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.

Lester G. Reynolds

I am the oldest of three children. Growing up we never really had much. My parents had limited education having not finished high school. We moved around alot. I mean we were definitely poor. I found escape in music and tv—quite often imagining myself living life as the characters I saw on the TV…I felt alive in those moments. Read more>>

Elana Hagler

I was always drawing as a kid, but I never imagined that it could be a viable career path. So when I started college, I was a double major in neuroscience and psychology. I’ve always been fascinated with human nature and perception. I started taking art classes only my junior year. Read more>>

Gan Xiong

Growing up under the influence of my parents—who, like many in traditional Asian families, believed that pursuing engineering or business would lead to better job security—I focused primarily on computer science and programming throughout high school. Music was something I did on the side. I sang in choir but never took private lessons or formal training. Read more>>

Harry Berry

When I was in college back in Colombia ( I studied physical therapy) I used to make jewelry as a hobby. I was 17 years old. I started to sell my jewelry all over my home town in different boutiques and stores. I was very excited that my hobby was helping me to make money. Read more>>

Kristi Grussendorf

I’ve always done art. My mom was an artist and studied to be an art teacher so she practiced with me. My siblings & I played drawing games in the car. As a grade schooler, I was photographed drawing my ‘famous’ cartoons for the local newspaper. Because I loved it and identified as an artist, I insisted on getting my BFA before starting a family. Read more>>

Jessica Fligg

I knew I wanted to be an artist from a very young age. I would spend hours entertaining myself with my sketchbook. When I was about 5 yrs old my parents gifted my Great Grandmother and I with charcoal and sketchbooks. The two of us would draw all week. When we visited her we would exchange our drawings and talk about them. Read more>>

Beretta Biz

I’d say around 2010. This is at the height of the “Blog Era” of hip hop and after being introduced to artists like Curren$y, J. Cole, Wale, Wiz Khalifa, and Big Krit (just to name a few lol) I was inspired by their approach to the art form. Read more>>

BJ Sam

I first knew I wanted to pursue music professionally when I was just 15. It was a decision that felt small at the time—I had joined an international classical choir—but that moment changed everything. Standing on stage, surrounded by amazing beautiful voices, I felt something inside me awaken. It wasn’t just about singing; it was about discovering a part of myself I hadn’t known existed. Read more>>

Synai Obney

I’ve been singing since I was a little girl. I remember being 10 years old, singing my heart out in my grandmother’s backyard. Some neighbors who lived around the corner at the time heard me and came knocking on my door, asking where that voice was coming from. Read more>>

Camille Cornett

I feel like it’s always been in me. I grew up taking art classes, loved it all through high school, and even though I went on to study fashion merchandising and business in college, that creative side never really left. If anything, those experiences just added to the way I think about design and presentation. Read more>>

Dollcake

While I’ve always been an introvert, I craved connection in some form. As a kid I’d picture myself dancing on a stage, while listening to my CD player in the backseat of the family car, but I was far too nervous and shy to actually do it. Growing up in the ’90s, I socialized in Yahoo chatrooms and on AOL Instant Messenger after school. Read more>>

Yingqi Zhou

I grew up surrounded by art. My father was passionate about creative writing and performance, and many of his close friends were artists as well. Because of that environment, the arts never felt distant to me. I started learning dance when I was three years old—not in a strictly professional way, but consistently and wholeheartedly, year after year. Read more>>

Kimberly Faye Greenberg

I’m pretty sure I came out of the womb wanting to be a performer. My mother loves to tell the story of finding me in my crib, dancing and singing along to the Mickey Mouse Club on television. By 4th grade, I was attending a local performing arts summer camp, and I knew instantly that I had found my home. Read more>>

Ajinkya Hukerikar

At the end of 4th grade, I was deep into what I considered a very productive summer routine: mastering video games and conducting advanced research into cartoon physics. My mom, however, had different ideas about what constituted ‘productivity.’ ‘You’re doing photography classes,’ she announced one day, clearly unimpressed with my dedication to Nintendo. At first, I rolled my eyes at aperture and shutter speed lessons. Read more>>

Shawn Pipkin-West

As long as I can remember, I always watched the Oscars and tallied up the wins for every film. I believe it started at 8 years old. After viewing a film, I stayed to watch the end credits when no one else I knew did not do that! Read more>>

Alejandra Matiz

I think the first time I truly knew I wanted to pursue a creative path was when I realized that drawing and storytelling were more than just hobbies for me—they were my way of understanding the world. As a child, I spent hours filling notebooks, drawing my favorite characters from movies, books, and TV, alongside my own characters, animals, and imagined worlds. Read more>>

Augustus T Scretchen

It may sound trite, but I have always been passionate about acting. Growing up, I would often create characters and perform improvisational acts for my family, driven by a strong desire to entertain. In middle school, I joined the drama club and participated in a play, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Read more>>

Gladys Martin

The first time I truly knew I wanted to pursue a creative path professionally was during a deeply transformative period in my life. For years, I was involved in advocating for mental health, addiction, and homelessness causes that are very close to my heart. Read more>>

Cassie Compton

I first knew I wanted to pursue a creative path professionally when I realized that every time I came home from a trip, people weren’t just asking, “How was it?” They were asking me for advice. Family, friends, and even casual acquaintances wanted to know where to go, what to see, and how to plan the same kind of experiences. Read more>>

Heather Loop

When I was eight years old I dressed up as an artist for Halloween. I think I knew then I was gonna walk the path of a creative. Read more>>

Jenny Nordstrom

I was a music major in college, and pursued administrative music work early in my career — I loved supporting musicians, but the work itself was dreadfully boring! So I went back to school and became a graphic designer, a career which made me very happy! In the meantime, I got married to my late husband John. Read more>>

Hanna Hartenhauer

I’ve always been totally obsessed with the camera! As a kid, I would “steal” my dad’s digital camera and film myself doing all kinds of stuff, playing with my stuffed animals, recreating musicals, making little vlogs, and even creating my own talk show called “Hanna’s Talentshow.” Yeah, I had my own catchy slogan and everything, complete with commercial breaks! Read more>>

Andres Michelena

I was raised in a family that breathed art. On my father’s side, visual art was permanently present, on my mother’s side, poetry and literature. Besides that, my siblings are all, in some ways, influenced by either one and sometimes both of these powerful currents. Read more>>

Cedric Newton

In 2016 was on a deployment and hosted a talent night. I MC’d the event myself and in the process I was just talking to the audience making them laugh. People came up to me afterward and said ‘I didn’t know you were a comedian’. I always appreciated comedy but never thought of pursuing myself until then. Read more>>

Alexandros Kyriakopoulos

I was about to turn sixteen when my life took a dramatic turn in my musical life. My piano teacher at the time passed away suddenly from a lung disease, leaving me heartbroken and uncertain about my musical future. Read more>>

Chris Franz

When I was young I had a passion for music which led me to learn how to play guitar and dream of rock and roll fame. When I reakized that wasnt going to happen I then became a booking agent for local bands and then started a music management and promotion buisness. Read more>>

Nightshade (Jerry) The glow (Rodriguez)

When I was a small child I would always put on small little shows for my great grandmother when she was bed ridden towards the end of her life. It got to the point that the whole neighborhood would come to watch me dance and that’s when I knew that I always wanted to be a performer and on stage. Read more>>

Mitchel Leonard

My dad was a rapper, DJ and a music producer when I was growing up he was in a rap group called “The Legion”. Read more>>

Tay Rose Dior

The first time I knew I wanted to pursue a creative path professionally was back in high school. I was already experimenting with fashion and beauty not just putting together outfits, but creating full looks that told a story. I realized early on that styling was more than clothes for me; it was about transformation, confidence, and expression. That passion followed me into my career. Read more>>

Andre Johnson

First and foremost thank you for the opportunity and taking your time to learn about me. Im from Northeast Denver Colorado (Park Hill to be exact) I have always known that I wanted to be a professional actor. I’ve known since I was a kid when I used to watch movies and envision myself playing certain roles. Read more>>

Rachelle Agundes

Before attending college, I had never known a professional artist—nor had I ever imagined that I could become one. I grew up in a working-class family, and I don’t think I ever set foot in an art museum or gallery as a child. As an undergraduate at a small liberal arts college in Northern California, I quickly drew attention and encouragement from my art professors. Read more>>

BrookeLynn MacNeil

I first knew I wanted to persue music when i was 6 years old. My adopted mother placed me into a local choir called YPC (Young Peoples Chorus of Erie) and i felt it just suited me so well !!! It all started when she had first placed me in ballet when i was 5… Read more>>

Ivory Hillery

The first time I knew I wanted to pursue a creative path was when I was in 8th grade. A guest speaker came into our classroom to talk about different careers, and one of them was a model. Hearing her story immediately sparked something in me and it opened my eyes to the idea that creativity could be a career, not just a hobby. Read more>>

Tyquan Chislom

I knew I wanted to pursue this path when my words started haunting me. Writing was the first outlet poems, stories, whatever I could get down and then music gave those words a rhythm. I’d loop beats off YouTube, freestyle, and fill my phone with notes until it became more than a hobby. Read more>>

Struthy

Over twelve years ago, I was just figuring out adulthood , trying to make sense of life. Back then I was a musician and part-time wedding singer (yep, guilty), and I’d started messing around with this new thing called “having an online presence.” Social media was taking off, and I signed up for anything that asked for a username: Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat. Read more>>

Sierra Sikora

Honestly, there was no one moment where I knew I wanted to pursue music professionally. I think I’ve always secretly wanted it deep down, and over time it’s just been more solidified and I’ve become more sure of it with time and successes. There is one moment in particular that was especially moving to me, though. Read more>>

Eddie And The Getaway

When I was around 11-years-old I went to my first U2 concert and Bono actually ended up pulling my sister up on stage. She got to run around and stuff. It was a really cool moment. Read more>>

Michael Bueno

I was fascinated at a young age by my aunt’s 35mm camera, she helped raise me in the Dominican Republic. At the time, she was working in Journalism and PR, so I was exposed to a lot of her world in media since she would bring me to work with her. Read more>>

Eryka Taylor

Well honestly it started young for me at age 3 my grand pa had me playing around on the piano then came dance instruments as time went on then eventually I got into reading and writing very heavily I used to write short stories as an kid . Read more>>

Isabella Grewe

I have always been hesitant to do art professionally as I know it is a community that is hard to get into. Ever since I was young, I always loved to draw. It was one of my hobbies growing up, but I never thought I could make money from doing it. Read more>>

Santosh Ram

To further my skills, I took a **Film Appreciation Course** at the National Film Archive of India and a six-month filmmaking course at **Cine Fusion, Pune**. I also completed a special course on “City Narratives in Cinema and Literature.” I believe my background in literature is what sets my work apart; it helps me create strong, character-focused stories that are both powerful and socially relevant. Read more>>