Often there is no book or course to learn how to do what you want to do – so how artists and creatives overcome such challenges? How have some of the most talented artists and creatives in the community managed to learn their craft?

Dave Desmelik

I learned to play bass guitar and guitar in high school a number of moons ago. I always felt connected to music from an early age, and I had wonderful teachers to guide me in the basic learning process of music. However, I learned the most simply by wanting to practice and play and get better. I was the kid who would come home from school and lock himself in his room and play guitar and bass and try to figure out by ear my favorite songs at the time. Hours and hours upon hours spent doing that and it gave me a great foundation. I was passionate about it. Read more>>

Meikhel Philogene

I, essentially, learned it on my own through research, and trial and error. There really isn’t a template on how to navigate through the music and public relations industry, so you have to just dive in and learn as you go. However, I do wish I would have taken more courses geared towards the industry in my earlier days. Learning more naturally happens, but the obstacles of time and resources were a hindrance in the beginning phase of my career. I believe my writing and music making skills have been the biggest help to having a career in the business side of the industry. Read more>>

Brigid mcnellis

It all started in high school. A friend and I decided to take a beading class as an elective and I quickly became obsessed with making jewelry. omited the begining of this sentance. I began taking courses in metal-smithing in my hometown, Charleston, SC. After graduating high school I enrolled in a beginners jewelry intensive in Barcelona, Spain. An incredible experience that made me realize jewelry was my passion and I would pursue it at all costs. Shortly after I sought work as a jeweler but quickly realized it wasn’t so easy to get a job without having experience in the industry, Read more>>

Candace Randle

Honestly, the internet! I found sites with chord charts and songs I wanted to learn, and went crazy. Knowing what I know now – hmm. I think I would’ve changed how impatient I was for an end result. I was so excited to have found music, so I whipped through processes just to get a song written or recorded so I could share it instantly. It’s okay to slow down, don’t let your or other people’s expectations drive your process. That answer also doubles for what obstacles stood in my way. Read more>>

MixedByKB

I began learning about Audio Engineering after I soon realized the Artistry side of my career wasn’t as promising. I knew I had to build value in myself and not be another cliche Artist with no value. The first step for me was to go to my Engineer and Producer at the time Lewade “Big Wade” Milliner to get the right guidance. After speaking with him an associate of mine had just recently landed a major internship in ATL and graduated from Audio School in Phoenix,AZ. Read more>>

Yules

I bought a cheap mixer with my friend Ajency at the time and we just started messing around with it with no real direction. Eventually real DJ’s and friends who new how to spin would come over and work with us whether it was Ekonovah, Elwer, Chris Tiano, etc.. Eventually started to pick it up a bit and began to continue learning from Youtube videos. Your first few gigs you play are always the best teachers though. Read more>>

Wynter AKA Wynter w/a “Y” Avery

I started out at the age of 7 being a Radio Personality. I looked up to my older cousin Shaniah who was doing radio. I use to go to the radio station with her, I would sit back, watch her & take notes in my head. I was so happy the 1st time I went on air. I didn’t know how to work the equipment at the time but talking on the mic was no problem for me. As I got older, I learned how to operate the equipment. I actually am my own engineer for my radio show. Read more>>

AllWhiteBrix

Before I begin creating music I would spend most of my time and early years writing poetry and listening to music. For me, poetry was always sort of a way to express myself and a creative outlet to deal with what was going on at that time in my life. Listening to music made me feel like I wasn’t the only person in the world feeling how I felt. Once I got to high school I attended a trade school called EVIT. This is where I learned the process to recording vocals and mixing/mastering. Immediately I knew this is what I loved and wanted to do for the rest of my life. Read more>>

Sarah Jacobs

Since, from a young age, I loved creating things, I always naturally followed that path. As soon as I had some basic skills from high school, I was on a fast track to creative internships and assistant jobs that immediately started building my resume and kept me learning along the way. As a fine arts and graphic design major in college, I was working at the school newspaper designing page layouts when their website team was launched. Drawn to digital graphics, I immediately joined the team and continued learning. Read more>>

Audrey Legatowicz

I took an adult education class when my daughter was an infant, 46 years ago. I studied on my own, and eventually joined the Dallas Handweavers Guild, where I enhanced my skills by attending meetings and additional workshops. I believe my passion for textiles and weaving is linked to my heritage. My grandmothers were both seamstresses and exposed me to sewing , knitting, and crochet at a young age. Weaving requires patience, and my experiences with meditation could have prepared me to enjoy the process. Having children kept me from taking classes and workshops which certainly would have helped me develop more skills. Read more>>

Courtney DiMare

I was lucky enough to be introduced to metalsmithing in high school. I was introduced to basic bench skills like using a jewelers saw, soldering, and even lost wax casting. It was obvious to me that I wanted to be a jeweler so I attended Maine College of Art in Portland, Maine for a Bachelors in Fine Art. Even with the experience I already had, I still struggled to keep up with everyone. I was determined and stuck with it and learned so much during the process. While I took classes in all the important techniques, I learned the most when I was working on my own and had the opportunity to experiment. Read more>>

D’Aunte Hugie

I Learned at a very young age too sing and perform, my grandmother was always playing music around the house like Michael jackson , brian mcknight , Anita Baker and soo much other great Artists. I was also interested in Movies and what it was to be a Script Writer , i took it upon myself to also study Screen Writing but my most essential skill Music and learning how to sing , so i took music way more serious then writing scripts at that time. Read more>>

Elizabeth Lang

I think everyone plays around with art at some point in their lives. It seems like the most natural thing in the world to see a child coloring with crayons or painting. For some reason, I kept doing it beyond childhood. I’ve always had a really big imagination. I would come up with stories and ideas that were incredibly vivid in my mind. I felt almost transported by art. As if it was taking me away from reality. My mom was always really supportive of me as an artist, so she signed me up for local art classes. Read more>>

Nina Tichava

I’ve really been artistic since childhood. My mother was a weaver and designer, and my father was an amateur photographer, so I learned early on to express myself with art and making. I was in art clubs in high school and took studio classes as well as art history in early college. In my twenties, I decided to attend a dedicated art school, which is where I fell in love with painting. After graduation, I prioritized getting a studio space and committed to making art daily while working at night as a waitress. Read more>>

Zane Carson Carruth

I am a self-published author. I wrote a children’s book and did not have a clue how to get it published. A teacher I knew wrote a book and after she told me she self-published, that’s all I needed to get motivated. I researched everything online. I interviewed artists, layout people, and editors then built a team that I have worked with for seven years. I learned from my mistakes (sometimes twice!) and finally built a level of confidence in myself to trust my own judgment. Had I listened to myself from the very beginning, I would have saved thousands of dollars in re-writing and printing books. Read more>>

Johnnie Judah

I learned the majority of what I do via trial and error. Knowing what I know now I believe that investing in professional equipment earlier would have sped up my process a lot. A couple of skills come to mind as being essential, those being beat matching and understanding the “vibe” of songs. Some obstacles that stood in the way of me learning more are the “crab in a barrel” mentality in my region and my reluctance to networking with like-minded individuals. Read more>>

Kiara Hargrove

First and foremost, my name is Kiara Hargrove. I go by the name, “Kmhvisuals”. I currently reside in Pine Bluff, AR. When I am doing visuals arts (Photography and Videography) I learned how to do what I do by teaching myself the basics within the applications such as Photoshop and Premiere Pro and over time I picked up everything else very quickly and I would use YouTube for the things I didn’t know. Sometimes I would learn and try new things as I go when it came to clientele work. Read more>>

Meryem Ersoz

I had an unusual path on my way to working in film and video production. I have a Ph.D. and was teaching at the University of Colorado-Denver in 2000, when my daughter was born. I took a break from teaching to parent and soon realized that raising a child is not the most creatively stimulating activity, and I had always enjoyed a rich creative life, as a writer and as a musician. I needed something that I could pick up and put down. It was the early stages of the DV revolution. I had owned a Hi-8 video camera in college. That camera is still a low-light champ, and I still own it. Read more>>

Jaden sprinz

I learned to do what I do based on tons of trial and error and constant adapting. Social media is a game and in order to be good at the game you gotta master it learn how it works and always know your next move. Especially since social media is a constantly changing game at first you may think you know everything but in the blink of an eye, everything changes, the algorithm moves and and you can be left in the dust, unless you learn to change and adapt! Knowing what I know now I would of spent most of my time making more videos, Read more>>

Tyler Cruz

Going from passion to career wasn’t easy, but in order to get anywhere in life you got to start from the ground and work your way up. Learning the ins and out of the equipment was without a doubt the most important part. My camera, lighting techniques, and the editing process, I couldn’t sell any of it or even bring myself to until I understood it all and could explain it to my clients. Trusting the shooting or editing process with either watching peers or simply YouTube videos with people I aspired to shoot videos or photos like, was a tremendous help. Read more>>

Jeff Kanan

Learning the craft started at a young age for me. As a teenager, I was always playing in a band and got my first 4 track cassette recorder around age 15-16. We would record as much as we could after school each day! Eventually, I made my way to the university of Colorado at Denver and graduated from their audio and music business program. A week after graduation, I moved to Los Angeles where I was lucky enough to land an entry level job at the legendary Westlake Audio recording studio. Read more>>

Kenneth Fowler

I’m mostly self taught. I’m extremely passionate about learning new skills or a new craft that will enhance the creativity of my productions. I love the adventure of learning things on my own. I’ve done a lot of research online, purchased books, studied professionals but most importantly took all that information and spent countless hours, days and months on practicing and experimenting. I’ve learned that having a hands-on experience and exploring your craft will teach you a lot if you’re willing to take the time, have patience and ambition to just dive in and explore what you’re passionate about. Read more>>

Jerry Silva

I learned how to do photography by watching thousands of hours of YouTube videos around photography. I would watch videos at work on my lunch breaks and then be excited to get home from my day job and try it out. Most of the time it would never turn out exactly the same as the video and I would find my self frustrated because I would follow the instructions to the T. I then focused my education on fundamentals of taking a great photo and went to the store and got a copy of “Read This If You Want to Take Great Photographs” by Henry Carroll. The book is split into five sections, the book covers composition, exposure, light, lenses and the art of seeing. Read more>>

AnnMarie Wilson

I’ve always considered myself a ‘jack-of-a-trades’ because of my constant desire to keep learning something different; this isn’t a bad thing. Over the years, I’ve worked as a cartographer, bookkeeper, seamstress for weddings, copywriter and editor, 20+ year creative arts judge, designer (heirloom Victorian christening dresses, clothing, quilts, websites, print work, hair fineries), plus I owned a company selling abrasives and perishable tooling. In almost every case, it was complete self-teaching and literal on-the-job learning. The exception was the bookkeeping position, as I had several semesters of college accounting classes to back me up. Read more>>

Thomas Ward

I was very lucky to have been born into a family that embraces the arts in many aspects. My great grandfather was the illustrator who created the Morton Salt Girl and Mr. Peanut, we had many musicians and singers on both sides of my family, and, like many young people who go into the performance arts, I was encouraged to “put on little plays” with the neighborhood kids. Read more>>

Mark McKenna

In 1985 I started on staff as a production artist at Marvel Comics for nearly a year and a half, working directly with the Art Director who was a well known Spider man artist in the 70’s. I watched him work and was directly surrounded by professional talent in every capacity of the business. I was turning 26 at the time and it took me a while to grasp what direction I wanted to pursue as a career, so I was not a “wunderkind”. Read more>>

Maribel Herrera

I learned how to floral design from formal training, classes and on-the-job experience. The passion and fire I have had in me I feel has definitely allowed me to carve a path of nonstop growth and continuing to learn and evolve in the floral industry. I was told by a mentor in my young floral career to always say yes until I had to say no. To say yes to every opportunity big or small, if it meant long hours, changing the water from buckets, cleaning flowers, to say yes. Every opportunity of saying yes brought me to bigger opportunities where I felt my happiest. Read more>>

Lisa Markley

Thank you for inviting me to tell my story. I’ll be speaking on two crafts today, because they are inseparable: “music”, and “teaching”. I’ll try to tie the two together as efficiently as possible. How I learned to be a musician: I was a strange kid (I still am, truly). While I don’t believe in “perfect pitch”, I do believe I was born with a good sense of “tonal memory” and “relative pitch”. I didn’t realize that my experience was unusual, until I began teaching music to children myself. Read more>>