One of the most daunting aspects of pursing a creative or artistic career for many aspiring artists is not knowing how to learn the craft. So, we asked some very talented artists and creatives to talk to us about how they learned their crafts and we hope their stories will help you in your journey.
Ka’imi Kuoha
Martial arts has been in my blood and my destiny since before I was born, to say it’s second nature would be an understatement. My Father is the head of a Kempo organization & my Mother a black belt in the arts. The world of film and theater were also introduced to me at the age of 3 years old where I landed my very first speaking role as well as my Screen Actors Guild membership along side of George Clooney, before he became “George Clooney”. Because of my diverse background and meeting people from all walks of life, I have a passion to learn from others. Taking what works for my body/lifestyle & throwing out the rest.
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Kandi Daniel
I have always had a love for photography but never dreamed I could turn it into a successful business. My hobby of taking photos of my children and other family members quickly grew into a true passion and I knew I wanted to learn more! I found myself taking online courses and offering a lot of free sessions to try and sharpen my skills. My first photography workshop was with a local photographer, Shauna Veasey, whom I had admired so much but was also intimidated by her talent. I remember reaching out to her and asking her if my lack of knowledge should keep me from attending. She was so sweet and encouraged me to attend, so I did and it was a game changer for me.
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Ben Miller
Seeing my first Fushu Daiko taiko drumming performance was an inspiration. I had already been a life long drummer and lover of martial arts and now I was seeing them together in synergy. My curiosity and passion for taiko has brought me on a 25 year journey so far. If anything might have sped up my learning process it might have been by slowing down and sinking deeper into each new understanding, technique and movement as I acquired them, The most essential skills have been listening, feeling and staying connected with the other drummers.
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Ashley Nardone
From the earliest days I can remember, curiosity has been a central driving force in my life. I have a tendency to test limits and try things out. To answer how I’ve learned to be a working artist, for me boils down to an amount of natural ability and a deep dedication to being curious. In my mind, the leaning process is just that – a process. The speed at which I learn things is largely out of my control. The best contribution I can make is to ensure I keep moving forward each day, set new challenges, stay curious and absorb lessons around me. One of the most essential skills I have fostered is knowing how to ask myself questions.
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Alecia Vera
I have always been curious and have had a fascination for the “know how”. I am sure it’s also related to my ADHD on some level as well. I would say it is all about experimentation though. The more you dabble and the more you produce, the more you’ll learn. Treat the mistakes as a challenge to fix the issue by using another medium or painting over it. It’s one of the greatest advantages we have as artists. It’s all subjective. Use that as a driving force to make something you like even if others think it’s horrendous or don’t understand it.
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Melody Timothee
Photography has basic rules but for me it was finding out what works best for me despite the rules. Most of what I learned was from practicing and watching YouTube videos. Since photography is an art, there isn’t one way to do something. It’s all subjective. I would spend hours on YouTube watching tutorials then taking my camera out with my friends and begging them to take their photos. Thankfully, they always said yes. Through experimentation is where I found my style. “Okay now let’s see what happens when I put the light here instead?..Hmm, I like this.
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Demetrius Williams
I’d say that the primary thing I do differently is that I do not tend to heavily edit or touch-up my images. I consider myself a purist in that I strive to capture exactly what I am going for in-camera, so when it comes to editing I will occasionally do basic editing (i.e. color correction, minor exposure adjustment, etc). When it comes to portrait photography I prefer to bring out the very best of my subjects as they are – even with their perceived flaws – instead of photoshopping what they see as imperfections out of the image.
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Kelly Loreto
I’ve been in the creative and marketing field since college. I started exploring more work that I could do with my hands and without a computer. I started with apparel design and sewing. From there I wanted to do furniture but didn’t know where or how to learn. Most furniture programs were a big investment of time, money or traveling to a far location. Wood shops are less common these days and investing in tools without experience didn’t seem logical. After years of exploring, I came across a night program through the San Diego Community College district.
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Eva Carrillo
I am a primarily self-taught designer and have making jewelry since 2000. It wasn’t until 2015 that I was able to take my first metalsmith, jewelry making class. Learning how to work with metals is a really great skill to have. I fell in love with the craft and wished I had taken classes sooner. I think the biggest obstacles I’ve had to face is finding time for my craft, working full time, being a single parent and making time to create jewelry is quite the juggling act. Covid also had an impact on my craft. My studio class closed in 2020. They re-opened the studio class last year, however it’s limited and fills up rather quickly.
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