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?

Blake Blair

The majority of my learning began as a kid, researching the industry and becoming deeply enthralled by the glamour of fashion and handbags. I was the type of kid who sat at home reading Vogue and watching Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Alexander McQueen runway shows. I learned the majority of my hands-on craftsmanship and technical skills at the Savannah College of Art and Design, where I earned my BFA in Accessories Design. There, I was trained in the patterning process for both handbags and footwear. Read more>>

Madeline Javier

My journey into photography was shaped by both formal training and real-world experience. I studied Art in school and had the opportunity to participate in a photography program in Cuba, which profoundly influenced my approach to storytelling and composition. But beyond education, photography is something you refine through practice – constantly shooting, analyzing, and evolving. Read more>>

Daisie

I learned what I do through a combination of hands-on experience, networking, and constantly pushing myself outside of my comfort zone. Whether it was modeling, brand collaborations, or spokesmodeling, I immersed myself in the industry, learned from mentors, and paid close attention to what worked and what didn’t. Every show, every shoot, and every opportunity taught me something new. Read more>>

Cody Ikerd

I’ve spent many years performing music in various bands. I played drums for 13 years and was really able to understand timing, rhythm, and song structure. I started singing and playing guitar when I was 20 years old after my experience with drums. Singing and playing guitar is an entirely different element of music I didn’t quite understand for a while. I knew how to learn other people’s melodies and chord progressions, but didn’t understand how to apply that to my own music. As I got older and had more responsibilities in my personal life, it took me a lot longer to understand all of that. Read more>>

Pedro Rodriguez

I learned from getting thrown into the fray and learning on the spot. I feel the learning process was set for me to succeed because in only 2 years I got the hang of it all. Skills that are essential as a creative are on the fly thinking and punctuality. At the moment no obstacles stand in the way of learning more. Read more>>

Lawre Stone

I’ve always made paintings, and with time and experimentation, I’ve developed my own visual language to coax meaning from what I see. I’m not sure there is any way to speed up the process of finding one’s voice as a painter. It’s an ongoing conversation informed by observation, intuition, and the feedback loop of making the work. My current paintings combine natural imagery and the language of abstraction in otherworldly landscapes. These intricately layered works explore environmental issues and the relationship between interior worlds and outer experience. My process begins with a series of preliminary ink sketches, followed by applying thin layers of acrylic on canvas to construct an atmospheric foundation, gradually building depth and mood.  Read more>> 

JOSEPH GIAMPINO

I became super interested in learning the craft of sign painting after being asked to paint a sign for a very close friend of mine named Lauren Ramirez . Lauren is a jeweler based in Raleigh , NC. While painting her sign I quickly realized I had no idea what I was doing . After reaching out to a few old timers with no luck or guidance, I decided to teach myself. I bought every book I could find and read them cover to cover. I also practiced everyday until I got the hang of it. I think just giving something your all no matter the medium is the only way to truly master anything. One day hopefully I’ll reach that level. Read more>>

Gaurav Dua

My journey began in architectural design, which provided a strong foundation in spatial planning, materials, and construction techniques. However, my interest in fabrication grew over time, leading me to work with several renowned architectural fabrication companies. These experiences gave me hands-on exposure to building highly customized and intricate projects, ultimately steering me toward the world of set design and custom fabrication. Unlike traditional architecture, where projects can take years to complete, set design offers a fast-paced, visually expressive environment that better aligns with my creative instincts. Read more>>

Ella Stouse

found interesting. My mom noticing the pattern enrolled me in art summer camps. I ended up continuing this education in high school, attending NOCCA, New Orleans center for the creatice arts. I currently am a junior at the Savannah College of Art and Design majoring in painting and minoring in printmaking. Before SCAD the main focus of these art classes was usually drawing. I think for a while I was hesitent to start painting. I didn’t start consistanly painting until late highschool. Maybe if I started painting earlier I would have been able to speed up the process. I do think I didn’t realize how helpful painting and drawing from life was until a year or two ago. Read more>>

Steven Owsley

No one in my family is musical, but everyone is a story teller. My parents stopped acting when they were in college, and that’s when I started. I begged for piano lessons when I was a kid, and my parents reluctantly arranged for me to get them. They were only reluctant because of my short attention span and avid tendency to start a thousand projects never finish. To everyone’s shock, the keyboard and I became inseparable. Read more>>

Daman Singh

My musical journey began in early childhood, under the guidance of my father, a musician of considerable skill. He introduced me to the tabla, a pair of South Asian hand drums. Their unique sound quality, derived from the harmonious interplay of a higher and lower pitched drum which captivated me from the beginning. Read more>>

Jose Eduardo Ramos

There’s a quote I heard by John Maxwell, which says “The more I know, the more I realize. I don’t know”.
Adopting a growth mindset and student mentally has allowed me to seek working with different teachers , reading a variety of books, podcasts and being open to learning from any viable source or situation. Ive been blessed to have studied with some great teachers but the true learning comes from doing. Working, actually practicing your craft, exploring different things, and failing over and over again. Read more>>

Nolia Joy

I was raised in a musical family. My dad has had a bluegrass band since the 90s, he was the guitarist and one of the singers. So growing up, I would go to sleep listening to them play, at family parties we would have jams and I was always invited to sing and play along. When I was 4, I wrote my first song with my dad called Baby Drives A Car. At 5, my mama and mamadear (my grandmother) got me a piano for lessons. I began singing with my dad during his band’s breaks at gigs. Then at 12, I started getting into guitar and taking that seriously. My dad showed me the chords, G, C, D, and Em. From there, I blossomed and my songwriting grew and my style took shape.  Read more>>

Ackeem Salmon

I learned to do what I do through a combination of formal education, self-directed learning, hands-on experience, and, perhaps most importantly, a willingness to embrace uncertainty and adapt across disciplines. My journey has never followed a straightforward path; instead, it has been shaped by curiosity, necessity, and the drive to create opportunities where none seemed to exist. Read more>>

 

Amir Korangy

My strong yearning to be involved in a creative profession emerged in my teenage years. I began to read a lot of literature and dramatic and comedic plays and was completely hooked. I realized I could acutely analyze a play and see how it can be staged, so I took directing courses and began directing at 19. I also changed my major from Pre-Med to Performance. I also attended several acting programs and studio workshops. I was lucky to have some very experienced instructors and mentors. This further increased my appetite for creative work and I set out to do whatever came first. This included acting, directing, and teaching- a range of activities that has continued 40 years on. Read more>>

Ira Colendrino

My journey with illustration began in high school. At the time, I was so obsessed with One Direction, and illustrative typography was becoming popular on Instagram. There was a niche community of artists creating hand-drawn lyric art, and I was in awe. I knew right away that I wanted to be part of it. So, I started drawing lyrics and posted on Instagram (I was working overtime), and by the time I got to college, I took an illustration class with Joseph Veazey. That class completely changed my life (very dramatic I know). He allowed a space for me to create. Over time, my art style formed into silly and lighthearted illustrations. Read more>>

Grace Cardozo

I got thrown right into things! I entered the production world in 2022 as Production Assistant and was just told to roll with the punches. It was really excited and very interesting to learn and physically see how much goes into a single photoshoot let alone film production. Once I got my feet wet, I began working with a boutique production agency as a production coordinator where I was a sponge and starting observing everything. Read more>>

Mitchell Phillips

The biggest contributor to my knowledge and where I am today is time. Time has allowed me to make mistakes, learn from those mistakes, and eventually find what works. Along with time my intense curiosity and love for music has been integral for learning. I have spent countless hours watching videos, reading books and articles, and picking people’s brains, all because I was curious to know more. One of the obstacles that stood in my way was me thinking I new where all the answers were. I was so set on talking to someone who I thought had the answer I wanted, I would miss every other great piece of advice they gave. I was hyper-focused on one piece of information instead of looking at the big picture and trying to learn as much as I could. Read more>>

Bianca Schulze

My journey into children’s literature wasn’t planned or linear. As a reluctant reader myself growing up in Sydney, I never imagined I’d become an advocate for children’s books! But looking back, I can see how my path unfolded naturally through passion and circumstance. Read more>>

Maria Kaushansky

I started taking piano lessons in my childhood, in Russia. My family eventually immigrated to Canada, where I continued to pursue formal training in classical music. I completed the A.R.C.T Diploma in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music while I was in high school, and went on to obtain a Bachelor of Music at the University of Toronto’s (UofT) Faculty of Music. At UofT, I studied with the great Prof. Boris Lysenko (formerly vice-president of the Leningrad Conservatory and chairman of its piano department). Towards the end of my university years, I became interested in expanding my musical skills beyond classical music. I began to study jazz piano and participated in renowned jazz workshops. Read more>>

Jeremy Burnett

Studying and training in NYC/NJ. I used to think that something could speed up my journey but I truly believe that the path I’m is unique to me. I need all the heart breaks, heart aches, growth, joy, struggles, pain, love, everything all makes you a better human a better actor. The skills that I think are most essential are leaning the business of acting, learning craft and learning how to audition. 3 different things… If anything stood on the way of me learning more it was probably perfectionism and sometimes limited beliefs. Read more>>

Olivia Kierdal

I’m very fortunate to have been surrounded by musicians my whole life. My Mum was a singer and performer who taught me all about performing. She would have me sing at community events and concerts from when I was about 4, teaching me how to introduce myself on stage, how to move and walk, what outfits to wear – a stage mum but in all the right ways! She instilled in me a love for performing and entertaining. Dad, who is into rock and blues, played guitar and would always come up with these little poems, so he influenced my writing and taught me how to play guitar. Read more>>

Heather Sivil

You don’t know what you are capable of until you try. The first time I used a sewing machine to quilt, I started to envision all of the work my grandmother did sewing when I was a child. I would look down at my hands holding material and I felt as though I could see her sewing on the machine. It was then that I realized how much I loved it. In 2020, I acquired beautiful upholstery fabric that was hard to feed through my sewing foot. My Dad was using an industrial machine to sew canvas used for boats. The machine could handle so much material at the same time and it was powerful. I started fine-tuning my craft from quilting to creating bags made from fabric and leather by getting an industrial machine. Both my grandmother and Dad were a bit of an inspiration for my work to take shape. Read more>>

Andres Torres

I feel like my progression into filmmaking started when I got my first professional photography camera; a Nikon D3100. Learning to take a good photo helped me a lot once I started playing around with film more seriously. Unfortunately, getting to the realization that I wanted to be a filmmaker was not easy because, at the time, my high school was only pandering to those who wanted to attend Universities. I had to do a lot of my own research and on my own time about what creative programs were available. In 2010, I began a 1 year Media program at Humber College that eventually got me into the Film & Television Production program. Read more>>

Eleshin Lukmon

I would like to believe I’ve alwasy be a photographer, having two sisters that loved taking pictures, i made professional images from our mobile phones and my dad portable camera, Although I Learnt photogrpahy from a friend tunred boss, I would seat on a stool behind him while he’s editing images he took and I asked a Lot of questions like everything. i challenged his methods and ask why that and not the alternative. I was just more inqusitive by the day. Read more>>