One of the most daunting aspects of pursing a creative or artistic career for many aspiring artists is not knowing how to learn the craft. So, we asked some very talented artists and creatives to talk to us about how they learned their crafts and we hope their stories will help you in your journey.

Erin Hannigan | Principal Oboe, Dallas Symphony Orchestra

I started playing the oboe when I was 7 years old, after my dad suggested it. I tried one out and actually got a sound out of it; everyone was very impressed! The next few years revolved around learning the basics of how to play a wind instrument (and a finicky one at that!) while also learning to read music. I loved every bit of it, as it was a detailed process that kept me constantly challenged and curious. I was very serious by the time I was 12 years old, and already thought this was something I might pursue as my livelihood. I had yet to learn so much of the art, but each step drew me in further! Read more>>

Russ Sharek | Theatrical Clown

I am a stubborn idiot who takes a perverse delight in doing things the hard way. This makes steep learning curves feel like comfortable and familiar territory. Intelligently managed, this could be a terrific asset. However, fool’s errands are seldom intelligent. More likely they are born out of the hubris of assuming you’re alone on the journey. That mindset means no teachers, because you aren’t smart enough to look for them on the path. Read more>>

David Johnson | Martial Arts Studio Owner

I started training in martial arts back in the early eighties during my freshman year of High School while also starting wrestling. My first instructor was Mr. Todd Petterson, this was in Mason City Iowa at a local martial arts club where I trained 2 to 3 times per week. I still remember one of my first belt test when my instructor drove me to the main location to be tested by Mr. Pettersons instructor and told me if I didn’t break my board during the test that I might not pass, It took me a couple of good sidekicks to break my board for my gold belt. On the drive back home with my instructor he was very quiet but finally spoke, and said “hey, you had me worried a bit on your board break. Read more>>

Dedra Weiss | Beaded Purse Designer and Artist

Being a self-taught beadwork artist, I created my own technique for purse making on a loom through trial and error. Early on, I began beading simple projects such as loomed bracelets and belts. Infatuated with vintage clothing and accessories, I was inspired to expand my techniques to create my own brand of elegant purses that held the romance of the past while being fashionably current. My mother gave me a sack of antique beads salvaged from a vintage purse. I used those beads to create my first purse. Read more>>

JT Barnett | Film, Television & Streaming – Producer & Director

I learned my craft in the field rather than in a classroom setting. Before I ever produced a segment at “Cheaters” I spent many a day; operating camera, working on audio, learning motion photography, even getting coffee. I spent many sleepless nights and hard won endeavors leading down a path to the emergence of my own creative voice. A traditional education can be a great option when It’s available to you. In hindsight I could have probably been been more dedicated earlier but our choices lead us to where we are today. I am thankful for many joyous successes. Having in the field, real world training seemed to quicken the learning process for me and I believe just as important as the fundamentals. Read more>>

Bill Dambrova | Artist

I’m a fine art painter now, but when I went to undergrad I didn’t know what type of art I wanted to make so I chose a BA in Studio Art which allowed me to explore different mediums like Sculpture, Drawing, Print Making and other strange programs like one they called “Inter-media” that I’m not even sure if it exists anymore but it was about making site specific installation artwork. I took a few basic painting classes and didn’t learn much more about technique than you could learn from a book for beginners. At the time, (Early Nineties) there was this strange trend at ASU Art School for professors not to really push technique, but to push concept. Read more>>

Logan Grey | Photographer

I started as a “know it all” who knew nothing. I could frame a shot. I had vision but honestly, when it came to actually knowing how to use a camera… I was SOOOO ignorant! Fortunately, I was taken under the wings of two mentors… Brian Hilson and Jeff Benham. Both are very knowledgeable and excellent photographers. In my opinion, two of the best in the area. The one thing that could have helped speed up my learning would have been to quit listening to myself and listen more to my mentors. Everything they told me to do, I resisted. Read more>>

Laura Tanzer | Clothing Engineer & Artisan

I initially learned basic skills for my craft from my grandmother Loretta Tanzer. She was from the generation where everyone thrifted, up-cycled, reused and repurposed everything. They had to. They made do with what was available. People knew how to sew and to mend and to make stuff. I was a chubby 7 year old with a Barbie and I loved the clothes my grandmother made for me (although my mother did not). So, I learned first hand sewing, and when I got a little older I learned machine sewing. My grandmother was dramatic. Read more>>

Roni Hummel | Casting Director

I didn’t go into casting or was even thinking about being a casting person. I’m an actor and wanted to act in films and tv. I did a lot of networking as an actor and met so many people in the industry that people (producers) (studios) would often ask me if I knew of a certain actor that could fit a role that production needed to fill and was having a hard time finding the right actor. So, I would look through my list of actor friends and find the right fit someone I knew their talent and skill and look the studio or producer was looking for. I would connect them, and this went on for a few years. Read more>>

Thea The Band | Band Leader, Singer-Songwriter, Day Job Holder

I suppose there’s layers to what and how I learned what I’m doing; I taught myself how to read music and play the piano when a family friend gave us an upright for free. Turning it into a habit came naturally- I anticipated going home after school everyday to lay it all out on the piano. That aspect wasn’t learned at all. It was more of an answer to a prayer. I auditioned for an art school in Denver, Colorado (where I was born) and embarrassed myself pretty well….play a scale?…what’s that?…I suppose that’s an example of not learning how to do what I do. Read more>>

Rachel Mari Kimber | Chocolatier, Healer, Musician

The most wonderful aspect of what I do, is it’s uniqueness. Chocolate making with honey is both a science, and an intuitive, alchemic process. I also take my chocolate joy a step further by infusing sound vibration and spoken loving intentions. I am a self taught artisan honey sweetened Chocolatier. I did learn how to use chocolate machines in Sedona, when I first came to Arizona, yet I gravitated towards focused intentional hand made style for my personal gratification. I was informed by a fellow established honey Chocolatier, that it was “an art form that could not be taught”, that I would just need to “try it out and see what happens”. Read more>>

David Sein | Producer, Director

I was very lucky to have an extraordinary teacher, Mr Terry Nicholson, who gave me the opportunity to learn about and experience theatre directing, and the intricacies of mounting a stage production. Directing is a very demanding job and starts way before actual casting and rehearsals take place. For a director, understanding the script and bringing it and its characters to life is a challenge which must be met to satisfy oneself, the actors and the audience at large. Read more>>

Jocelyn Baroody | Artist & Designer

How does one learn to create? There are so many things that go into the how! I started learning my craft at a young age from a long list of influential artists in my life; my seamstress grandmas, carpenter grandpas, designer dads, fashionable mom and incredibly talented sister to mention a few! This was accompanied by attending my beloved public elementary school which serendipitously happened to be a magnet school for the arts. With weekly studio arts, coupled with after school programs, my artistic knowledge continued to grow. Read more>>

Doji Fox | Fine Art Photographer & Digital Artist

What I do today is actually a combination of two different interests I’ve pursued throughout my life. The first was photography, I learned as a teenager shooting with film and developing images in the dark room, mostly taking pictures of my friends skateboarding. Later in life I moved to fashion photography, product photography, wedding photography, portrait photography and event photography. In the end I found that i wasn’t happy shooting what other people wanted to see. I wanted to shoot my own vision and have a final image that represented my true artistic passion. Read more>>

Keith Thomson | Potter

Even though I achieved a masters degree in ceramics, I failed at the pottery wheel. As many of you might know, if you’ve tried, the pottery wheel is extremely difficult. This spinning chunk of clay on the wheel takes a tremendous amount of physical and mental strength, dexterity and balance to control. As the pottery grows the forces constantly change and you must respond to every reaction of the clay, instantly with changing pressure from both hands at the same time as well as maintaining or adjusting the wheel speed with the foot pedal. That being said, in art school we had no instruction. Read more>>

Jan Riggins | Chalk Artist

I kind of stumbled into chalk art. As a hobby artist most of my life, I periodically picked up colored pencils and spent years at a time working on one piece (simply because I never dedicated much time). 7 years ago, my local town started a chalk art festival. There was a professional division with a handful of professional chalk artists, and the amateur division for anyone to participate in for free. I signed up for the amateur division and was in awe of the professional artists. The second year of the festival, I won the amateur division and was invited back after that in the professional division. Read more>>

Paula J Vester | Fiber Educator, Demonstrator

While employed at Oatland Education Center in Savannah, GA, my job was to work with school groups discussing and demonstrating about Life in Georgia before the Civil War. In order to represent life in the frontier, I needed to learn what people would do in everyday life which included farming, cooking and the spinning and weaving of textiles needed for that life. Bonnie Dawson was my fellow employee, and an accomplished weaver. Even though she was there to help me learn some of the basic skills, I read books – as this was before the internet and videos that could help me learn – and sat at the spinning wheel, and taught myself how to spin. Read more>>

Diane Sanborn | Professional Artist and Educator

I am a formally trained artist. I enrolled in all of the coursework that led me to complete my MFA with a concentration in Drawing and Painting. There is no magic wand that speeds up the learning for anyone in the creative arts. There is only another path to discover and so much more to learn. The skills that are most essential for an artist are perseverance, and to always understand that there are many visual solutions to the problem that you are currently working on. Community is important – surround yourself with positivity and like-minded supportive people. My motto is to take my work very seriously, but never myself. Make obstacles disappear by understanding that art can be about the “seen” as well as the “unseen”. Trust your intuitive self. Read more>>

Maria Yraceburu | PrayerMaker, Storyteller & Teacher

I grew up apprenticing to my grandfather, a Native American HolyOne. We spent hours each day, walking through the canyons and he would teach me how all the answers to my questions could be found in nature, through a relationship with the Earth Mother’s spirit. There was no way to speed up the process at that time, as it was very experiential in nature. Learning to be still and observe was probably the most valuable lesson that came out this time. It was like see one, do one, teach one. Now I’m the teacher working the Medicine Wheel of Life in my unique SpiralDance. Read more>>

Rich Smukler | Photographer and Mediator

The best and quickest way to learn your craft as a photographer is to attend a top-notch school. I was fortunate to have attended Toscsna Photographic Workshop in Tuscany, Italy for seven fabulous summers, learning from the best the world of photography had to offer in a magical country. Then, living in south Florida, The Palm Beach Photo Center was in my back yard, so to speak, also stocked with fine teachers and resources. I can recommend joining or starting a local photo group where your work can be critiqued, techniques shared and passion exchanged. Read more>>

Hunter Lacey | Photographer

I began my photography work without any formal training in the field. I had no idea what I was doing – I didn’t even know how to shoot on manual – I just knew that I loved making photographs. In the fall of 2020, I enrolled in the graduate program I am currently in studying photojournalism. I’ve grown a lot as a photographer simply through practicing, both in and out of school. Knowing what I know now, I wish I wouldn’t have been so hard on myself about my lack of technical skills at the beginning. So much of photography is just following your eye’s instinct. Photography is not about being a camera buff. Read more>>