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.

Makaela Dokken

I have always been a creator and an artist. The biggest obstacle, creatively, was my immediate professional life post-college. Having obtained a degree in English/Journalism, then working in several different industries (sales, communications, legal, insurance, and hospitality) I realized at 25 I was deeply unsatisfied with my professional life and the toll it took on me mentally and emotionally. Read more>>

Debra Broz

After I got my BFA I moved to Austin, and I randomly and luckily found a job as an assistant to a ceramics restorer. The person who trained me had been doing it for 20 years, and he taught me what I know. Read more>>

Melizza Rosich

I have always loved to bake. Once I was allowed to use the oven, I started to bake concoctions. And before that I was pretending to bake on my apartment’s radiator. Read more>>

Julie Yeung

Learning how to produce music has been one of the most challenging, yet rewarding activities I’ve ever been involved with. In the beginning, it was an uphill battle, to say the least, and I would not be nearly where I am without the people and mentors whom I’ve been fortunate enough to meet along the way. Read more>>

Franco Enverga

Music has always been present in my life in a variety of aspects. I was always keen towards singing and wanting to learn how to play instruments. Read more>>

Anne Zaug

When I first started working on a lathe, I knew absolutely nothing about it. I turned for a year on my own trying to figure it out. I wasn’t horrible. Read more>>

Jefe Chindrix

I believe I am still learning “what to do”, in terms of creating music. I’ve been creating music for about three years now and began releasing music two years ago. Read more>>

Eric H. Ruiz

My artistic journey started way back in childhood. I took a real interest when I was around 12 years old. One of my earliest influences was LOWRIDER Arte magazine from the early two-thousands. Read more>>

Sara Hannon

The number one obstacle in my life has been self-doubt, or rather, a lack of trusting my intuition. I thought that there was a strict rule to life, to creating. Read more>>

Matthijs Herzberg

I’ve been drawing since I was 3. At around 12, I took an interest in architecture. I started drawing letters about 10 years ago, aged 18. I had never really paid much attention to letters, but once I started, I couldn’t stop. Read more>>

Zoey Hudson

I used to work in Fashion. I loved my experiences, but when the pandemic hit I knew in my heart that field was no longer for me, or my calling. Read more>>

Alex Hall

I was encouraged to freestyle with a few of my friends when I was like 15. It was in doing that I realized that I was pretty good and that I loved being able to let all my feelings out in such a creative and fun way. Read more>>

Anthony Bruno

Developing a voice on your instrument and in your compositional style feels like a monumental task. As a recording artist, there’s so many facets of the creative process to work on, but learning how to play your instrument and how to compose are by far the most paramount, at least in the spheres I function in. Read more>>

lluvia Phillips

Learning photography is a process that requires a lot of practice and an understanding of light. One crucial lesson I’ve learned is that light can either enhance or diminish the quality of a photograph. Read more>>

Rachel Bouzier

My earliest memories of singing are in church. But even before that – my mom always tells me stories about how when I was younger I would sing along, at the top of my lungs, to The Bodyguard [Whitney Houston] soundtrack. Read more>>

Philip Church

As far as wanting to entertain people goes, that’s been constant my whole life. I got into acting in plays when I was very young, maybe 4 or 5, and started music lessons not long after with piano then viola then guitar. Read more>>

ScapegoatLX

Most of my musical background can be attributed to attending church every sunday at a young age. That was the biggest amount of exposure I had to music and musical instruments such as the keyboard, guitar, and drums. Read more>>

Regine Sawyer

I learned how to write comics by researching the craft online and finding old comic book scripts with different templates. I also read as many books as I could on comic book writing and sequential storytelling. Read more>>

The Lights Witch

As a liquid light artist, I can attribute my humble beginnings to the pioneers who paved the way in the 60’s and 70’s. The music of that era has always had a grip on my heart, and I remember being mesmerized the first time I saw a recording of a live show with a liquid light backdrop behind the band. Read more>>

Kate Sherman

I first became interested in the language of painting that I do now when I was a sophomore in college. It was in a drawing class, and we were prompted to draw with unorthodox materials. Read more>>

Carolyn Owen Sommer

I learned a lot through trial and error. My college design classes have been very helpful, but no one did collage in school. Design is the foundation of all art. It was crucial. Read more>>

SATORI CIRCUS

I think for the most part i learned to do what i do by doing. i didn’t have a manual. didn’t have a mentor. didn’t have a school or books to learn from. Read more>>

Ed Garcia

When I first started out, I thought buying a high-end camera and fancy lenses would instantly make me a pro. Spoiler alert: I still sucked. After a couple of years of muddling through, I sold my equipment out of sheer frustration. Read more>>

Jaylin Monet’ Stewart

I am a self-taught artist. My skill is a natural, God-given talent, and I feel truly blessed with it. I come from a super creative family. I had some art classes in school throughout my life, but those would only be for about an hour or so. Read more>>

Dale Duke

I learned the art of epoxy on youtube and instagram. My background in art has been prevalent and of interest since I was a child. Epoxy is the next up and coming product in the home renovation space in kitchens, bathrooms and garages. Read more>>

Toshiea Wright

I learned by watching others daily, and practicing on myself. Follow more skilled artists, and take classes from skilled makeup artists. Honestly everything is most essential, because there’s so many steps in the process. Read more>>