angeles that I discovered young successful full time artists on Instagram. That’s exactly when I knew that I wanted to pursue an art career. Read more>>

Diana Mendez

The first time I realized I wanted to pursue a creative path professionally was when I was making custom treats for my daughter’s birthday parties. I poured so much love into every detail—from the colors to the flavors—and seeing the joy on her face, and on the faces of our guests, lit something in me. After a few parties, people started asking me, “Did you make these? Can you make them for my event?” And more than a few said, “You should really start your own business.” At first, I brushed it off, but the more I heard it, the more I realized—this wasn’t just a hobby I loved. It was a skill I could grow into something real. That encouragement from friends and family gave me the confidence to turn my creativity into a business. It wasn’t one moment—it was a series of them, filled with melted chocolate, sprinkles, and smiles. Read more>>

Paul Lamb

When I was back home in Plymouth, England, I became obsessed with fashion magazines as a teenager, particularly the photography and typography. The fashion stories and the ad campaigns, the graphic design and the logos, I loved the relationship between type and image. I think in that moment, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in that area. I wasn’t exactly sure at the time what an art director or creative director was, but I knew I wanted to work in that industry. That’s when I started to learn about fashion photographers like Herb Ritts and Peter Lindbergh, and art directors such as Fabien Baron and before him, Saul Bass and Alexey Brodovitch. They really inspired me. Read more>>

Claire Houghton Renoe

Growing up in Berkeley, I was lucky enough to be surrounded by innovative new work at theater companies like the Berkeley Repertory Theatre and Shotgun Players. The plays I saw spoke not just to my experience but to realities beyond my own small existence. I yearned to be a part of this, but it was not until exploring different paths of study in undergrad that I knew I wanted to pursue theater professionally. I enrolled at UCLA as a psychology major while exploring what drew me to the arts. I found that psychology and theater examine the human experience from entirely different perspectives. Theater did more than describe and analyze: it was transformative. It spoke to my heart as well as my mind. Read more>>

Chidera Divine

I’ve always wanted to pursue art as career before I got into college…
I’ve been an art lover since I was a child, always fascinated by colors, I painted on the walls of my home and my books with crayon and poster colors…
I got excited when I wanted to get into college, because I was about to study my dream course which was fine art.
When I got into college, I felt fulfilled and could express myself better, I excelled and became one of the best female artist in my Field..
That was when I discovered I should pursue art professionally. Read more>>

Catalina Margulis

I suppose I was always called to a creative path. At first, I wanted to be a film director, but I chickened out of auditioning for film school. I didn’t want to be a starving artist and I figured, there’s only one Steven Spielberg, right?
Everyone told me I was a writer, so when it came time to choose my direction for college and university, I knew I had to do something with words. At the time, I was looking at choosing between book publishing and journalism. I heard that book publishing didn’t pay well. So I went into journalism, and had a brilliant career as a magazine editor. Read more>>

Christi Given

I knew since I was a little girl that I wanted to sing and I began songwriting at the age of 12 years old. I released my music professionally by 2010-2011. I released my song “The Other Side (Amazing Grace)” in 2013and my music video (2014) was placed on a music TV network. I have continued in my artistry and still release new music today. Read more>>

Charlene Soo

I was the kind of child who spent more time living in daydreams than in reality. Growing up in a community where pursuing the arts was considered taboo, I found comfort in three things: stories, music, and spaghetti bolognese. Life was heavy at times, and stories — whether in books, films, or games — gave me a place to escape. They made the world feel just a little safer. Read more>>

Alice Trahant Phillips

Growing up as a multi-generational New Orleanian, my upbringing was all about creativity and culture. You absorb it from every city angle before you even realize that it’s become a part of you. New Orleans teaches you to not only be an individual, but to express yourself as an individual. Read more>>

Sean Patrick Bryan

So I was featured on an episode of “Cops”(season 21 episode 12) and I had the opportunity to have the crew from cops ride with me in an attempt to get footage that they could use and put in an episode of cops.
I remember the excitement I felt of being selected to have the cameraman and sound guy ride with me. so then there’s pressure you’re working extra hard to try to get them footage that can be used so then you can see yourself on TV. After having them ride with me for about a month, we were able to record a segment that would later be used. I just remember the anticipation of knowing my episode was going to air and seeing myself on TV for the first time I knew that this was a passion that I would want to pursue this in the future.. Read more>>

Andy Browne

Watching David Bowie and The Beatles on the BBC, growing up in England.
Hearing Bob Dylan’s “Infidels”, The Clash and Frank Sinatra. Read more>>

Cassondra Burch

It all began when I was just eleven. I remember visiting my Grandma ever other weekend and she was such an avid crafter in her spare time I would love to watch her hands working with quiet purpose, fingers dancing with thread and beads like she was weaving stories into every stitch. That day, she was crafting little Indian headdresses, each bead shimmering like it held a secret. Read more>>

Lo Chen

1) What was your thought process behind starting your own business? The idea to start my own design company stemmed from a long-standing dream to have full creative ownership over my work — from the first spark of inspiration to the final installation. I’ve always believed in a holistic design approach, where being involved in every stage of the process not only elevates the final outcome but also deepens my understanding as a designer and entrepreneur. Read more>>

Diego De La O

When I was younger my parents were very instant in me getting into a really good college and having a job that would pay me well. Obviously there’s nothing wrong with that, but they wanted a job for me that was almost guaranteed, so as a kid that’s what I prioritized. I would say that even when I was younger I showed an interest in art, especially photography, but I never thought of it as possible job. As I got older, I started realizing that something felt off. Mentally, I was exhausted everyday, I felt like I was putting everyone else’s needs ahead of mine, and honestly, life slowly felt like it started to loose meaning. Read more>>

Danielle Braund

From a young age, I knew I wasn’t meant for a conventional career path. Growing up in a small, religious town where most people stayed in the same job for life, I quickly realized that wasn’t the future I wanted. I’ve always felt a deep drive to express myself creatively in any form—and I knew that turning that passion into a career was the only path that truly made sense for me. Read more>>

Nicolas Robin

I grew up in the west of France between the countryside and the sea.
In my family no one knew anything about the film industry. I always loved to tell stories, share them with an audience, I recall doing small theater shows in my neighborhood when I was under 10, but still knew nothing about acting.
When I was 11, a famous French director was looking for the lead in his tv movie and did an audition in my school. Read more>>

James Artissen

As I can remember I knew I wanted to begin a career in music after I had the opportunity to meet the late great Michael Jackson. That sparked the interest, and I continued to sharpen my craft one day at a time. Along the way I met other artists who became my mentors like John Ecstacy Fletcher of Whodini, Kurupt, and a few others. Read more>>

Naomi Ghani

My mom reminds me from time to time that as a child, I would draw in church, and I have absolutely no memory of that. I’ve come to realize that God has a beautiful way of leading and directing our path towards what we were always destined to become. I didn’t discover art as my God-given purpose until the age of 30 when I decided to pursue a Doctorate in Physical Therapy. I had just gotten into the core work at the university I was attending, and I kept failing chemistry. I had come from an advanced academic background and had never failed a class in the past. Read more>>

Erin Barracuda

I grew up in small town Wisconsin and was never really exposed to art at a museum level, but I loved art. I grew up with a crayon in my hand and my coloring books just an arms length away. As a kid, I never realized that art was a viable career. The phrase, “starving artist” was ingrained in my brain so deep that the thought of being a professional artist was never even a consideration. Fast forward several years, I was still creative and artistic but it was just a hobby for me. I had taken numerous art classes all through school and some in college, but even then, I never thought it was an actual career path. My art teachers and professors always encouraged me to continue making art, but they never suggested that it could be anything more than that. Read more>>

Bacon Man

When I started getting booked for kid birthday parties on my own I felt like I needed to keep it going and be something that my community was missing. Read more>>

Alicia Wolfe

Growing up, I was always drawn to anything artistic. My favorite subjects in school were always the ones where I could express myself creatively whether it was writing poetry, singing in choir, or painting in art class. I remember when people would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I’d say I wanted to be a photographer on the beaches of Hawaii, probably because I’ve always been drawn to the ocean and the feeling of peace it brings. But the moment I truly realized I wanted to pursue a creative path professionally came after high school, when I started college. Read more>>

Eme Martin

When I was just 2 years old I would watch my friends Shadow and Dallas trick ride. I would say I was going to be like then someday. I would practice trick riding on a rocking horse in my living room. Then, one fall right after my birthday, Shadow invited me to a practice just for fun. 3 weeks later he called my mom and said she is a natural at this and I want to put her in a couple shows with me this summer. The hard work began in January or February and by April I was performing in my first trick riding show. That summer turned into 15 shows, 5 of them with a casted arm. Now, here we are, 8 summers later and I’m making a living doing what I love. Trick riding and roman riding all around the USA. I have met so many lifelong friends and enjoy seeing new places. I’m thankful for the amazing horses that have been by my side performing the last 7-8 years: Blitz, Thunder, Twilight and Storm. Without them, I couldn’t do what I do! Read more>>