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.

Dashawna Wright

I’ve learned what to do—and what *not* to do—through lots of mistakes. I’ve always been eager to learn, but just as eager to apply what I’ve learned. You can show me a million ways to do something, but it won’t feel right until I put my own spin on it. That approach has led to plenty of roadblocks, but failure has sharpened my skills and helped me hone my creative voice. I had to learn to trust my creative instincts and not be afraid of speaking up, even when I wasn’t sure I had all the answers. Read more>>

Bailey Sullivan

My name is Bailey Sullivan. I am a student at Bartlett High School, and a photographer working for Three Chickadees Photography.

I have always been surrounded by photography for as long as I can remember. My mom was a photographer for the Navy, even before I was born. She was always taking pictures of me and my siblings, and I was always curious to experience what it would be like on the other side of the lens. Read more>>

Zach Miller

I think when I was first starting out I was a little hesitant to take a chance with experimenting. My first impression was always that there was a specific route to take and only one way of doing things. I’d definitely implore my younger self to go bigger and bolder and focus on the perfection of the craft later. Trying new things has only brought more skills to keep on my toolbelt, which has helped me everywhere. Read more>>

Anthony Gabriele

As a filmmaker, I am always learning… From mistakes, failures, successes, and even just in daily life. Honestly, I am happy with the pace I am learning at, just taking it one day at a time, playing things by ear until I am ready to move on to the next stage in my career, and life. I learn by doing and working on more film sets, meeting new people, and directing my own productions help me with that growth. It helps me feel out a vibe for people I work well with, and people that I don’t, and that has helped me develop a strong crew, and friend group! I guess the only obstacle that can prevent me from learning is my own mindset. Read more>>

Grace Whiteside

Glass and I met by chance, on a kismet whim. My second year as a Craft and Material Studies student at Virginia Commonwealth University, the only class available was glassblowing. My professor and incredible glass artist, Bohyun Yoon, introduced the material to me in 2014 and I fell in lust immediately. I have barely set down the material sense. I exchanged an alcohol addiction for molten glass play and never looked back. Read more>>

Maritza Altamirano

The beauty of being a poet is that our journeys are as unique as the verses we speak. My love for reading and writing began at the age of eight, thanks to a moment that changed everything—my momma encouraging me to choose a chapter book over yet another Barbie doll during a shopping trip. One book led to another, and before I knew it, I was crafting my own short stories. I filled pages with tales of school adventures, fairies, families, and friendships—every day was a new story waiting to be told. Read more>>

Alex Edwards

Growing up, I learned how to play guitar by being in a band with some of my best friends in high school. I was trying to figure out how to play guitar while at the same time learning how to play shows and play with other musicians. I was learning my craft by actively doing it with others. I’m so thankful I was able to come up that way!

I always have to be learning and trying to push my musical boundaries so I can be the best version of myself. Music is always evolving so I think it’s important to not get stuck doing the same thing over and over. Taking regular inventory of where you are at and how you can keep things new and fresh is important! Read more>>

Lindsey Saenz

I’ve always loved to write. From diaries when I was a kid to journaling through postpartum depression, to finally writing books, the constant theme is that I find comfort in written words.

When I began writing novels, I learned I was good at snarky dialogue, mostly because that’s how I talk regularly. I wasn’t that great at the show vs. telling aspect of writing. To learn more about how to show emotion, I bought a series of books called “writers helping writers series.” This is a collection of books that help you further dive into your character’s emotions and issues. Read more>>

Jessenia Carmoega

I learned my craft by watching artists on tv as a kid with my grandpa you know the greats Bob Ross , pappy land etc .

I could have studied harder in art class and focused but at the time my heart just gave up the passion until I got older .

Most essential skill was learning shading and correct proportions and being able to visualize exactly what I want to create as if I have a photogenic memory like tracing but in my mind . Read more>>

Kxng Jacob

I learn the art of creating a song by watching Micheal Jacson, NWA, Biggie Smalls, Jodeci. The list goes on. I don’t think I could have learned my usage of syllables and vocal range without them honestly. I grew up singing in our church choir which taught me a lot. Not having the technology that we have today to create from our homes. Read more>>

Jayme Silverstein

I learned what I do by relentless looking for info anywhere I could and then going and trying out new ideas and techniques myself to see if they worker me. I still do that all the time to this day. I’m big on optimization. If someone has a better way of doing something I want to learn about it. Looking back, one thing I could have done to speed up the learning process is to have just stuck to one genre and mastered that. I have had the fortune (in previous career of being a touring bassist) to have played any and all styles of music so I never want to pigeon hole myself. However, each genre takes its own 10,000 hours to master so the road to being excellent at all genres is much longer than being great at just one. Also, my versatility came from necessity. Read more>>

Jared Forth

One of the unique aspects of musicianship is that the medium is temporal; it must be performed in time. Because of this, and due to the somewhat high barrier to entry in producing a good sound on most instruments, it’s difficult to speed up the process of learning to be a musician. One principle that had a profound impact on my journey as a musician was consistent practice. From a fairly young age, I began practicing guitar every day, even if I could only play for a short time. Will Durant, paraphrasing Aristotle, once said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” This is especially true in musicianship, where small improvements over time lead to greater mastery. Read more>>

Gabe Kuchan

I learned to do what I do through experience. As a musician, especially a musician in an intense music program, there is a lot of pressure on my studies and the academic side of music. Don’t get me wrong, that is extremely important, and something I enjoy. However, compared to the real-world musical experiences that I have had, in my opinion, I believe I have learned much more. The most essential skills were partly my talent, drive, dedication, and hard work towards the craft. However, respect and genuine kindness towards other creative people around you, have taken me further and to more creatively beautiful spaces than talent alone. Read more>>

Jim Osman

I always liked making things, starting as a child.
I went to a vocational and technical high school in New York and was introduced to electrical engineering, architectural drawing and chemistry, which was my major. After a year of learning many new things, I realized chemistry was not for me, but I did like to draw so transferred to the graphic art major. There I discovered a wide range of methods and materials to make art and just loved all of it. This early introduction to making images with line, shape and color was eye-opening and really started me on the path of becoming an artist. Read more>>

Taylor Dubray

I grew up playing in bands from high school to college, and always loved being in the studio and the process of record making. Since then I have continued down the path of learning how to make records in different ways. I was always writing and recording demos with my bands, slowly learning all of the little things that make incredible songs come to life. A lot of this process requires patience and commitment, but I would also recommend to anyone reading this that is interested in making music in general is to learn a DAW. Learning how to put your ideas into the computer is an invaluable resource with how the music industry is changing, and it is a skill that can help spark all kinds of creative pathways to pursue. Read more>>

Kai Livermore

I began my career as a jazz guitarist, mostly performing with my own band, KENS. My days back then were structured—9 to 5 dedicated to practice, followed by evening performances. We created some amazing music together, music that was truly unique to us and something I had never heard before. During this time, my focus was clear: “Play guitar better and play more shows.” That was my driving force. Read more>>

Madeleine Holly-rosing

Before comics, I wrote screenplays. My first screenplay class was an extension course at NYU, and when I moved back to California, I took various extension classes before I was accepted into the UCLA Professional Program in screenwriting. A few years after that I was accepted into the graduate program. The reason I mention this is I originally developed what became my first comic (Boston Metaphysical Society) as a TV pilot while in the MFA Program. When a friend suggested I turn the pilot into a graphic novel, I went back to school and learned how to write a comic. Read more>>

Sarah Mc Ginley

I started my journey at stage school, then moved on to ballet school, and eventually relocated to London to pursue full-time training. There, I dedicated myself to putting in my “10,00 hours” of practice, which is essential for mastering any craft. Once I felt ready, I began auditioning and taking classes in London, where I learned the most through real-world experience—on the job, collaborating with others, and adapting to different styles and choreographers. Read more>>

Christian Perez

One Halloween, I decided I wanted to give special effects makeup and prosthetics a try. Being an art major my whole life, I knew my way around painting, but I had zero idea how makeup and prosthetics worked. I bought some cheap spirit halloween makeup and liquid latex and followed a couple YouTube videos. It actually came out really nice! People kept asking for more and I enjoyed making them, so I started doing video game characters, themes, and branched into regular makeup and just really enjoyed the process. I’m very grateful to my art teachers who taught me the basics of art, I think that really helped me tap into a different world of makeup that I’m fortunate enough to share with people in a way I find is entertaining. Read more>>

Mandy Corcoran

I’m a self-taught surface pattern designer who started in my 40s, bringing my background in programming, IT, and education into the world of digital art. When I started, there wasn’t a clear roadmap for efficiently creating seamless patterns in Procreate, so I had to piece everything together through trial and error and a whole lot of experimenting. Read more>>

Carrie Lane

I am a visual artist. I paint realistic subjects and scenes, lately middle distance portraits. Sometimes I work in mixed media, but that is usually reserved for exploring the world within my mind as opposed to documenting the world around me.

I learned how to draw and paint over the past thirty-one years by watching others draw and paint. There is only so much watching anyone can do though. When I was small, I would trace over cursive letters my mom would lay out for me. I watched my oldest sister draw and sketch. I took some art courses in high school. Read more>>

Whitney Depaoli

I’ve been fascinated with cake since I was a little kid. I baked with my mom a lot and she had this vintage cake cookbook that I was obsessed with. I loved looking at the pictures and baking the recipes any chance I got.

While I loved to bake throughout my childhood, it wasn’t until I was in my mid-twenties that I started experimenting with cake decorating. I was inspired by a tv show called Ace of Cakes, which follows the cake artists at Charm City Cakes as they make huge artistic masterpieces out of cake. I was so intrigued that I went to my local craft store, bought my first cake decorating tools, and started practicing techniques that I would learn from the show and YouTube. Read more>>

Deidre Johnson

I learned to sew entirely on my own—every bit of it through trial and error. My first project was a fashion line for my Barbie dolls, all hand-sewn when I was just nine. Fast forward a few decades, and I didn’t truly take up the craft again until I had my first child. Children’s wear is easy and fast… at first. But once you start making coats and holiday outfits, it becomes just as challenging as adult clothing. That intimidated me, and for the longest time, I avoided sewing for myself because I didn’t want my clothes to look “homemade.” For some reason, that fear stuck with me. Read more>>

Chandler Woodfin

I always think of the 10,000 hours to mastery rule. Whether or not this is real, there was definitely a time when the shift came from ‘I am learning to paint’ to ‘I am painting’. But then, of course, the learning never stops. And I believe like many others that the skill becomes more about how to open your ‘self’ up to the thing that is painting. It is a tangible energy of something working through you, revealing itself as you move- an uncovering, a revealing. If someone had told me that when I started, I would have no idea what they meant. Maybe they did tell me, and I didn’t hear it. Read more>>

Erica Johnston

I grew up studying classical ballet and the creative arts- I taught myself to roughly hand sew first as a kid, and my mom taught me to use a sewing machine when I was around 7 years old. For the dance productions I was part of, I volunteered quite a bit with the costume team, which was lead by professional stitchers affiliated with the university in my hometown. They noticed that I was interested in costuming and taught me more technical skills, and continued to give me projects that increased in difficulty through my teen years. Read more>>