Over the past few months we’ve reached out to members of the CanvasRebel community to dive deeper into their stories. We wanted to learn how they got to where they are today and we heard stories that will keep our inspiration cup full for a long time. Their stories, lessons and humor have lifted our spirits and we hope you’ll take a minute to check out the stories below.

Rachel Thomas-Medwid’s Story

Growing up, I was always drawn to the arts. Along with my primary focus on creative writing, I trained as a classical pianist and was in a dance troupe in college and beyond. The act of creating something out of nothing never fails to give a thrill; whether it’s choreography, a piece of music, a short story, or a film. The route to filmmaking has been circuitous but I believe you’re meant to get to certain points in your life at the time you do for a reason. Coming into the industry “late in the game” so to speak could be considered a disadvantage but I’m embracing it. In my mind, I don’t have time to waste, which is motivating when it comes to doing the hard work. Maybe I’d have a similar mindset if I’d starting the filmmaking journey in my 20s, but who knows. As someone who has a whole separate career at this point, there’s a sense of security in my focus and ability to put in the work and get things done. There’s also this freedom in the feeling that there’s nothing to lose and everything to gain by continuing to pursue my creative endeavors. Read more>>

Elizabeth Tufegdzich of The Leadership Agency

Almost 10 years ago, I joined The Leadership Agency. I’ve always aspired to be a leader, to have a seat at the table where key decisions are made—and this role has given me exactly that. A lot of people who don’t know me personally wouldn’t know how deep my struggles with anxiety have been and the personal journey that shaped me along the way. Over a decade ago, I was diagnosed with PTSD and OCD, and it fundamentally changed my life. As a high performer and perfectionist, I felt like I’d hit a wall I couldn’t break through. Read more>>

Shane Lara

I was born in the year 1998. My father is of Native descent but never knew of his tribal roots and my mother is Italian. Spoken word has always been a part of me for as long as I can remember and is deeply intertwined with my Native American identity though I wasn’t able to reclaim it until I was 20 years old. Though I had no sense of my history, I found my love of spoken word at a very young age in kindergarden. I loved learning new bigger words and making those words rhyme together. I didn’t pay much attention to my talents at the time as it just felt like a fun activity but this began to change when I found a love for Hip-Hop music. I loved the metaphores, similes and rhyme schemes that I heard from the artists my dad listened to like Kool Moe Dee along with Grandmaster Flash. Read more>>

Amy Stone’s Story

I have a degree in Fine Arts from the University of Colorado and a Masters in Art Education from Hofstra University, but found myself doing everything but creating and teaching in my 20’s and much of my 30’s. It wasn’t until my family and I relocated to Seattle in 2014 that I began to create on a daily basis, and not until 2016 that I began painting again after an almost 15 year hiatus. I left my job in the wine industry in 2016 to focus on art full time, and haven’t looked back. Social media helped propel my career forward, but really it’s the support of my husband and kids that make it all possible. Read more>>

Gina Martirano’s Story

There has always been a fire inside of me that wanted to open my own shop (since I was a little girl). I went to college to pursue Fashion Business & Management, and later went on to pursue a Master’s Degree in Retail Management. I have a history of working for family owned businesses and have seen firsthand the sweat equity that goes into operating your own business. It wasn’t until 2016 that I took a deeper dive into the wellness world by completing my 200 hour yoga certification. Yoga was really my first introduction into the world of wellness, self-care and mental health. It also opened my eyes to sustainability, taking care of the planet, social causes, and social injustice. Read more>>

Karey Kessler’s Story

Over the last twenty-plus years since then, I’ve moved from Philadelphia, PA, to Washington, DC, to Winston-Salem, NC, to Seattle, WA, and spent a year living in Kaohsiung Taiwan in 2014. I have been a gallery manager, a librarian assistant at two different art museums, a Montessori teacher, and became a mother to two boys. Through it all, I never stopped creating art. Creating art was never a hobby for me even when I wasn’t making art “full time”. The act of painting and drawing is how I process my thoughts and stay grounded and true to myself. It is a necessary part of my health and sanity and no number of rejections, gatekeepers or time constraints will ever stop me from making art. Read more>>

Sam Pletcher

My practice began out of a combination of my inability to sit still and my mind’s tendency to wander. When you have a brain that is constantly overthinking and processing and spinning, getting some of that energy out of your head and onto a piece of paper can feel immensely relieving (I often find that after dumping out your mind like that can lead to space for brand new thoughts). Drawing is such an important medium for me because of that and it’s the medium I have the most experience in, since I was drawing even before I felt comfortable calling myself an artist. But since I also crave color and texture and trying new mediums, I soon started exploring painting, and then printmaking and eventually sewing sequins. It’s important for me to keep my art practice fresh and playful, so I do still dabble around between known mediums and trying new things! Read more>>

Djivan Schapira

My story as an artist and craftsman started when I was a young boy. As the son of a master craftsman I learned the trade early and as I grew up realized I was meant to follow this path. Born in Paris France, I immigrated to the US when I was 6 and ended up studying architecture as Parsons School of Design. Since then I have landed representation by a world renown collectible design gallery called Todd Merrill Studio. Read more>>

Marianna Kulukundis

Despite many detours through acting, producing, and even working as a first AD for branded short films, I fell into an illustration career after a casual request to illustrate a friend’s wedding invitation started it all. I am fortunate that commissions started coming in almost immediately. I like to say it happened overnight, but with twenty years of preparation. My background is in fine art, so I am self-taught as an illustrator. I am sure some would say I break the rules, although I don’t know what they are, so I muddle along on instinct. However, when I need to select a typeface, I worry that a seasoned graphic designer will look at my font choices and shudder. I have a “fear of font failure.” Read more>>

Vinny Castro of TrakFormaz Music Group

I can’t help but see in my head that my mom starts out my story. She introduced me to music at such an early age. The earliest songs I can recall are the theme songs from Star Wars in the early ’80s. Mom would be cleaning the house, dancing and listening to this on vinyl, then switching over to “Just My Imagination” by The Temptations, then Michael Jackson. It was an awesome time, and I was like 4, lol. Anyway, it stuck with me, and so did the hobbies of my two older brothers who were young teens either DJing or breakdancing. Outside of my windows, there was either reggae or Latin music being blasted by whoever started the party first! East New York rules! Read more>>

Hannah Lavigne

The idea behind the start of my business was in 2019 when I had a co-worker who connected me with an older gentleman who was looking for someone to help him learn the ropes around social media. He owned a printing press card company with his fiance, who was trying to do the social media on her own but felt unqualified and uncomfortable navigating social media platforms. When I realized I could share my love for content creation, algorithms and social platforms, I knew it was time to bet on myself and take the leap. I was working as a server after many years in the corporate industry in a variety of admin and customer service positions but always felt unfulfilled- knowing my creativity was not flowing or being supported the way I yearned for it to be. Read more>>

Nick Gunn

I got my start in photography by accident. I have always taken photos, playing with disposable cameras on school field trips, borrowing my mom’s camera, and using my phone later on. I had also been a musician since elementary school and never expected to be any other kind of artist until I stumbled into photography out of necessity from my other creative projects. When I finally picked up a camera of my own, it all clicked at once. Read more>>

Leslie Short of The Cavu Group

At the age of 7 I was selected to be trained as a classical ballet dancer. I went through several callbacks and out of hundreds of little girls 3 of us were selected to be trained. It sounds like a fairytale but in one breath I was selected and in the other breath I was told not to get my hopes up because little black girls are not normally ballet dancers. 30 something years later I had an amazing career I traveled the world and lived in Europe and Asia. Read more>>

Aj Tolentino’s Story

I’m AJ – I was born in the Philippines and moved to South Jersey when I was a kid. Growing up, I was already into arts and aside from drawing – I took on dancing and rapping as a teenager watching youtube videos. At the time I had a camera and I like photographing myself doing cool freezes! When I got to college I started making music videos and creating rap songs. This is totally so far out from what I do now but I still keep it as part of my “art” and hobbies. In college, I went on to pursue Photography and took on internship in the Advertising, Fashion & Wedding space where I evolved even further into my craft. Now, I shoot campaign for brands, shoot fashion and shows and alot of couple engagement photography. I’m still trying to dive deeper into my other art form but for now the main focus is to scale my content creation business and personal brand. Read more>>

John Strother

I grew up in a very artistic environment my Mother is a landscape and portrate painter and is still paintaing today at age 96. My father was a biophysics professer and a pastel and pencil illistrator. Art exposure was always available in our household. My third year in architecture school at Penn State University I started exploring with color layored foam core as a way to study building elevations. After I graduated from collage I continued exploring colored layored compositions as an art form. Over time this exploration has evolved into colored gemetric compositional images. With the help of photoshop this process is still continuing to this day. Read more>>

Andrea Shipley of Alive Explorations

I’ve always been a highly sensitive person who kind of went my own way… a seeker and questioner, more than a rebel. I love variety and travel, so I’ve created a unique lifestyle for myself that provides me with both, without sacrificing stability and professionalism. Right now, I live, work, and travel in a school bus that’s been converted into a tiny house/RV. I’m also taking time to travel abroad, seeing what it’s like to live out of a suitcase for a while. So far, it’s pretty great, though I’m looking forward to returning to my dog. Read more>>

Kathleen Beausoleil

I always wanted to be an artist. I did RISd pre- college, graduated from Syracuse University with a BFA in painting. Following that, I pursued a career as a textile designer for several years before enrolling in grad school at SUNY Empire State College. During my time there, I took a hiatus and relocated to Montana for two years, fully immersing myself in my artistic pursuits while also participating in various residencies. Upon returning to New York, I resumed my studies at the school, but unfortunately, my program was discontinued. Read more>>

George Shands of GFresh Emporium

I started my business in 2018 with the goal of making the world smell good. I only sold one air freshener at the time, but I had bigger dreams for my business. Slowly I started to expand GFresh Emporium by adding new scents to my air freshener line and it was a huge success! Fast forward to 2024, I am selling a wide variety of aromatherapy products. I have a website, social media and email thread so I can keep in touch with all the fans of GFresh. I love running my own business and making an impact on the community. I also DJ occasionally which brings me to much joy! Read more>>

Noire Mouliom

Hey everyone, I’m Noire, and I’d love to share a bit of my journey with you. My passion for the arts has always been a part of me, but things really took off when I got my first camera in my late 20s. I started by capturing live music and moments in my community. Those early photos helped me get into college, where I studied photography full-time for two years. Since graduating, I’ve been fully dedicated to this craft for the last three years. Read more>>