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?

Natalie Cooperman

My success has laid in the power of passion, perseverance, and the transformative effect of consistent practice. Art has been a central and defining part of my life. Some of the key elements to have helped me are: My passion for creation : Finding something that inspires me and allows me to express myself. My supportive family : my parents’ efforts to support my creativity, and the mentorship you received from a local artist, played a significant role. Having access to guidance and encouragement deeply influenced my development as an artist. Read more>>

Craig Buchner

I can’t say for certain if we’re born with an inclination for the arts, but I’d like to believe we all have the capacity for creativity—whether it’s writing a book, painting a landscape, or capturing an emotional moment through photography. What’s significant though is when we consciously decide to dedicate our time to the arts or another pursuit. For me, writing was always a part of who I was, as I loved exploring storytelling and the power of language. But it wasn’t until college that I truly became a Writer (with a capital “W”). I was formally trained in the Master of Fine Arts Creative Writing program, studying fiction, at the University of Idaho. It was there that I learned the craft—how to structure a story, develop characters, and understand the elements that make a narrative resonate. Read more>>

Justin Bullock

I started out as a student in the filmmaking program at Villanova University. I learned the camera basics and editing fundamentals there. I attended YouTube university to really figure out the technical aspects of retouching, color and creating a workflow. The creative aspect of my art comes from life all around me; the music I listen to, the movies and shows I watch, the people I interact with, how the environment looks around me. There’s endless source material to create from and that’s the best part of doing what I do. Experience is the best teacher. If I could go back knowing what I know now, I would spend way more time reaching out to different people to just shoot. Just going out and shooting is 100% the best way to speed up your learning. Youtube and books and diagrams are GREAT supplementary materials but the essence of your art, the soul, will come from real life shooting. Read more>>

Laura Schneiter

I started making jewelry as early as I can remember, probably around the age of 7. One of my babysitters would bring over materials for us to play with and entertain ourselves, and from that day on I was hooked. I’ve always been the type of person who loves to make things with my hands and so my jewelry making was constantly evolving based on what materials I was into at the time. By my mid 20’s I was still creating jewelry, but started to hit some limitations on the quality and sturdiness of what I was making. I wanted to make something that would last generations and not fall apart in a year or so. And so I decided to use my education award that I earned through an AmeriCorps program to pay for a Metalsmith 101 course at Arapahoe Community College in Denver, CO. Read more>>

Sanjana

Unlike many writers, I’ve never been one to say that “I have always wanted to be an author”. I grew up navigating English and reading comprehension problems, causing me to become behind in my classes, especially in the language arts. My stubbornness as a child only intensified as I despised all work related to writing, reading and books. It was frustrating not being able to understand written stories, but it was even more frustrating not being understood. I had so much to say but had no idea how to say it. As I grew older, I noticed my elder sibling reading books constantly and enthusiastically sharing her discoveries with her friends. That was when I wondered if books were really that bad. With my parents’ encouragement, I decided to give books a genuine chance. Honestly, without the motivation my parents instilled in me to remain open-minded towards reading, I probably wouldn’t be where I am today. The more I read, the more I understood how much I loved stories and how much I wanted to be able to tell them to those who would listen. And so, I gave writing a chance. Read more>>

Richard Spitalsky

I learned how to write and record my music over years of experiences. I believe any form of being creative is a journey. There are no short cuts. The only way to get to where you want to be is to try. Put yourself in situations that will cause growth. Have experiences, be selfless and always be learning. When I was fresh out of high school I had a very small circle of musician friends who were important in my life at the time, whom I still value and love today. However, I needed to meet new people to learn from and grow as an artist. I started going to live shows by myself a few times a week in the local bar scene. I developed relationships with more experienced musicians and ended up joining their group of bands. Read more>>

Tom Mcdonald

For the most part, I’ve taught myself most of what I know. I didn’t get fully into photography until my mid 30’s and felt I was too old or didn’t have enough time for any real proper photography education or school. So for the first few years I just quietly photographed and edited as much as I could. Once I mastered something, I then would hone and perfect it as best I could. I had an eye, and for the most part, I knew how to get my camera to do what I wanted it to do. It was photo editing that I really wanted to learn. Over the span of a decade, between trial and error (LOTS of trial and error), experimenting and going to workshops with some of Chicago’s and the nation’s finest photographers, editing was no longer my Achilles heel. In fact, I’m still teaching myself new Lightroom tricks to this day. Looking back, I think for me, that entire experience of being self taught and my drive to continually want to learn more and push myself even further, really helped me create my photographic style. Read more>>

Matthew Paris

I grew up in Houston, Texas. I never thought about writing or creative writing until I was older. English Literature was always my best subject in school and I knew I was really good at it. In my Sophomore year of high school, I was in my English class when the teacher came up to me and told me that she thinks this is a talent. It wasn’t until college where I explored writing pretty seriously. What people don’t understand is that there are different forms of writing. If you want to write a movie then you have to do it in screenplay format. Meaning most of it is told in dialog and scenes. A television series is told in acts and dialog, a commercial is told through visual and audio. A podcast script is told through the elements of what you are going to say and each subject. However, they don’t teach this in school. You have to learn this by taking writers workshops or college where they have a few different classes on the form of writing.  Read more>>

Shannon Grant

I actually stumbled upon content creation while being laid up from an injury. There’s only so much television you can watch, so I was playing around on the internet and found a Kbeauty platform where you can review products. From that first Kbeauty platform led to another, and another. My social media presence grew and I was asked to review products and/or create ugc. Knowing what I know now, I think if I could change anything, it would be that I’d have done more research on common practices and not sold myself short. Read more>>

Marley Kay Lowe

Happenstance is how I found speech to begin with. A close friend of mine asked me to attend an after-school meeting for the 8th grade debate team. After figuring out rides home and getting permission from mom, I went. I thought, “Hey, I like to yap. Let’s see what this is about.” And the rest is history. Nah, but really, I continued with competitive speaking through high school and was even a part of the K-State Collegiate Speech Team. It was there I met some of my most influential mentors, they showed me the ropes, and presented other speaking opportunities outside of the world of competitive speaking. Read more>>

Richie Buggs

I learned primarily by studying others creative work . Knowing what I know now , the main way I could’ve sped up my learning process would’ve been networking more frequently. Actually talking to individuals that had been in the industry longer than me would’ve help me through my early growing pains . The skills that I found most effective was having a good communication and a positive attitude. The obstacles that stood in the way of me learning more was having the financial support to invest into the necessary equipment. Read more>>