Wanting to be an artist or creative is step one. Following through means investing in learning your craft, but we’ve heard from so many aspiring artists and creatives who feel unsure about where to start and so we’re incredibly grateful to the artists and creatives who’ve agreed to share their stories of how they learned their craft.

Juliet Callahan

Learning music came naturally to me. From a young age I would hear all these little melodies in my head that I’d sing and I used to play classical piano at my elementary school’s chapels. Read more>>

Kendra Spann

As a singer, I was born into a family full of singers so being able to do so is a natural born gift. As a songwriter who started at a young age, my journey into music began with a deep passion for melodies and lyrics. Read more>>

Angelina Parise

I learned traditional metalsmithing in art school ( I attended for about 6 years, started in Fashion and switched to Metalsmithing the end of my 2nd year) and the experience was amazing in so many ways, Read more>>

Ted Omo

Learning the craft of filmmaking isn’t linear. Making movies is the most collaborative creative process on earth. No one person can do everything by themselves. Read more>>

Vince N. Too

When introducing myself and what I do, it is not always clear when I just say ‘Mograph.’ To be fair, about five years ago, I did not know ‘Motion Graphics’ were a thing either. Read more>>

Roger Dolin

I went to art school to learn about making art. At school I learned design fundamentals, composition, color, a few different medium (acrylic painting, watercolor, etching, drawing, and figure drawing) I liked being in school and I looked forward to my projects. Read more>>

Judy Dam

Learning about what to do with the fiber was a huge learning curve for me. I didn’t have the first clue what to do. I started watching you tube videos: how to wash and clean the fiber without felting it, how to card the fiber, how to dye the fiber, how to knit the the yarn. Read more>>

Jonah Jacobs

My journey to becoming a visual artist started with writing. For several years I spent many hours every week writing short stories and poems. I was in love with words and found the editing process excruciatingly difficult. Read more>>

Derek Stoner

Learning the craft was and still continues to be the most challenging part of becoming a singer/songwriter. However, this has went from an often times frustrating process to a usually enjoyable process because of progress/confidence. Read more>>

Israel Bacchus

Have you ever found a subject or activity that just pulled you in and gripped your attention? This was knife design for me… A couple of years ago, my wife bought me my first pocket knife and I thought it was the coolest thing. Read more>>

Murjoni Merriweather

When I was in elementary school I learned to draw from my mother. Every year, my parents would gift me an art kit for Christmas, with pastels, different types of granite pencils and a drawing pad. Read more>>

Benjamin Carroll

By the time we see most professionals, whether they are in the creative space or business world, we see them at the point they are most refined at their craft. At least refined enough to enter the stage. Read more>>

Rosaria Bazan-Pepe

I was fortunate to attend a great college in New York City to receive my creative degree. Being in a city with so much inspiration enabled me to immerse myself with like-minded individuals and exposed me to an education I was enthused about. Read more>>

Melissa Stutts

Despite having gone through an arts program in college, I didn’t meet encaustics in real life until 2014. I gave myself a crash course into the discipline after my full-time job every night. Read more>>

Jennifer Kate

As an artist, I’ve learned a lot by taking various courses and exploring different resources. I’ve discovered new techniques and gained insights from artists around the world by reading and watching their works. Read more>>

Belinda Chen

I learn most of my skills on the job. My college degree is in Media design, which is related, but also really different from VFX work. However, I was fortunate to have a basic understandings of using the software, thanks to my college professors at the time, that gets me one foot into the door. Read more>>

Uma Sanghvi

Art can be healing in the most unexpected ways. Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert is one of my favorite books about the creative process. In it, she wrote “I think perfectionism is just fear in fancy shoes and a mink coat, pretending to be elegant when actually it’s just terrified.” Read more>>

PJ Peterson

My first career was in medicine and I loved it. When I retired, I needed something to do with all this free time (beyond housework, quilting, and gardening) and dusted off a murder mystery that I had written nearly 40 years earlier. Read more>>

Brandon Patrick

My very first job out of college was working for Rachel Berks who owned Otherwild in LA & NYC, which was a hybrid retail space / community center / creative studio / queer exploration of all that could be. Read more>>

Frankie Ghiloni

My journey as a producer and vocalist started when I was 14. At that time, I was playing guitar in bands and was fascinated with the art of recording. I grew up watching Metallica documentaries of them in the studio, recording some of their biggest albums, and then touring on those albums. Read more>>

William Mantor

At a young age, I learned how to work with clay. I grew up taking various kinds of art classes, but truly it wasn’t until I attended college that clay really took over as my focus. Read more>>

Buju Shabazz

Ive learned things from a variety of sources , so my learning was a bit all over the place. The way i got started though was teaching my self. At the time there were little to no helpful youtube videos on sewing and designing. Read more>>

Kristie Hubler

Hi! First, I want to thank CanvasRebel.com for inviting me, and allowing me to share my story! Thank you Dan! My name is Kristie Hubler, owner of FabricatedFrames.com, inventor of the washable, fabric photo frame, and I was invited to tell my story on CanvasRebel.com! Read more>>

Keyo Zee

Ever since I was little I loved art, movies, and dressing up. Nothing was more exciting to work on than something that involved getting to be creative. (Even if it was just bonus marks for wearing a costume for a presentation in English class — if I could dress up for it, I would!) Read more>>

Bobby California

I am self taught. I could have put in more time and effort, I could have pushed harder instead of waiting for someone else to make things happen for me, but I feel like i am where I need to be. Read more>>

Fran Parrish

I am a cut flower farmer and wedding florist in Western New York. I learned how to grow flowers by way of working in urban agriculture for several years. Later on, I learned how to design wedding floral and run a wedding florist business largely by teaching myself and learning from other people whose business models I admired. Read more>>

Jacqui Fehl

PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!….I learned by doing…playing and exploring. Responding to what lit me up and discarding what felt flat, inauthentic or simply “not fun”. Read more>>

Madison or Mads Wright

Learning to work with metal seemed so intimidating but with the help of a wonderful mentor I had a creative and welcoming environment to learn and explore my new world. Read more>>

Harrison White

I’m a completely self-taught artist. From music production to animation, I figured out what to do and how to do it almost entirely on my own. I am proud of that fact, sure, but I really wish I had made more of an effort to find more formal mentors. Read more>>

Tom Mann

This began as a homeschool project. We built a coal-fired forge in the backyard. By the time I had finished the first knife, I was hooked. Read more>>