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?
Lola Sandra
When I moved out on my own and started keeping kosher, I had to learn how to cook the Indian food I was accustomed to eating. It was a lot of trial and error with cooking, getting inspiration from other chefs and recipe developers on social media, and researching ingredients to learn about their characteristics and finding substitutions when I needed them. During quarantine, I planted the roots of my food brand, LOLA – Clean | Conscientious | Kosher, and came up with my proprietary recipe for *Indian Wedding Cookies*, which are a hit! All of my recipes, including the *Indian Wedding Cookies*, are made with hand picked organic ingredients. As far as speeding up the learning process, I don’t believe shortcuts are the best way to go about achieving your goal in the long run. Throughout the process, remember to have fun while you’re practicing. Knowing things aren’t always going to work out as planned and accepting this as a part of the process are important. Read more>>
Andrea Geones
I did my first play when I was nine, when I was cast as Snoopy in “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”. I knew it was where I belonged, where I was happiest, and I kept performing in plays and musicals all the way into my adult years. I began actual acting lessons when I was 11. Theatre is what gave me my foundation. It’s where I learned how to feel the energy of the audience and communicate with them, take them on a journey. When I’m on film, the camera becomes that audience. Theatre is also the medium for collaborators, so it is where I learned how to emotionally dance, the truthful give and take, with my fellow actors. My acting classes helped me refine my craft and learn a reliable technique, which is essential for being a dependable actor. It was in acting class where I learned that the other actor is always the most important person in the scene, how to really feel what my character is feeling instead of projecting it to the audience, and the courage to make strong choices that are true to me instead of trying to duplicate what someone else is doing. Read more>>
Patrick Cupp
In college I majored in Sculpture, so I thought I would learn sculpture. But instead I learned fairly quickly I was not the best fit for art school, but I persisted. As it turned out sculpture classes were not learning to sculpt in the traditional sense that I was most interested in. Sculpture was taught in a much more conceptual way. So at night I spent my time in the computer lab reading and printing out binders full of information on figurative sculpting and mold making. I decided to learn mold making primarily as a back up to sculpting, because I figured if I couldn’t make it as a sculptor I could at least do something with mold making. And I did, most of my career has been propelled by my ability to make molds and castings. I don’t regret my time in college it taught me valuable problem solving skills, and really I think that’s one of the most valuable lessons that a college can teach. Read more>>
James Markwyn 
I was in band class in middle and high school and that taught me much of the basics of music and performance. I definitely think that learning to read music and actually take classes was super essential to being able to have the skills to continue with pursuing music in my adult life. Read more>>
Marcha Kia
I learned how to do what I do by simply doing it and showing up for myself every day. Sign up for an audition class, read books, watch movies, expand your network in the industry. Be curious, and ask questions. Show up (on time)—don’t flake, especially on yourself. The rest of the “how” sorts itself out on its own. There is so much out of my control in my career and life, so I had to practice focusing my energy on what I could control and trust that the rest will work out; that is, let go. Now, how does one “let go?” Making this mental shift was and still is very challenging at times. However, living intentionally in the present moment makes it much more manageable and recently, even fun. The amount of energy I used to spend agonizing over WHEN and HOW things would happen for me was draining and time-consuming. I realized these thoughts were doing nothing for me, so I decided to explore why they were there. Whenever our minds are in the past or future, there is some pain that we are avoiding waiting for us in the present. Read more>>
Parker Whitmore
It starts by immersing yourself in the craft — living and breathing the thing, whatever that “thing” is. I don’t care if it’s acting, accounting, or Ecuadorian bullfighting — making a commitment to the realities of what it takes, and is going to take, to learn anything worthwhile is as important as learning it outright. It’s about cultivating the correct mindset. In the case of my writing, that’s driven by consumption. Books, movies, and television — reading and watching as much as possible, because you’re then able to graft this subconscious language onto your creative abilities and tastes. By living in that world of narrative you begin to understand what makes a good script, book, or story. Period. Regardless of how cliche it sounds, I understand now that consistency is key. Writing is a craft. It can be taught and you can get better. Now, not everyone can be a great writer, but anyone can write to their own level of greatness. Which I know is a very esoteric, “Anyone can cook.”, type of thing to say — but if you practice the medium you grow in spite of yourself. It’s that simple. Read more>>
Trevor Boggs
I started playing guitar when I was 11 years old. My dad taught me a few chords and then I started using youtube to continue learning. I was self taught for 12 years. For most of that time I developed my technique with scales, chords, and speed-based practice. I didn’t really know what I was doing though. I didn’t start taking lessons until I went to Berklee College of Music in Boston when I was 23. When I went to Berklee, I didn’t know any music theory at all, so I had no idea what any of the chords I was playing were or how the scales I knew were used. I didn’t start to understand what I was doing on guitar until I had spent some time studying at Musicians Institute in Hollywood with instructors like Daniel Gilbert, Dean Brown, Scott Henderson, and Allen Hinds. MI changed my playing for the better. Read more>>
Constantine Sekeris
Well art runs in my family way before i came along…My grandfathers and family tree shows that there was sculptors and painters that worked for the churches way back in greece.So when i was around 5-6 years old i started drawing ta that age and have been ever since. To speed up my learning i wish i would have gotten into 3D alot sooner than i did..i feel thats a major tool in my every day work load. Drawing is the most essential in my humble opinion….i have many sketch books that i sketch all the time. Work stood in the way of learning more .when working sometimes on multiple projects u fall to what u know gets fatst results to meet ur deadlines and so its hard sometimes when ur constantly on deadlines to get out of ur comfort zone to learn something new cus of the time it would take to work that into ur pipeline. Read more>>
Alejandro Lopart
It began, I suppose, when I was a teenager. Poetry was my refuge then, alongside music. I remember those days well, the hours that stretched on, spent in the company of musicians, poets, writers, and artists. I was searching for a language back then, the language of an artist. I went to college and studied German literature, studied music too, and found myself part of a group in the late ’90s called The Telluric Society. In Mexico City, I held countless poetry readings, trying to find my voice as a musician. I had a jazz band once. We improvised, inside the music and out of it, like it was a discipline, a way of life that merged with writing. My days were filled with music, films, and books, as though I couldn’t consume enough to satisfy whatever hunger burned inside me. That’s where the real learning happened, not just in classrooms, but everywhere else, too. Read more>>
Annabelle Oyler
I’ve always loved making noise, I was a loud, hyper, goofy kid pretty much all the time; I needed an outlet where I could channel all of the energy. I loved to sing, make any noise from any harmonica, train whistle, kazoo, or recorder I could get my grubby little hands on. When I’d visit my grandparents I‘d be so excited to play the piano in their basement. My Pop-Pop had a banjo; I’d hold it in my lap and pretend to play it like a hillbilly on a porch, dreaming one day I’d understand how it was played. I had a music class in seventh grade, where we learned some basic chords on acoustic guitars. It seemed so daunting at first. Switching back and forth from each chord seemed impossible, let alone memorizing each finger placement and string. I told myself I would never be able to get it down, but at the same time, I was determined to learn. I had to at least try. Read more>>
Sage
When I was a child, my mom would sit all five us of kids in her room and we would listen to all different genres of music. At that time, music grew on me. I was young but realized at the early age of eight years old that I enjoyed music and singing as well. I would sing to all the female artist and year after year I knew my voice was a gift to me from God. In high school I was picked out of my choir class by my teacher because of my voice to sing in the opera play “The Magic Flute”. This was super exciting for me. At this point, I learned to keep my voice sharp by continuing to do vocal exercises. The skills most essential to keeping your voice sharp and tuned is “vocal exercises”. I think 3 times a week is good to warm up your voice. My mother struggled to take care of all five of us after her divorce from my dad. I would have to say this was a huge obstacle with regards to learning more. We move around a lot as a child because of the divorce. However, my mother always showed me love, and that she cared for me. Read more>>
Anngelle Wood
I spent years as a radio host on the Boston rock radio dial at stations like WFNX and WBCN. I came up during a time when radio was “live without a net”, where what you said was said, set free into the universe, and there was no taking it back, no edits, no re-releases. It’s the kind of education that cannot be taught, only learned by doing. That media training gave me a leg up in podcasting. First, I was a consumer. I listened to everything from This American Life and The Moth to Dateline and Serial (some of the OGs in the podcast game). I still have a few favorites from those early days. Going back the seven or so years now since podcasting was introduced, I can distinctly remember the jokes radio DJs would make (“Why don’t you go start a podcast”, was a real burn then). Fast-forward to modern day, and countless radio hosts have component podcasts (the radio companies are about “data” and “content”). Former on-air presenters have segued into podcasting in their post-FM lives. Podcasting is what radio used to be – a place for creativity, a place for community and connection. Read more>>
Chris Riley
I got to where I am today by making mistakes, I made a lot of mistakes but I made them. I tried to accomplish a vision and learned more from the action of the attempt rather than learning how to do something the right way from a book or a class. I had peers I came up with that were too afraid to fail or afraid of being perceived as unskilled that they wouldn’t even attempt to create at all until they felt the time was right. The most important thing to me was to try, was to create. In my mind there was only two things that could have sped up my learning process. 1. Creating more, just the act of going out and creating more, making more mistakes would have helped me progress quicker. 2. aligning myself with other creatives that weren’t afraid to fail. sometimes its nice to bounce ideas off of other creatives and get varying perspectives during your creative process. you can share your techniques you’ve learned and receive theirs. Its going to sound Cliche but fundamentals are the most important skills to understand during any creative endeavor. knowing what a J-cut is during film-making, knowing how to properly frame a photo using the rule of thirds, and more. Read more>>
Ananya Shenoy
I took up animation during my undergraduate studies. At the time, I thought I would like to become a 2D animator. After the first year of university and after working on some short film projects, I realized that I liked illustration and 3D modeling more than animating. Looking back, I’m glad I had this realization early on in my college journey. However, even though I knew what I wanted to do, the journey to get where I am now was long and would not have been possible without the amazing teachers and mentors I had along the way. Animation is a craft that is technical and artistic at the same time. No matter how much you learn, there’s always something new to do. In my initial years of university, I did a lot of self-learning. My undergraduate degree provided a broad introduction to animation and I knew that I had to go beyond what the university curriculum covered. My initial learning of 3D was through working on personal projects, running into issues and then watching Youtube videos to solve those issues. The work I did during this time really improved my problem-solving skills but something that I think would have sped up my process of learning was to get more feedback during this time. I think the times I made the most progress in my skills and learning was during classes and mentorships where I received feedback every week. Having more experienced eyes on my projects helped me to see my mistakes better and have more exponential improvement. Read more>>
Suroor Hassan
I’ve never really had any formal training for music—most of what I’ve learned about my craft has been self-taught. Either through hours of youtube videos or going down rabbit-holes of research or just listening to a lot of music very closely and intently and reflecting on what draws me to it and how I can re-create it while putting my own spin on it and pushing it in new directions. Certain things were taught to me by friends and community members: when I was a little girl one of my neighbors taught me the basics of how to play the guitar. After learning how to play around on the guitar a bit I was able to write my first few songs and my taste as a songwriter started to blossom. Another important step in my musical development was when I started shadowing at a studio after moving to America: this helped me learn some techniques in electronic production and engineering from professional producers. But most of it has just been through a lot of research, intentional listening, and meaningful reflection on where I want to push the envelope. I try to always be a good example for people that are trying to break into the art world without a lot of resources. It can definitely be intimidating but I believe that good ideas and personality always shine through and usually make the biggest difference. Read more>>
Tony Cooper
I was fortunate to be naturally skilled in sales and marketing. Growing up, many of my movie heroes were fast-talking salesmen or lawyers whose impactful speeches played a crucial role in the story. Although real life isn’t as dramatic, I loved it. Like many 90s kids, cable TV was a big part of my upbringing, bombarding me with countless commercials that would later prove advantageous. Early access to the Internet at around age 8-10 also fueled my enthusiasm. As an ADHD kid, I quickly learned to improvise, especially since my attention span wouldn’t let me focus long. At one of my first sales jobs in the electronics department at Sears, I’d often read product info cards on the spot to craft convincing pitches for customers. This skill would greatly benefit me as I progressed in my career, and the most significant difference is that I started preparing myself for it. Read more>>
Norberto Perez
Practice lots of practice. Behind every illustration and painting there are hundreds of bad drawings done before. Over the years I built the skills needed to create images. I also really enjoy collecting books from illustrators and artists that provide me some insight on how they approached their subjects. If I read something that seems interesting I try to integrate parts of the process to my own work. Read more>>
Barry Steven Greff
I started being creative as a young child, initially drawing. When I (thought) I won a drawing Contest it boosted my confidence. Eventually, I recognized that I liked to Photograph things (watching my Parents with their Cameras on Vacations). I began to shoot under water in Colege in the FL Keys at University of Miami. Read more>>
Timorell
When I started TONEWALL queer a cappella, I had just turned 50. Being on stage wasn’t a stranger to me. I was singing before I could read being raised in a church-going family of musicians. Later, I graduated with a Music Ed degree, then performed at Opryland theme park in Nashville, sang and danced on many cruise ships throughout my 20s. The rigors of performing as a job teaches you things: Collaboration, community, consistency, resilience, self-care, and how to push through–for people who’ve paid to see you–not to mention the obvious honing of musical skills that I would later draw on. Moving to NYC to pursue Broadway was a trajectory change. And by that I mean, a dead-end. It went nowhere. Not having a theater background, why should casting agents take a chance on an outsider when there were others literally lined out the door for the same parts. So, goodbye performing, hello day job with insurance and financial stability. Read more>>
Wendy Waldrop
When I was living in Istanbul and teaching at an international school, I had so little time to create and when I was traveling, I didn’t have much space. I invested in a little travel watercolor set and a little pad of multimedia paper and started doing small watercolors while sitting on sidewalks or benches in different countries. I would fill a bottlecap with water and just see what I could do in a limited time. To my surprise, people started stopping and complimenting me, and not infrequently offering to BUY the piece right then and there! In my last year living in Istanbul, expats who were moving away started asking me for watercolors of important places, buildings, or views from around the city, so I started doing commissions. I continued to take commissions when I came back to the States, and the journey continues to today. Places are deeply embedded in our identity and the people we become, so I’m honored to help people remember places they hold dear. Read more>>
Alice Teeter
I began writing poetry when I was 10 years old and have written ever since then. I bought Lewis Turco’s THE BOOK OF FORMS when I was in high school and used it to refer to different forms and practice them although I have not practiced formal poetry very much in my career. I don’t believe forms are essential in poetry these days, but I believe a knowledge of them will deepen any poet’s writing. I do not know if it is a skill, but a love of words — their sounds, meanings, connotations — a playfulness about words — is essential. When I taught, the best students had been writing poetry since they were young, like I had. That doesn’t mean older people can’t be good, but it does mean that the more time one spends practicing, spending time writing, re-writing, playing with the words will only improve the writing. It’s like Malcolm Gladwell’s “10,000-hour rule” — the more time you spend the more expert you become. I think the only way to speed up the learning process is to spend all the time one can doing it. I would like to be better at formal poetry and perhaps graduate school might have helped that — having further formal training. That might be an obstacle. I haven’t wanted to spend the money it would take to go to graduate school. Read more>>
Jenny Zhou
Art is something I have always connected to. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been connecting everyday observations into my art practice: by picking up hobbies that enhance my art studies. Such as photography to improve composition and yoga to ensure I can keep drawing for many years to come. Even if I’m sitting waiting in Atlanta traffic, I’ll take a peek at the clouds and start “painting” them in my mind’s eye. The best skills I’ve learned through both my art practice and through my life experiences are: flexibility, asking questions, and a strong desire for growth. Flexibility to be okay with changing directions and having the courage to forge new paths. As well as being flexible with art pieces themselves; it’s important to be able to experiment and play with each art piece I create. Oftentimes a piece will result very different from the original idea. Through experimentation, they start to “draw themselves,” and take up a life of their own. And often, you end up with a product that has even more impact. Read more>>
Elizabeth Parker
Learning what I do has been a journey of curiosity and a deep love for creativity. I started by immersing myself in various forms of art—photography, film, and digital design. It wasn’t a straight path; I picked up skills through a combination of formal education, hands-on experimentation, and collaborating with talented artists and visionaries. Every project was a learning experience, with each success and failure teaching me something new. If I could speed up the process, I would have embraced failure earlier. There’s so much value in diving in headfirst, not worrying about perfection. Sometimes, we get caught up in planning and hesitation, but real growth happens when you’re in the thick of it, making mistakes and learning in real time. I would have also sought more mentors and surrounded myself with people whose work inspired me—learning from those further along the journey could have accelerated my own growth. Read more>>
Melody Cohn
As an artist, I’ve always felt a calling to create. From as far back as I can remember, I’ve been driven to experiment with art in all its forms, which has ultimately led me to where I am today—a place where I feel truly fulfilled. While I didn’t focus on painting professionally early on, I believe that was meant to be. If I had concentrated solely on painting back then, I wouldn’t have the depth of knowledge and life experience that informs my work now. In school, music and art were always my favorite subjects, so I naturally majored in music and minored in art during high school. However, after graduating, life took me in a different direction. I got married, had two amazing children, and juggled the responsibilities of being a mother, housewife, and working full-time. At that time, the idea of painting didn’t even cross my mind. It wasn’t until after my divorce, when my children had grown and left the nest, that I found myself drawn back to art—and I haven’t looked back since. Read more>>
Dez Stackz
I learned how to make music by being guided through the process, starting with my best friend at the time. The first song I ever created came from that collaboration, and from there, I gradually began recording and writing my own music. Looking back, I don’t think there’s anything I could have done to speed up the process. Music creation is something that evolves over time; there’s always something new to learn every day. It’s not a skill that can be mastered overnight. One of the most essential skills I’ve picked up is having a good ear for beats and knowing how to craft catchy hooks. These elements really shape a song and can make a huge difference. The biggest obstacle I faced in learning more was not dedicating as much time to my craft as I should have. I realize now that putting in more time and effort would’ve helped me grow even faster, but I’ve come to understand that growth in music is a continuous journey. Read more>>