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.

Sarey Martin Concepción

If you’re serious about any craft, you’re always learning and growing – and the best way to learn media production is by doing it (with help from friends and “YouTube university”). But psychological blocks can get in the way of learning. You have to balance confidence and pride in what you’ve learned so far, and humility about what you don’t know. For me, my lack of knowledge about the technical/gear side of filmmaking makes me feel disadvantaged. Read more>>

David Muhlstein

I’ve been in the service industry for about 20 years now. And I feel in love with Tiki & Rum back in 2007 while I was living in Los Angeles. Back then, the industry was just a job for me. I enjoyed it, but I didn’t feel fulfilled. It helped support my lifestyle of traveling. I remember sitting at Tiki Ti in Hollywood and thinking to myself about the craft and thought that goes into the blending of different rums to create a base for some of these classic cocktails. I remember thinking that there was a lot of thought put into some of these drinks. Read more>>

Lacey Finchum

The short answer is, I taught myself through practice, videos and tutorials, seeking out teachers and apprenticeships, and gleaning information from everywhere I could. While I’ve done lots of fun and interesting things regardless of art and painting, I can’t help but wonder where I might be if I’d pursued the craft at an earlier age. I didn’t have the confidence in myself to pursue it earlier. Read more>>

James Silvestri

Since as young as I can remember, I’ve been an artist. I won my first art contest in the second grade for a drawing of a cat which my mom still has proudly hung in her house. As an adult, my obsession for art and creating has only grown. I still draw as much as I can and I work as a professional photographer mainly focusing on weddings and engagements. I also teach a photography class to adults on the autism spectrum within Oakland University’s Center for Autism. Read more>>

Candace Smith

A magazine is a community. I had to learn what it means to be a part of a community. When it comes to magazines there is always a love for something. It can be as simple as crocheting. When you announce to the world that I love to crochet and in this magazine that’s all I’m going to discuss. You make a call of action to all crochet lovers and those who have an interest and then you build a community. Read more>>

Lissette Nichols

I went to New Mexico State University: which is where I earned my Bachelor’s Degree in Acting. I took amazing classes such as Stage combat and Voice & Movement. I had the pleasure of working crew for all the wonderful plays that went on. My favorite was working the spot light for the ever famous Christmas Carol. I got to operate them from these cages above the crowd. I remember think it was a really cool experience. Read more>>

Nicholas Schmeck

If I’m going to be honest, for woodworking, I have to say trial and error. I have a very extensive background in design from graphic design to 3D modeling all the way to 3D printing and practical design. I really applied a little bit of everything to create my first product. I have a good amount of hands on experience through jobs, hobby projects and tinkering. Read more>>

David Groth

I learned to tattoo pursuing an apprenticeship as soon as I turned 18. I had traded painting a shop’s name on their wall for my first tattoo and after getting some more tattoos and picking up mural jobs close by, I gained my apprenticeship at the same studio. A few hard years of living and learning later, I was licensed in 2014. Read more>>

Casey Reit

My entry into analog photography- first (and primarily) with Polaroid photography and later with 35mm film and collage art- was shaped by a combination of creative longing and circumstantial isolation. I bought my first Polaroid camera less than three months before the world effectively stopped during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. My day job as a high school counselor moved remotely and I suddenly had a lot of time alone. Read more>>

Valerie Taloni

I took my first jewelry-making class over three decades ago … it was a simple beading class, which I thoroughly enjoyed for the creativity of it. Over the next couple of decades, I took classes here and there, and enjoyed them, but none of them made me want to delve in more deeply. Read more>>

Faith Santos

My earliest memory of art dates to when I was five years old and living in the Philippines with my aunts. I remember picking up a pencil and experimenting with how to hold it, how to apply pressure, and how to solidify contour lines. My intense curiosity led me to use tree branches to sketch out birds and plants in the dirt in front of our bamboo house. Read more>>

Julia Powell

I started learning how to write songs when I was a little kid, like 5th grade or so. I wanted to play guitar but I hated the classes, so I taught myself how to play it and soon after I started writing my own songs. Then I started learning how to produce when I was 21. In the same fashion as when I was learning to write, I taught myself through YouTube videos. Read more>>

Justine Ross

How did you learn to do what you do? All kids start off as artist, I was just decided to make a career out of it. There wasn’t a point where I learned how to be an artist. I just was always drawing, Constantly. And my skills improved from there, I learned to be an illustrator when I realized that I can use a drawing to tell a story. I became a good illustrator when i decided to filter the world around me through my lens. Read more>>

Stephanie Green

I learned my craft as many creators in this time, through the number one university, YouTube. Knowing what I know now, I would have tried to attend conferences and classes sooner. Though a lot of what I know is self taught, learning different techniques from various other artists has increased my skills and designs significantly. For example, one small but very helpful tip that I learned from a local artist, is a different way to position my hands when inflating balloons which gives the artist a little more control over the balloon. Read more>>

Whitney Woodard

I have always been crafty. When I was a kid, I was into things like sewing, knitting, drawing, photography, creative writing, etc. way more than sports. My parents encouraged this and signed me up for classes/ camps. I was also diagnosed with ADHD, and something that helped with me focus/ calm down was by doing something with my hands. I’ve always used my creative outlets as a way to escape and really get in touch with myself. Read more>>

Garrett Forsberg

The most important thing that I can tell anyone when they decide they want to make music is to fall in love with the process of it. Because that’s exactly what happened to me and I’ve never looked back. A large part of my learning has been through YouTube university. I’ve watched hundreds of hours of tutorials and breakdowns. When I was starting out I would search for exact processes like “how to make an 808 hit hard” or “how to sample” but now I study more conceptual and technique style videos. Read more>>

Asia Givhan

I learned how to do makeup from watching YouTube videos. I loved the Beauty Guru Era on YouTube that was from 2014-2018. I learned from YouTubers like Aaliyah Jay, Jackie Aina, and Makeup Shayla. Now that I’m 23, going to beauty school would’ve benefited my journey as a makeup artist. Then I could work in a salon professionally and gave that education under my melt. Read more>>

Morgan Hale

From a young age, I loved creating things. Other interests have come and gone but making art has always stuck around. After I was accepted to Massachusetts College of Art and Design, I toured the school and fell in love with the fibers department studios. There were rows of beautiful wood floor looms, big windows, and a huge yarn closet. I knew I wanted to learn how to weave and be in that amazing space. Read more>>

Angie Pickman

I remember, as a child, always having the idea that I wanted to be an artist when I grew up. I enjoyed taking art classes in high school and college, but I always had a sense of frustration because I never felt very comfortable with any of the traditional mediums that we were working in. During grad school, I started to get into animation and was exposed to the 1926 stop-motion cut-out animation, “Adventures of Prince Achmed,” by Lotte Reiniger. Read more>>

Jawuan Williams

I learned photography from the person that inspired me to join this industry in the first place, my older cousin Eric. Eric was the family photographer for a long time before his passing in 2020. It all started when he would send me different books and videos to learn the basics of a camera. Although at the time I didn’t have one to physically practice with, I was able to learn the ins and outs of a camera. Read more>>

Kylier Marshall

Honestly, I had no idea what I was doing when I first started wood burning. I had seen cool videos and wooden pieces at art shows but never knew the amount of work it would take to achieve the look these artists were producing until I tried it. I first began by burning old scrap pieces of wood to get a feel for the burner. I only had one burner for the longest time which taught me to separate what elements needed to be the darkest shade and thickest in order to be to have the right amount of detail. Read more>>

Dan Anderson

I started playing musical instruments in the 1st Grade. I took violin lessons with one of the local music teachers in my hometown, Beth Habicht. She really was the first person to teach me how to read notes and understand music. After that, I started playing the saxophone in 5th Grade in addition to the violin, and was taught by Jeanette Jenson, who I still consider to be one of the main reasons I continued and continue to do music and music education. Read more>>

Timothy Conley

I learned photography by accident. My goal was to be a filmmaker and films are made with cameras. So I picked up a camera and tried to learn as much about it as I could. Slowly I started to take pictures. Read more>>

Noah Fabray

As a producer, songwriter, and vocalist, it has been crucial for me to understand every part of this business. I started in 2019 with zero idea of how difficult making music truly is. You need to figure out a beat, lyrics, vocals, and promo. It’s a lot. Read more>>

T.D. Johnston

I learned the craft of writing fiction by being a lifelong reader of short stories and novels across genres, majoring in English at Davidson College, earning an M.A. in Creative Writing from Antioch (Rod Serling’s alma mater), and infusing my curriculum as a prep-school English and creative writing teacher with significant study of short fiction, primarily by American and Russian masters. Read more>>