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?

Evan Bingham

I learned to play music and how to create and tell stories by listening. Nobody in my family played instruments, but there was always music playing when I was growing up. Aretha Franklin, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Ray Vaughan… they’re all musicians who told incredible stories that inspired me so much to learn to play. I learned how to find my voice and style by absorbing and appreciating my favorite records. Read more>>

Bradford Bowley

Skateboarding is a form of art, everyone does it differently and has their own style. You are able to learn a lot faster by observing others around you that may have more experience. Ask for advice, listen, and make it your own.If skateboarding is something that you are trying to learn, you have to overcome the fear of falling, you have to be confident. Read more>>

Jun KAWAI

I learned through conversations, research, and mentorship, but the most important part was hands-on experimentation—trying out different techniques, materials, and design approaches.

Looking back, I could have sped up my learning by seeking mentors earlier, focusing more on structured challenges, and not being afraid to share my work sooner. Read more>>

Colin Mortemore

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always loved stories and would get sucked in to most animated movies/TV shows. There was something about visual story telling that just felt right to me. Then I decided to pick up a DSLR while I worked for the National Forest Service in Colorado in 2017 and everything kind of clicked.

I’m self taught, simply because I’m a curious human and want to understand how to create a story through photography. There’s something magical about capturing a moment in time that has the ability to give full context even if the scene is still. Read more>>

Tipsy

My journey in music began early—practically as soon as I could speak.
As a child, my parents and teachers noticed I had a natural singing voice and a vibrant personality, so they encouraged me to perform in school plays, record a children’s album, and start voice lessons at a very young age. That early foundation was everything. Read more>>

Katie Leigh

Before university, I was a self-taught artist. I started drawing when I was a child, and my style evolved with me as I grew up. I never stopped, and my drawings only improved over time. Cartoons were a major inspiration for me back then, and I essentially learned how to draw from observation through watching my favorite animated characters. This marked the very beginning of my artistic journey. I’m incredibly grateful that my mom continued to foster my dream of becoming an artist throughout my middle school and teenage years. Read more>>

Erik Hawks

Songwriting is a process. I think the only way to learn how to do it is just jump in and start writing. I’ve been able to pick up tips and pointers along the way from other songwriters, but it really just takes time and elbow grease. You have to keep plugging away until the song is where you want it. I’ve learned that a song will always come out the way it was supposed to, regardless of your own ideas as to how it would. Sometimes it’s the same and sometimes it goes in another direction. Read more>>

Bailey Funk

I’ve been creating art for as long as I can remember, thanks to my father. He was a true freelance artist in every sense and also taught continuing education art classes. Growing up in Milwaukee, every single school I went to had a strong focus on the arts and not much else. From an early age, I felt a natural passion for art, and he nurtured that by teaching me different techniques and styles over the years—almost like private lessons—long before I ever attended art school. Read more>>

Kenneth DeVito

As a self-taught artist with no formal training, I have learned the craft of painting in a number of ways.

First, I learned from my father, a formally trained artist who attended art college on the GI Bill after the Second World War. He painted in oils throughout his life and I spent many hours watching him and listening to him explain what he was doing. In addition, he would analyze for me paintings by the masters, primarily explaining the compositional techniques they used. Read more>>

Geneva Escobedo

I began my second career as a writer/author after journaling for many years while in college and during my work life. To become a talented writer I joined two women’s writing groups, took several creative writing classes and participated in numerous workshops on writing and publishing. After retiring from a 30-year career in higher education, I devoted my time to write and publish my first two books. To accomplish this I pursued feedback and direction from published authors and writing professionals on book ideas, manuscript development and how to promote my books. I am an avid reader and I focus on reading a wide variety of authors. I attend the Tucson Festival of Books yearly to listen to prominent authors and attend workshops. Read more>>

Erika Pareja

I went to beauty school for skincare and dove into the world of makeup on my own. I spent countless hours practicing on myself and friends, taking every opportunity to try out new looks. I would accept every makeup job that came my way, I was eager to learn and grow. Social media became my best friend; I learned so much from Instagram and it really kept my creativity flowing. I also invested in an airbrushing course and bridal workshop in New York City, which really helped elevate my makeup applications and I learned so many cool tips and tricks along the way. Read more>>

Meadow Coldon

When I was first learning ceramics, I had access to a studio and taught myself via youtube and lots of trial and error. Years later, I reached out to an acquaintance who had been potting for 55+ years, and asked her to be my formal mentor.

We ended up completely hitting it off, and I continue to learn so much from her about ceramics and life. She isn’t afraid to tell me like it is, and provides supportive energy but also honest critique. I think we all need someone like that in our lives that can help us learn to see what is working and what isn’t. Read more>>

Grant Mahan

I view my path in learning my craft as an artist in four steps: play, Finding my personal voice, finding community, and creating balance.

The first step of developing my path as an artist, is the playful honeymoon phase. I needed to start with that intense, all consuming, and addictive passion for art. I would argue for everyone in the arts, the world actively puts obstacles in your way to stop you from keeping your practice (typically financial). For me, it was essential to build a foundation of play and pure joy that sustained me through those hardships. Have your honeymoon phase with your new craft and just play. Read more>>

Liz Darling

Like a lot of other artists, I started making art as a kid and just never stopped. I had a great art teacher around middle school who introduced me to watercolor as a medium, and it just clicked. I loved the fluidity of it, and the way I was able to control the paint. I went on to pursue an art degree in college, and learned oil painting, but I returned to watercolor later on as an accessible way to paint at home without fumes or too much mess. I think what I could have done to speed up my learning process overall would have been to let go of perfectionism. Read more>>

Julie Keller

I started drawing fashions as a kid and sewing as a teenager (taking home economics the max I could). I then went to Bauder college for fashion design and while attending school I worked at a tailoring shop and interned with the designer DarylK in NYC. While my sewing skills increased immensely in Fashion design school the most important thing I learned was clothing construction and creating sewing patterns. Knowing how to make almost anything and not having to rely on patterns and tutorials is very freeing. There are no limits to my creativity and I am confident in my craft rather than worrying if I am doing it the right way or not. The right way is the one that accomplishes my vision. Read more>>

Aaron Litschke

In 2019 I launched my music label called Forgetful Music. Since then I’ve been realizing just how little I knew about online promotion, how the music streaming platforms pay artists, and how little the payout can be on any given release. To date, I’ve had a little over 7 million streams (thats not a misprint, I’ve had 7 million streams) which has added up to about $220.00. When I was starting I definitely thought that hitting a million streams would have me well on my way to quitting my day job and doing music full time but that’s not how things work in the music streaming business. Read more>>

Chloe Halpin

whole life, but this was the first time I felt challenged by an art form. I’ve always been mesmerized by the way people can play guitar, so naturally I wanted to learn different techniques. My grandfather bought me my very own small guitar, and kept one full sized at a summer house we would visit often. I always had one by to practice my barre chords. He taught me whenever he was around, and I also had a great guitar teacher for a few years, Frank Porcelli. Frank is a great man from Long Island who taught me strumming and chord progressions. Read more>>

Em White

My journey into web design wasn’t exactly traditional. I actually have a degree in Accounting, but creativity has always been part of who I am. I grew up painting with my grandma, spent weekends at art school as a kid, and even ran a digital art business in college. So while I chose a practical major, I never let go of that creative side. Read more>>

Marcus Baker

Being a photographer I’ve mostly pick up the tricks of the trading by being out in the field.

Investing in the right equipment and trying again and again until I got the right result was essential to building the skills and experience I needed to succeed. Read more>>

Celeste

I’ve always considered myself a storyteller at heart—it’s something that has lived in me for as long as I can remember. Even as a child, I was constantly dreaming up new worlds, writing little scripts for my siblings, and directing them in our homemade films. My mother kept everything—every scribbled line of dialogue, every sketch of a character, every wild idea I committed to paper. She thought it was hilarious and sweet, but more importantly, she delighted in it. And her encouragement, even in those small moments, gave me an early belief I had something worth saying. Read more>>

Jake Keeler

I was fortunate to have been born into an artistic family; my mother was an artist and high school art teacher, my grandfather (her father) was a commercial artist, and my older brother also has the bug. I had a pencil and paint brush in my hand right away and making art was a routine day to day thing. I didn’t know any better. My mother would teach my brother and I about using various media and would expose us to all kinds of art, so I got a jump start on my training and learning. Read more>>

Michael J Johnson

I grew up in a musical family. Both of my parents were professional musicians, and they started me in piano lessons at a very young age, 5 or 6 years old. In fact, in this piano program, I was learning how to play by ear, so it was quite beneficial to what I have done my entire career. After that, I began taking the more traditional piano lessons, learning to read music. After a few years, when my mother realized I was not practicing but fooling my teacher by perfectly sight-reading my assignment, she decided for obvious reasons it was a waste of her money to keep paying for lessons, so she made me quit. Unfortunately, I didn’t really continue to play after that until I got older, something I still regret. Since my dad was a church choir director, I also began singing in church at a young age, and I have always considered myself a vocalist/instrumentalist. Read more>>

Chris Johnson

I learned everything on my own as challenges came up. I honestly don’t feel there are much in the form of shortcuts as a creative. The best way to learn is simply by doing. Challenging yourself to try new things that push you out of your comfort zone is what will help you learn the fastest because you will be faced with new challenges that you’ll have to solve. The internet is such a useful tool these days that if you’re determined you can learn almost anything through searching online and watching tutorial videos on YouTube. When faced with a problem don’t try to find a way around it. Find a way to overcome it. Read more>>

Kiarra Chapman

With music, I actually started by writing poetry. It was always an outlet for me to get my emotions out freely because I didn’t feel like I could speak freely without being judged or punished. In high school I was in an extended program called ‘Audio and Video production Arts’. The class mostly focused on photography, which I also have a love for, but my true love was music. I remember soon as we could do free time I would take over one of the 2 recording spaces and I would just mess around with the different buttons and basically taught myself how to record my songs on PRO tools. I of course asked my teacher at the time questions here and there. Read more>>

Piper Essick

My journey into florals is deeply rooted in family and tradition. I grew up in a small town where my grandma was known as the local “flower lady,” always creating something beautiful. My aunt—an incredibly talented gardener, landscaper, and designer—has been both my inspiration and mentor in starting my business. Creativity has always come naturally to me. I was that crafty kid who loved making things with my hands, and working with flowers just clicked. Read more>>

Jayde Hall

my mother carefully tie knots into beautiful artwork, was amazing to me. How could something so simple as tying a knot, turn into something truly amazing…
I decided then I wanted to give it a shot and see if I could do it too.. Slowly with her assistance, I learned how to tie many different knots and began to work on more intermediate knots, as these were essential skills needed to produce quality artwork pieces …. throughout high school I made simple things like necklaces and bracelets for myself and friends, but continued to work on learning and developing those new skills; mainly reading books and tying (and untying) alot of knots over and over….. After the passing of my mother shortly after high school and into my 30’s I felt it my duty to work and help my familly as much as possible. Read more>>

TREMOND ESTELLE

I learned the different facets of filmmaking in many ways. As an actor I’ve trained at different studios virtually and in-person. I’m an avid reader so I’m with my head in a book, seeking knowledge from those who’ve come before me. I’ve studied a plethora of methods and I interchange them based on what the role entails. I watch documentaries and interviews of the greats to pull wisdom for them as well. Read more>>

Amy Ordoveza

I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to study with many great teachers over the years. I was really lucky to have a great high school art teacher, Mr. Carmella, who taught us a lot about observational drawing. The first few months in his class felt like learning a whole new way to see the world. After high school, I studied art at the Maryland Institute College of Art, where my experience was mixed. I was exposed to many different art forms and points of view and learned a lot about art history, which was important. I had some professors who were very helpful, but also others who were not supportive of my goals to learn to paint and draw in a realistic style. Read more>>

Laura Neves Penido

I learned most of the photography basics through my mother who had been a photographer in the 80s-90s. Once I picked up her old camera, and she saw that I was serious about it, she decided to guide me. It was an eventful experience. I needed to learn a lot of the details through practice. I made a lot of mistakes and destroyed a lot of films before I got to the stage where it was easier and more fun. Read more>>

Nia Sanders

I had my first experience working with clay sometime way back in middle school, but I really started to deep dive about 5 years ago. I stumbled on a community pottery studio randomly, Artshack in Brooklyn, NY, signed up for class a few months later (this was 2020, so the pottery wheels were set up outside!) and have been hooked ever since. I took classes pretty consistently for about 1-2 years, joined the membership at that studio to get unlimited access around that 2 year mark, and have since continued my membership at a different location and I like to take workshops when I have the time. I also have learned a lot from potters on Youtube and other social platforms, and the other artists that I’m in community with. Read more>>