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.

Jenni Summer

As a professional in the field of luxury photography and videography, I have honed my skills through a combination of informal education on YouTube, working under the mentorship of incredible photographers such as Zara Ashby and Melissa Shanley along with industry workshops. Read more>>

Ronson Hawkins

The roots of my craft started in the third grade when I started competing in oratory public speaking competitions. I want to give a special thanks to Mr. Green and Mr. Duncan from Windsor Village Elementary school for giving me my start in public speech and debate. Read more>>

Dennis Pearson

There is no singular way to do what I do. My advice to anyone looking to get started is to truly study the craft. I myself, attended drama school. I learned many diffrent acting methods and techniques such as Meisner, Uta Hagen, Stella Adler… etc. Read more>>

DJ Woods

I’ve always dabbled with music my whole life but my journey learning the DJ craft didn’t really start until I was about 23. At this point I thought (incorrectly) that I was too old or late in the game. I felt that I needed to work extra hard to be up to par with my peers. Read more>>

Nyrobi Dick

Learning the craft is always important when you investing in yourself. For example, I was very young when I invested in my dreams of wanting to be a rapper. Read more>>

Angela Aiello

My earliest form of learning the craft of acting came in the form of memorizing movie dialogue with my brother in our living room. We would fully act out our favorite movies, committing to every scene and character. I always knew that that was what I wanted to do with my life. Read more>>

Jonathan Mancha

Songwriting is a very backwards craft. In my own life, as I mention in some of my other responses, early on in the process of learning songwriting there is an idea that there are things to be learned and elements in songwriting that can be formulaic. Read more>>

Tracy Davidson

Learning all the skills required to be a broadcast journalist took many years, many extra- unpaid hours, night and weekend… many holidays away from my family. And Yes, it was worth it. Read more>>

Margarita Fray

Well, how did they learn my craft? It’s funny, but it actually started with some protest posters back in the day, about eight years ago when I was still living in Russia and was an activist. My wife at the time saw how much effort I put into those signs and offered me support while I pursue this passion. Read more>>

Nathan Gibbs

In general, I learned my skills on my own. As a self taught artist, I acquired most of my abilities through trial and error. I did get some tips and training in woodworking from my grandfather, and a few simple painting technique and mixing skills from a friend who had a masters in fine art painting, that got me a little bit of a jump. Read more>>

Billy Economou

When you are passionate about something you will to find ways to continuously learn more and more about it! For me it was photography. To transition from a hobbiest to a pro I decided to level up my skills by enrolling in a photography certificate program at a community college. Read more>>

Grace DeVito

My time at art school there wasn’t a lot of craft or technique being taught it was all about the Idea. It took many years and struggle to learn to paint the way I wanted. Read more>>

Char Whatley

I have a bit of an unusual background for someone in the Charleston wedding industry – I did not graduate with a hospitality degree or spend any time working in restaurants growing up! Read more>>

Isaiah Kim

I would say that one of the most undervalued yet essential skills in any creative pursuit is adaptability and resilience. For me, as a creative, my art was never an embodiment of my identity, but rather a reflection of the ever changing life experiences that I have had to endure and live through. Read more>>

Ali Feeney

Making art and crafts has been a pillar in my childhood that shaped my world and how I approach things. I was always encouraged to try new things and when I was a sophomore in undergrad at Alfred University, I was presented with an opportunity to take Beginning Glass. Read more>>

Nina The Emcee

Learning the craft…. I am a professional event host, syndicated radio personality and certified wedding officiant. You’ll need an amazing personality for jobs of such, but what I find to be even more important than personality, is decorum and discernment. Read more>>

John M

I learned first and foremost by watching and listening to others who were better than me. I still do that to this day. I learned the most from people who were doing what I wanted to do, BETTER than I was doing it. Read more>>

Miguel Manzo

I became interested in learning how the voice works because of my vocal challenges as a singer. I wanted to understand how the voice worked and why mine was having such a hard time. That’s how my path changed directions. I became obsessed with knowing everything I could about the voice mechanics. Read more>>

Claudia Carpenter

I have always said that I have carried Crochet in my soul for as long as I can remember. I grew up in a multi-generational home in San Salvador, El Salvador with my great-grandmother Maria who was a beautiful and talented crocheter. Read more>>

Sabrina Osment

Ceramics is very humbling. You learn early on to not to get attached to anything you make and earn a respect for the history and art of making pottery. Read more>>

Deirdre Allinson

Photography has been a passion of mine since I started having children. I wanted to capture all of my kids’ ages and stages and taking photos was the best way to preserve our memories. Read more>>

Kingsley Adeyemi

I started engineering back in college @ Prairie View A&M back in 2012. My journey began helping my long time friend & brother VRSE record his first mixtape in my closet with the worst gear, just trying to learn. Read more>>

Melina Aguilar Leon

I started Te Quiero Mosh after working and interning for a few music labels and companies. I used to run the social media accounts for them and often would have the chance to briefly hang out with some of the artists whenever there were live events or if they would stop by the office. Read more>>

Heather Donaldson

I am a self taught artist. I have developed my own techniques over trail and errors, and have found what works best for my creative process. In a painting, I am most comfortable working with acrylic paints but I have been known to intertwine watercolor and acrylics in some of my work along with adding other details with markers and other items. Read more>>

Isaac Jones

When it comes to photography, I do not have any formal training. I received my first camera as a gift when I graduated college. From there, I started taking my camera everywhere I went, and I would ask as many questions as possible to anyone who would listen. Read more>>

Christine Sargent

I tried to learn realistic painting in college. After a few years, I left college with a sense of failure in my quest, The teachers were not teaching what I wanted to learn. I found a private art school called Mission:Renaissance. This is where I truly began to learn how to draw and paint. Read more>>

Zoe Cope

Learning the craft of brand design has been a multifaceted journey for me, rooted in a broad spectrum of experiences across multiple industries. My educational background is in jewelry design, where I earned my BFA, but my career has been anything but linear. Read more>>

KE Ogden

Something I tell my students to do to develop their own, unique voices is to write without topics – that is, to do what educator Peter Elbow calls “freewriting” or writer Natalie Goldberg calls “first thoughts” or those “morning pages” that Julia Cameron urges writers to do in THE ARTIST’S WAY. Read more>>

Hedy Buzan

I’ve had a lot of education: five years at UC Santa Cruz securing a BFA. in printmaking, then three more years at The George Washington University earning a MFA in Design. Read more>>

Justin Emmons

I picked up my pencil around 10 years ago, after taking a couple decades off. I quickly realized how much I missed my sketchbook. It started out pretty rough and I would be in my head constantly. Read more>>

Ramon Lomas

All I know is I know Nothing. What I do know Is that I love playing guitar! I picked it up when I was eight and haven’t put it down ever since. I had Learned a little theory but mostly only relied on my ear to learn songs and jam with other musicians. Read more>>