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.

Jay Deru

I learned how to make music by studying all of my favorite artist and people. I used to watch interviews and freestyles from my favorite artist and pick apart each line and study everything from their hand movements to their energy. Knowing what i know now, i know that the only thing stopping me is me and if i had known that before i would’ve stopped myself from getting in my own way. I think that most important skills in my field is work ethic and articulation. Read more>>

Nik Saulnier

I have been a photographer for a little over 10 years, and it is only recently that I feel my craft has truly grown. Prior to 2020, I had done many of the things you would expect one to do when growing a business or craft; go to college, attend workshops, speak with other professionals in the industry, invest in better “tools of the trade”, and so on. With all of these new technical skills, tools, and insights, I should have found success. Read more>>

Latoya Murray

I am a balloon stylist, so my craft involves working with balloons. I initially learned by reading an instruction manual that came with a balloon kit purchased on Amazon. The instructions seemed simple (inflate balloon, then insert into the ballon strip); however the outcome didn’t look much like the inspiration photo. From there, I started looking at videos on “Youtube University” which provided a vast collection of tutorials from multiple artists. Read more>>

Harsha Chathuranga

Learning is a lifelong process, and I’m constantly seeking new opportunities to expand my skills and knowledge in my field. When it comes to design, I had the opportunity of learning from some of the best professionals in the industry, as well as through my practice and mistakes. Mastering graphic design is a gradual process that requires time, commitment, and dedication to develop a strong skill set. I’ve also found that staying up to date with the latest design trends and tools is crucial for success in this field. Read more>>

Laura Blair

If you had asked me 10 years ago where I thought I’d be as an artist, I never would have guessed I’d be doing what I do now. Approximately 10 years ago I was the assistant director at a local community arts center. I was organizing a fiber art weekend with workshops, opportunities for students to work alongside artists, gift bags… you know, the works. I thought to myself how cool it would be if we organized a yarn bombing of the exterior of the Jacoby Arts Center building to commemorate the event. Read more>>

Lauren Theis

I’ve always had a camera attached to my hand. Even at a young age, I was always the friend who took pictures! I think once I was at the end of my high school career was really when I started to think about photography as a career and not just a hobby anymore. However, I found it extremely hard to envision making a living from it simply because I didn’t know any actual professional photographers haha. I wasted a year at NKU trying to figure out what else I liked and could turn into a career for myself. Read more>>

Steve Combs

It’s interesting to look back and reflect on the ways I learned to play bass, and realize how many different ways I tried and how varied they were. I had great teachers, of course, and as a teacher I highly recommend 1-on-1 in-person instruction for everyone, as much as you can get. Beyond that obvious choice, I chose to devote all the time I could outside of lessons. There comes a time when your passion for something, be it music or a sport or any activity, drives you to eliminate lesser interests and diversions so that the maximum amount of your personal time & energy can be spent pursuing that passion. Read more>>

Ralo

How did you learn to do what you do? I took what I learned from being an audio engineer and always being good at networking and having a passion for small talk into my career. I have met and worked with people all over the world. I have always made goals for myself, rather it be New Year’s resolution’s or a life change I always held myself accountable to achieve these goals. Read more>>

Fabiana Medici

The craft just came to me. I always wanted to be an actress and when I was 14 years old I finally began acting in plays. My very first role was Anne Frank and I came to learn on my own that I needed to do research to understand her life. I was very fortunate to study with amazing teachers such us Lito Cruz (my first instructor), Augusto Fernandez, and Norman Briski. In India and Europe, I found fellow actors and groups that were disciples of Peter Brook, and I learned from them as well as the great “unknown storytellers” Read more>>

Gary McCrear

I learned to read tarot cards by practicing with myself, first. I had been getting readings (tarot, astrology, diloggún) for a few years but never had the nerve to pick it up for myself until I felt this internal nudge to start my days off with some routine and practice. Every morning, in my past life as a teacher, I would wake up and just head to work without any grounding practice to prepare for my day. Reading tarot daily helped me to hone in on my own personal energy and I used to write on a blog daily to get my skill set up to par. Read more>>

Sarim Dream

I’m mostly self-taught. However, with all my skills in business and my art I adopt the techniques and styles from the people I look up to and make those skills my own, once I’ve mastered it. I’m extremally curious and inquisitive so when in any space full of people I want to gain knowledge from I tend to ask any and every question I can think of. Read more>>

Hannah Mitchell

I started writing stories and poems pretty much as soon as I could string words together. It was my love of writing and reading that led me to a career in education. As a teacher of English, I have spent almost fifteen years honing my understanding of the writing process. I don’t mean the one you get taught in middle school – brainstorm, rough draft, etc. Imagine the writing process as a physical thing, like processing wool for making fabric, processing wheat for making bread. Read more>>

Michael O’Rear

One of the biggest things I learned when pursuing my craft is– actually pursuing it. Nobody knows how to do something before they start it. So I threw myself into the deep end and followed my dreams. Things will never be perfect, especially when you first start. If you don’t look back and laugh at yourself, you started too late. Read more>>

Sarah Gump

When I first started photographing landscapes, it was with a point and shoot camera. I started out photographing interesting lighting, water, sunsets, and such and I was so drawn to it that I was always on the lookout for a DSLR that would help me capture things better and with more detail. I bought my first used Nikon D3300 DSLR in 2014 and most of my work so far was from that camera. Trial and repetition was my path to photography. I joined a photography club and tried to surround myself with people that encouraged me to keep at it. Read more>>

Armando Ayala

I learned to make music by just jumping into it and never looking back or thinking wether people would judge me or not. You dont have to be born a star to become one and honestly it just takes a lot of hard work and passion. I took my first steps when i bought my first microphone and just started off making small basic songs. Then later on i started to work on my voice and overall vocal performance because that is a really big thing when you want to become a vocalist. Read more>>

Allison Streett

As a figurative sculptor, my language is the human face and figure. Drawing and sculpting from live models, studying anatomy and proportion are crucial practices, but learning from my mistakes is probably the most important skill. I have a strong perfectionist streak, and while it motivated me to work hard to improve my skills, it also made it difficult for me to assess what real success might look like. Read more>>

Oscify

When I started there were no expectations. I had always been a strong writer, and not much of a singer, and hiphop styles seemed to come easily to me from an early age. As time went by the music found itself in very experimental areas which I enjoyed, but the audience didn’t always “get it”, and at times these efforts seemed to pull me from my core skill set of writing effective lyrics. There are no shortcuts. Read more>>

Emmy Susani

Definitely the internet is a huge factor in learning photography. I did not go to school everything I’ve learned is from other photogs or The internet. Learning lighting and how to frame photos properly was a huge help. Read more>>

Josh Goldstein

Ultimately what I do encompasses multiple thing. I would say I learned how to play guitar when I was 10 but that’s an ongoing process of learning. After being in and out of bands for the better part of 20 years after learning how to play, I realized that there was more to the music business than just playing song. I had to learn how to manage time, people, finances, events, and A LOT more! It is a constant process of growth and learning when managing a band and I am always networking and learning from others in the industry. Read more>>

Brandon Roach

This is a question I get asked sometimes by people, and to be honest it’s always something I find difficult to answer, but it is a very necessary one. I learned everything I know how to do, by simply watching other people do it and then applying my own personality to it. Starting when I was just a toddler and I saw guitarist on the TV playing, I always wondered to myself “how do they change tunings so fast”, and from that naive thought, I spiraled into a void of wanting to learn everything about it since. Read more>>

Stephanie Van Burk

I learned to paint the way i do on vegan leather jackets during covid. I had a degree in fashion design and i always liked to paint. In my childhood, I used to draw and paint a lot. It was a calming tool for me and helped me canalyze my emotions. Then, as I used to be a fashion model, my interest went into fashion. This is why I decided to study fashion design and merged fashion with my passion for drawing. Read more>>

Janelle De la Rosa

Learning how to make music is a different journey for everyone. For me, finding work and financial stability as a producer-musician-artist-songwriter required me to not only master the technicalities of each craft, but also understand my art as a business. This meant getting burned, learning lessons, taking control, and understanding the power of self-advocacy and entrepreneurship in the current music industry. Read more>>

Matthew Munn

I actually went to undergrad for computer science (University of Delaware). I wanted to program video games for a living. Funny enough, going into my senior year, I got my hands on MAYA (computer animation software) and everything changed. A few “MAYA for Beginners” tutorials later, and I had fallen completely in love with computer art and animation. Unfortunately, I was on a path to graduating with a comp sci degree, so I had to figure out how to shift my focus super late in the college game. Remember, I’m a senior at this point. Read more>>

April Wagner

I’m an artist who is in love with blowing glass, and I have been since I took my first class in college at Alfred. I went there to study ceramics and thought I would spend my life working in clay, but after my first time holding molten glass, I was hooked. So much so that I changed schools, moved to a different state, and devoted my life to working with a 2000-degree material that I couldn’t touch with my hands, is expensive to make, difficult to learn, and incredibly fragile. Read more>>

Chandler Dixon

In 2020, I was supposed to be out on tour for two months, but everything was cancelled as the world was shut down. I figured that with all of the recording studios being shut down and every artist in the world cooped up at home, this would be a great time to teach myself how to record. I bought some simple gear and started on my path to 10,000 hours. I watched several master classes and spoke to mentors and friends asking them incessantly for feedback and tips. I had hit a creative wall at one point and found myself completely stuck. Read more>>