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.

Nick And Lena Beam

Growing up in lower-class areas, we couldn’t afford the things we liked, so we had to make them ourselves. This necessity sparked our creativity and taught us to make do with what we had, figuring things out along the way. While money would have undoubtedly sped up our learning, we appreciate the journey we took. It forced us to be resourceful and resilient, skills we value greatly. Learning how to use tools has been the most essential skill we’ve gained. It’s not just about the physical tools, but also about the ability to improvise and adapt. Time is always the biggest obstacle, especially with having a large family. Balancing our commitments while continuing to learn has been challenging. Read more>>

Eric Morris

For the most part, I was self taught, it wasnt until I was in my early/mid 20’s where I found a mentor that taught me how to tie all my bits of knowledge together. Im not sure there was anything to do to speed up my learning process, as I was far ahead of the curve when the practice hit mainstream music, I could have been more social, Im sure that could have helped ;) The skills that I found that were most essential included not being afraid to crack open manuals for answers. “RTFM” is a term that I live by! The biggest obstacles for me were usually finances, The gear is expensive, living in Los Angeles was expensive, and I had to spend a lot of my time working crummy jobs that paid very little to be able to get to a spot where I could start using my knowledge and equipment for monetary gain. Read more>>

Taylor Young

Music was always in my life. I learned how to perfect my own craft from constantly being surrounded by different artists. Seeing their dedication to their creative projects helped me start to develop my own routine. I started to realize the environments/feelings I needed to be in touch with to make music. Time was overall the best teacher – the more I made music, the more I understood myself & the things I wanted to talk about as well. I can’t say that I would have wanted to be more advanced sooner because I believe there’s a process to everything. The most essential skills to me are being ambitious & never complacent. You have to remember that you’re doing this for yourself… & being ambitious will replace that lack of motivation you feel from outside sources at times. Knowing that you can always improve will help you push yourself further even when you think you’ve made it far enough. You can always be better, so aim for it. The only obstacle I felt was holding me back was getting used to change. Things are forever changing & I had to learn how to stand on a solid foundation regardless of where I was in life. I had to remind myself that I had to adapt to the new things life would bring as I got older & just keep going. I told myself no matter what, just keep going. Read more>>

Amy Shoremount-obra

My life in music began at a young age, around five years old. I vividly remember the moment my dad and uncle brought my grandparents’ piano to our house- a gift for me because I had shown an early interest and talent for music. I was in bed pretending to be asleep, and as soon as they finished setting up the piano in my room and left, I eagerly got up to play. A few years later, I developed an interest in theater, studying acting over the summer and performing at two local theaters. As my teenage years unfolded, it became increasingly evident that I had a talent for singing. My voice was maturing, and I began to focus mainly on singing and acting. (although piano remained a significant part of my life and I also played the trombone and xylophone in the school band). I sang in choirs and competed for spots in the Regional, All-State (NJ), and All-Eastern Choirs. I was fortunate to have a high school choir teacher who taught me to sight-read exceptionally well and encouraged my growth. Read more>>

Andrew Tran

Like most people in creative fields, I first learned by teaching myself, and like most creatives, I started out with a cracked version of Photoshop. While this taught me the basics of software, it wasn’t until university that I started learning about what really matters: design principles––fundamentals like composition, hierarchy, and balance. Studying design in a formal classroom setting, and having your work critiqued by peers and professors, skyrocketed my rate of learning. They saw problems in my projects that I couldn’t see myself until they were pointed out. This helped me quickly train my eye, which is the most important tool a designer can have. They also taught me to design with intention, instead of just creating images that look cool, and made sure that I could explain my reasoning behind every decision, such as a choice of typeface or style of image making. Read more>>

David Rajput

I’m a big believer in learning by doing, or “trial by fire.” I’m a singer, songwriter, producer, and artist now building an agency to help creators monetize their art and brands. When I started writing songs at 17, I had none of the skills or abilities I have now. I was studying Mechanical Engineering because I didn’t believe in my chances of succeeding in the arts, and as a first-generation Pakistani American with immigrant parents facing financial struggles, I felt even more pressure. Despite this, I pursued my passion wherever I could—creating two bands (which I eventually left), paying for singing lessons and songwriting workshops, and working part-time jobs throughout college to fund my music. None of this would have happened if I hadn’t just dived in and learned along the way. Read more>>

Deborah Smith Pegues

Writing a nonfiction book that the masses would flock to was a skill that I didn’t know that I had. I never aspired to pursue this as a career. However, English was always my favorite subject, and the teacher who influenced me most was my high school English teacher, Mrs. Scales. From the time I graduated college to this day, my family, friends, colleagues, and others have always asked me to draft correspondence on their behalf or to weigh in on their writings. Okay, to be completely honest, I often offered my critiques without their solicitation–but usually with much appreciation. In terms of learning the craft, I’ve never had a formal writing class. I simply observed or experienced a problem or challenge in our culture and decided to tackle it from an inspirational perspective using the ancient wisdom of the Bible. The goal has always been to keep the writing simple and to propose actionable steps or strategies to assure a positive outcome. Read more>>

Jen Kwok

I learned to do what I do by following my intuition and creative impulses. Sometimes I wish I had gone to school or had more of a formal path, but spending my 20s and 30s trying anything and everything in NYC was the ultimate training ground. Knowing what I know now, I would have embraced myself more as a multi-passionate person and seen it as a strength rather than a source of confusion. When I first started out, it was less common to be a multi-hyphenate, and people would try to put you in a box. As a creative person, you cannot limit yourself to someone else’s imagination or expectations, even your own. If there’s one thing I understand now, it’s that artists are ultimately responsible for learning the craft of ourselves, and discovering and evolving with our own processes. Outside opportunities can be conduits for or distractions from that process–or more often, somewhere in the middle. As a creative, it is essential to learn when to say “yes” or “no”. Yes to these projects, no to these notes. Yes to this style, no to that idea. When you’re someone who works in multiple genres, the number of opportunities, tools and decisions also multiply. It’s your own self-knowledge and acceptance that will determine what decisions you make, and that is what ultimately determines the path of your artistic integrity and growth. Read more>>

Miguel Bregante

I learned by doing. When I lived in Spain, I made a living dancing on stilts with a traveling street theater company. Later, in Chile, I studied acting at a Lecoq-style school, which bases its methodology on using the body, movement, and gesture as expressive tools. This method pushed us to engage physically, to experience rather than analyze. We were given almost no explanations; instead, we learned through trial and error and from the conversations that arose from our mistakes in weekly presentations. Through that practice, I also discovered that my place in the creative process was directing. I enjoyed performing and writing, but directing I liked it more, and I was definitely more useful at it. One day after finishing my training in Chile, with the very same people I had been doing weekly mistakes and presentations, we founded our touring company La Mona Ilustre. No one had taught me how to direct, but I had been doing it, well or/and wrong for years. With the Company, I indeed learned the craft—or at least a part of it—the kind that involves images, gesture-based theater, poetry, and storytelling through silence. We developed shows that gradually found an audience in Chile, but we performed live also in Argentina, Ecuador, Brazil, Mexico, Belgium, France, Norway, Spain, and Taiwan, each experience bringing new lessons. We learned how to tour, how to secure funding, and how to adapt shows for different venues and even cultures. Read more>>

Daniel Arite

I started learning drums and percussion in the band program at my elementary school and junior high school. When I was 15, I saw Carlos Santana in concert and was inspired to learn how to play the guitar. At that time, I didn’t take formal lessons but learned from books, musicians, and friends in my small community in rural New Mexico. I went to college with plans to study architecture, but music was what excited me more, so I studied classical guitar instead. While attending college in Albuquerque, I connected with professional musicians in the area. Their mentorship influenced my approach to performance and composing and my career trajectory. I started playing at community events, hotels, restaurants, bars, and later learned about studio recording. This led to writing, leading ensembles, producing CDs and creating music for theater and video. I moved to Nashville in 2000 and have continued this lifelong journey of learning with the artists in my circles. Read more>>

Kelly Sexton

Self-taught in this delicate art, I’ve been amazed at how quickly it captured my heart and transformed my creative world. Every brushstroke has been a rewarding challenge, and the dedication to learning and practice has brought so much growth. What started as a personal journey is now blossoming into a business. I’m loving every moment—especially finding the perfect frames to complement each piece. My mind is filled with ideas to create products with my art and, one day, to teach and share this passion with others. This journey has only just begun, and I’m eager to see where it takes me next. Read more>>

Rinat Mingazdinov

It’s been a very long journey, especially considering that I never imagined this would become my main career. Let me explain in more detail. When I was 16, I first thought about trying to tattoo someone. The desire came after I saw George Clooney in From Dusk Till Dawn. At that time, it was difficult to find anyone who could help me with this. It was 2002, and there was very little information available online. Eventually, I found a guy named Sasha “Gorshok,” who already had some skills and experience. A big thanks to him, and may he rest in peace. We connected on a deep level, and he showed me how to put together a makeshift tattoo machine from an electric razor or a motor and a pen. He explained how to sharpen the needle, and I began experimenting. After a while, we connected with someone who was making coil tattoo machines, and things got even more interesting. So the main obstacles back then were the lack of information and quality equipment. Nowadays, that’s no longer a problem—YouTube and Amazon make everything accessible. Read more>>

Kammy Burnett

I truly believe people are born with certain gifts. Some people are funny and some are not. I truly believe that people are born with their comedic personality. I also believe people can learn to be funny. That’s what my comedy instructor said anyway. I knew I was funny, but I wasn’t sure exactly what made me funny. When I was a kid, people would laugh at things I said, and I though they were making fun of me. As I got older, I got over those thoughts. Since I was young, I always knew I wanted to be an actor. I got married and raised children, and my acting career never took off. Not at first, anyway. My focus was raising them and put food on the table. I think if I had known that comedy was my gift, I would have sought it out sooner, and taken comedy writing and standup comedy workshops. Social media wasn’t “a thing” at that time, and I didn’t begin making comedy videos until later.  Read more>>

Ryan Benjelloun

Present Ryan Benjelloun’s journey as an influencer, detailing how he transformed his passion for stand-up into a communication channel for major brands via social media. This success story should illustrate his ability to build a community, use humor to spread inspiring messages, and approach cultural topics with ease. Angle: “The Impact of Laughter for Brands: How an Influencer Conquered Social Media and Inspired a Generation of Internet Users.” The approach focuses on Ryan Benjelloun’s human, sincere story. Personal anecdotes reflecting his journey, challenges, and how the U.S. helped him achieve personal and professional growth are recommended. Read more>>

Patrick Kinchsular

Most of what I learned has been self-taught. I find that the most enjoyable thing for me to do is just play around with my camera and see what I get. Every camera feels a little bit different and there’s so many little adjustments you can make to make each shot feel special. One of my favourite aspects of urban photography is how limited you are in the types of things that you can manipulate, and how much you can do even with so few things that are in your control. I don’t get to decide what the street looks like, what the weather is, whether an area is crowded or desolate, or really anything else. I like that when I get put into an environment, I just have to work with what I have and focus on what’s in my control. I can’t change the scene itself, but I change the framing, the focus, the shutter speed, the angle at which light hits the camera, etc. I’ve found that to be immensely helpful in my learning. I focus on the very small set of things that I get to play with, and just do so until the shot feels right. Read more>>

Robert Dancik

I believe that my path to being an artist and, more specifically, an artist making jewelry, sculpture, and occasionally furniture started the first time I took apart one of my favorite Matchbox cars – around age 6. I was both amazed and fascinated with how all these seemingly random and unrelated pieces of “stuff” went together and when arranged in a certain way, made a car. The idea of taking a material, manipulating it in various ways, fashioning it into various forms and combining those forms to yield a completely different form became the bedrock of my artistic career. In fact, this fascination has only become broader and deeper as I learned about more materials and the possibilities for putting those materials together to form not just an object, but an object that could allow me to express myself about the world in which I live as well as the world I create in my mind. Read more>>

Laura Stevens

From a very young age, I loved arts and crafts. When I was in elementary school, I took a group art class where I primarily used pastels as a medium. I remember so vividly learning first to sketch my subject (usually a dolphin or cat, of course), selecting which colors I would need, then how to blend my colors without losing the shape of my subject. As I grew older and other interests emerged, I didn’t have time to take art classes anymore. Many years went by where every so often, I’d pop into Michael’s to buy a blank canvas and some paints so I could paint for a day to scratch the itch. Read more>>

Russ Brausch

I have been drawing ever since my fingers could hold a crayon. I was obsessed with filling every page of every coloring book my parents and family gifted me. My mom actually still has all of them – I guess to archive me as a young artist. Once I got older, my grandpa who is a photographer taught me lots of the basics. Eventually my kid fascination for cartoons lead me to spend my summers filling pages, copying my favorite cartoon characters like bugs bunny, roadrunner, etc. I had great high school art classes but I put most of my energy into calculus, and other AP classes I thought I was going to need. Read more>>

Iya

I learn through the vibrancy of relationships, lived experiences, and the winding paths of study, guided always by Comrade Eros and a constellation of pro-resistance, anti-colonial denizens. Through the art of agitprop, collective movement, and surreal conversations, I’ve blossomed into a Socialist Surrealist, an identity molded in the transformative spirit of collective organizing, somatic expressionist art, and the rich thoughts and actions of those resisting capitalist patriarchy. My education is a tapestry woven from radical spaces, Socialist Surrealism’s visionary realms, and the lived wisdom of comrades. Read more>>

Isabel Thompson

I am originally a musician with lots of degrees and performing experience! I never thought of myself as crafty, or talented for visual arts. During the pandemic, I was working a corporate job from home, and I missed feeling artistic. Performing arts was not happening, and I needed a creative outlet. After watching a few online video tutorials, I collected a few stones from my backyard, found some old wire, and started teaching myself how to wire-wrap. I decided to do a 100-day challenge where I would make a new pendant every day, no matter the outcome. Social media became my sharing point, and many of my friends engaged in my new craft and started buying my products. Read more>>

Andrew Moreland

My journey with photography began by chance when I moved to Saint George Utah in search of a place I could ride a bike and rock climb year round, I had also heard of Zion National Park and Canyoneering and was intrigued. I would take long bike rides and stop every 5 minutes to take a photo on my phone and realized I needed something more powerful. After getting my first real camera I was hooked, I took it everywhere with me especially in the outdoors. I spent many years learning from just shooting, watching videos, reading articles, and making mistakes. In 2022 I went to college for Digital Media Design. Although I don’t think this is a necessity, having a mentor who has already done the hard learning and can teach efficient workflow can help speed up the learning process exponentially. Read more>>

Gianne De Genevraye

After 4 years at UCI in the fine arts department during the minimalist period, I came away without fundamental skills in art. After the life changing loss of my husband, I decided to aquire the skills I needed to be able to paint what I saw. I worked with a maestro in Paris, where I was living, for 5 years. In art, I have seen that if one doesn’t have the technical skill, there is always a point which you cannot go further. But still, after having aquired the skills to paint, my identity of a “contemporary artist” kept me from painting what I really wanted to paint: gardens. On the final workshop with my maestro, we were at my home in the countryside of France. I told him I wanted to paint my garden, but couldn’t because of that identity. He insisted I try. After five paintings -in five days- he told me that it was abundantly clear this was what I should be doing, and was the most natural for me. His validation gave me the courage to change direction and become a painter of gardens around the world. Read more>>

Sonia Redfern

I learned to make things out of fabric from a very young age because my female relatives all did. Fabric was around the house and being used to make clothes, furniture, books, all kinds of things, and a lot of artmaking begins with a familiarity with materials. I think painting on recycled fabric came very naturally to me because I was so used to having fabric around and using it for different things. As I grew older I took art classes in high school and then at university, but I took a few-year detour to pursue an astrophysics degree. I ended up switching focus back to art, but my work now is very informed by the ideas that I got to think about in those astronomy classes. I could have sped up the process of becoming an artist by going straight for the arts degree, but my work and life would have probably ended up in a very different place. Read more>>

Kira Westlund

Photography is the first passion of mine that I can remember wanting to make a real career out of. I bought my first camera, a Canon PowerShot, in middle school and immediately started using it to take portraits of my friends and family. I was able to upgrade to a DSLR partway through high school, and while I did take a semester long photography class, I would say my skills and technical understanding at the time were self taught. My camera’s manual was like a novel to me, and I read it any time I was confused or trying to learn a new technique. It’s definitely important to know your gear, but getting out and actually taking photos will always be the best way to develop your style and hone your skills. Read more>>

Kristina Banks

I was in my 20’s when I first attempted stand up comedy and was scared shitless {terrified} of seeing what I was up against. I had no handle or awareness of my ADHD, anxiety, or my underlying super powers. I quit after going up twice. So when I was in my early 30’s, working as a wedding planner, and recruited into comedy, I rolled my eyes, threw up my hands and asked how anyone even learns that. Little did I know, that was my surrender to the craft. The person who recruited me was the Professor of Stand up Comedy at UNLV and was ready with a book in hand and offering mentorship. I immediately dove in, reading and writing for about 8months to sharpen my material and find friends to join me. While I was creating good habits on the backend of the things, the challenge was I needed to just go do it, and I needed to go alone. The skills from my corporate sales past were the biggest things I relied on–always network up, never laterally, find the good habits you want to copy and add to yourself, and always ask for feedback. Being new, I knew expectations, rushing the process, and being rude wouldn’t get me anywhere, so I had to teach myself the largest lesson of patience.  Read more>>

Nick Mccarthy

Learning to write and improving has been an ongoing process. I know there are plenty of professional authors who take courses, attend workshops, get a degree in creative writing, etc… Well, that wasn’t the path for me. I have been an avid reader since junior high school and when I finally decided to try my hand at creating a work of fiction, I found myself just grabbing a laptop and writing. And rewriting and rewriting again. For me, there were only three things I could do to improve my writing: read books, write new stuff, rewrite the stuff previously mentioned. Over the years, there have been a few times that I’ve met authors, usually with more impressive backgrounds than myself. During these encounters, I tried to find out more about how they approached the craft, thinking there was some big secret I missed out on by learning on my own. After speaking to them, I feel there isn’t any secret. It’s just a lot of hard work and dedication. But then again, the world is a big place and maybe I haven’t found the secret just yet. Read more>>

Remi Dessinges

My journey began back in 1999 when I first got access to the internet. Like most people, I spent a few years doing random things on my computer, but then I stumbled upon web design, which got me hooked. Learning to make websites pushed me to use tools like Photoshop, and that’s when my interest in design really started to grow. After a few years of designing websites and logos, I discovered a 3D school not far from where I lived in the south of France. At that time, 3D schools were rare, and as it turned out, this one, Supinfocom, was one of the best in the world. Read more>>

Kim Alemian

Even as a small child, I was interested in drawing and painting. Early on I had private lessons. I attended Massachusetts College of Art where I studied painting with George Nick. He was tough on values, color and composition. He didn’t teach a specific method or formula of painting. He taught an attitude, a way of seeing and a rigorous work ethic. I received a full scholarship to the Masters program at Boston University to study painting and drawing. It was here that my drawing skills were greatly enhanced. It would have been very helpful to have had the drawing skills I learned at B.U. earlier. Drawing in my opinion is probably the most essential tool. I gained more confidence in my work and it was fun to play with drawing from different angles. Visiting Artist Graham Nickson was instrumental in opening my eyes to different approaches in Drawing and Painting. Read more>>

Amanda Bear

When I was 10, my mom gifted me a red Kodak Easyshare camera and made me the designated picture taker. As I grew up and entered high school, I knew that I wanted to pursue photography as a hobby and a passion. From there, I would spend hours on Youtube searching for educational resources for beginner photographers. While I learned a lot of technical camera skills through video tutorials, practicing in person with either my friends or models taught me the most. As I enter year 9 of being a photographer, it is crucial to me to continue practicing and perfecting my workflow and craft. Read more>>

Aziz Halabi

Hello everyone! I want to start by expressing my gratitude for this wonderful opportunity to share my thoughts and feelings about my journey so far. Thank you to anyone who is reading this. I discovered my passion for photography later in my 20s, which just goes to show that it’s never too late to learn. When COVID hit, I took the time to reflect on what I truly wanted to pursue, and photography had been calling to me for quite a while. One sunny day, I decided, “Why not?” I invested in a Nikon D810 through an eBay auction, won the bid, and embarked on my path to self-taught photography. As my skills developed, I felt inspired to take the next step and founded my own business, Musaweron. This venture has allowed me to share my passion with others, a photography venture dedicated to immortalizing moments in time and space through my craft. Read more>>

Deborah Mintcheff

As it turned out, calligraphy found me. It would be helpful for you to know two things about me: I am all about creative processes, and I have not been shy about changing careers every ten years or so. To my way of thinking, there is nothing worse than not loving what one does, especially considering how many hours we devote to work. Before I became a calligrapher, I was a food stylist, recipe developer and cookbook producer. Six years ago, while at a photo shoot for a cookbook, during some down time, I scrolled YouTube and happened upon a video of a calligrapher writing with a pointed pen. I was mesmerized as I watched the calligrapher writing the way it had been done for hundreds of years. As the pen gently scratched across the page, ultra-thin upstrokes connected to thick, juicy downstrokes. The ink, a deep brown, had been made from green walnuts the same way it had been made since the days of quill pens. I was instantly hooked and knew that this was going to be my new creative path forward. I quit my job and devoted seven days a week to learning this new craft. I started by watching free YouTube videos, then signed up for Zoom classes taught by calligraphers from around the world to learn Copperplate, the classic nineteenth-century script that is graceful and elegant and graces many wedding invitations and envelopes. Read more>>

Charlotte Roy

I learned how to make images by trial and error. Doing things the wrong way is necessary to learning how to do things the “right” way. Perseverance and determination are extremely essential skills to have when you’re pursuing a career in art, you need consistency combined with an extreme level of passion. I think, if anything, I stood in my own way of learning more. I used to be very set in my ways, but once I opened up to the idea that perspective matters, I began to learn and grow so much more. Read more>>

Faith Soulliere

I started doing florals when working for a fine dining experience that needed help with the tablescapes. They were a small business as well so we were all learning as we went. I’ve always admired florals and have an eye for design so I kinda just put things on the table hoping it looked ok and as I went on arranging the florals became more fun to me and each stem was placed more intentionally than the ones before. I quickly started learning the importance of the vessel you put the flowers in and how to keep them in place using chicken wire or green foam. While on my journey of figuring out how to make my florals more efficient and of course more beautiful, I took a workshop with a florist I admired. After that class I found my style and learned the tools to bring it to life. Once florals became a creative outlet in my life I began my floral company and now provide florals for all kinds of events. Read more>>