Do you remember the moment you realized what you wanted to do professionally? Was it magic? Was it scary? We wanted to hear from some of the most talented artists and creatives in the community and so we asked them to tell us the story of the moment when they knew they were going to pursue a creative career path.

Tashasa Colton

Honestly, it all started when I was a little girl. I’d say around first or second grade is when I really started exploring my creative abilities, anything I could get my hands on I somehow found ways to create something out of nothing. I began taking my craft seriously once I started high school in’09 when I took AP art classes to expand my knowledge of different areas in fine arts. I remember telling my teacher that I struggled to find my niche, my trademark, something that says “this is mine”. She was the one who introduced me to the art school Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) which I ended up pursuing my bachelor’s degree in Illustration. I still give her credit to this day for that because now I can say where I started versus where I am now is indescribable! Read More>>

Cian “SaintCi” Henry

The first time I knew I wanted to pursue music professionally was in March 2021, during the final months of my senior year of high school. I had just been accepted into every college I applied to—including my dream engineering university—with a generous scholarship. On paper, it looked like I had achieved everything I’d worked so hard for: a high GPA, strong SAT scores, a well-rounded résumé filled with extracurriculars, and getting into my dream university. Read More>>

Holly Embry

Although I spent years pursuing creative hobbies, I was under the impression that a steady job in the arts was not something I would achieve. Instead, I spent my daytime hours taking college courses, then entering the workforce, using my free time for creative endeavors. I sold my handmade items on Etsy and at local craft fairs and was thankful for the income it brought in, but this side business was gradually abandoned as I grew my career at the Tulsa City-County Library. I loved working with children, and acquired a large following at my storytimes. Read More>>

Jennifer Leigh Harrison

This answer is hard to pin down. It may have been the time I was in 8th grade and had a big English paper due on something like Grapes of Wrath. I talked the teacher into allowing me to write a several page poem instead of a paper. She had me read it aloud to the class. This wasn’t just a blind request, I had answered essay test questions with poems in class to earn her confidence. In college, I had the privilege of seeing a theater team interpret and perform my work on stage. That moment really sparked my interest in ekphrastic art and collaborative interpretation through different mediums. Read More>>

Sam Onche

From a very young age, creativity has always been at the heart of who I am. I was naturally drawn to visual storytelling and creating images. Until I moved to America in 2015, becoming a professional artist felt like an unattainable luxury. Growing up in a low-income household in Nigeria, a career in art didn’t seem like a reliable path to a secure future. But during my first year of college, after receiving a basketball scholarship, I took a chance and chose to pursue a bachelor’s degree in studio art and art history essentially carving out a way to become a professional artist. Deep down, I always knew I was born to create; I just needed the right opportunity to prove it Read More>>

Terry Owens II

I first knew I wanted to purse a creative/artistic path professionally when I discovered the transformative power of art. Not only is it self-expression but it’s also a tool for navigating complex emotions and thoughts. I have always loved drawing and painting but when I stumbled upon neurographic art everything truly clicked. The fluid lines, the meditative process, and the way it visually looks on canvas always leaves me memorized. I realized that creating and helping others create this type of art facilitates a connection and even healing. This realization grew and later became the seed for launching my art business, Stain’D. I wanted to build a space where people could learn and experience neurographic art as a whole. Read More>>

Alex Jefferson

I use to sing a lot as a kid, but when I first heard the album Man On The Moon 1&2 By Kid Cudi it a s Demon Days by the Gorillaz they made me feel something at he time I never felt. Passion and Being seen. My goal was to make music like them to make people like me the way they made me feel, And honestly i fee i accomplished that. Read More>>

Kimin Kim

The first time I knew I wanted to pursue a creative path was during my first year of art school. Before that, I had always been interested in drawing and image-making, but it existed more as a personal habit than a clear direction. That year, I was fascinated by the idea that fine art practice could be more than just drawing and painting, not just for making things look aesthetic, but for thinking and questioning. It was the first time I had the space to dedicate myself to visual experimentation and conceptual development fully, and I realized how naturally I gravitated toward that process. Read More>>

Samson Adetunji

My journey as a professional artist began to take shape in 2022, during my fine arts studies in Adeyemi federal university of education, Nigeria. Before then, art was more of a hobby – I’d draw, appreciate, and occasionally share my work online. But everything changed when I met some experienced artists who took me under their wing. The likes of Victor Olaoye, Olatoye David and Rotimi Godwin were instrumental in opening my eyes to the world of professional art. They shared their knowledge, and I was eager to learn. Thanks to them, I gained a deeper understanding of what it takes to succeed in the art world. Now, I’m committed to pursuing my passion and making a name for myself as a professional artist. Read More>>

Michael Cates

For me, as a very young musician, I was fortunate to have educators who immersed us in live performance. It wasn’t so much the thrill or excitement of performing in front of an audience, but the responsibility to your fellow bandmates that you would cover your own parts without error. The concept of personal accountability and the reward of confidence, that’s what propelled me to the professional path of a performer. As the repetitions of your “personal perfection” accrue interest, the challenge to bring your art to the front of the stage compels you to go further. It’s a big circle…the more you prepare to be competitive, the more you will seek the means to perform at different venues. Read More>>

Aly Marie

Cosmetology was actually my backup plan.
In high school, I joined an ROP program just to have a license after graduation. I wasn’t sure what I really wanted to do. Hair ran in my family, but I didn’t expect to love it. It didn’t come naturally to me at first. I was slow, overly technical, and discouraged often. But something told me to keep going. Read More>>

Tucker Tillis

It was a couple of years ago. I had entered into a song writing competition for fun. I placed 3rd in the competition, but afterwards, the judges said that out of all the contestants, I had the most potential to actually make a full time living with music. It’s one thing to have friends and family say you’re a good singer. It’s another thing to hear industry professionals tell you that you have what it takes. Read More>>

Hometown Gold

We grew up in a family full of musicians. Our whole childhood we followed our Loveless and Benefiel families around watching them play music. If we weren’t listening to them practice or perform, we were busy putting on shows of our own. One key memory from childhood is one night we performed “Life is a Highway” from the Cars soundtrack, and a heartfelt original titled “I Miss the Games” written by Hunter and I (Austin) about a local pizza joint in our town getting rid of their arcade games. Mom and Dad were so happy to see us having fun and taking interest in “The family business” as we like to call it. Read More>>

Kamille Gilmore

After graduating college, my life took an unexpected turn. Just as I was preparing to start my journey as a new wife and soon-to-be mother, I was struck by a drunk driver while nine months pregnant. In an instant, what should have been the beginning of a bright future was halted by broken bones and shattered dreams. Read More>>

Kara Eckler

I received my undergraduate degree in art, with a focus on painting when I was living in the United States. I fell in love with painting at university and knew I would probably always want to keep painting, but I never really saw a future for myself as a professional artist and I didn’t have the confidence to try to exhibit my work. My lover at the time was a writer and he posted some photos of my paintings on his author’s website, and a German curator who worked for the Institut Valencia d’Art Modern got in touch and wanted to give me a solo museum show! Read More>>

TK Kuk

Growing up in a small town in Orange County came with its privileged upbringing of too many microwavable food amidst the backdrop of the expectations and ideations of 1st generation Asian parents. Therefore, taking extra curricular classes outside of school was a norm. Thankfully art was a form of cultivation that my parents nurtured and drawing became a constant activity in my childhood. I knew from early on that my future would continue along that path of creation. Drawing, painting, and making started as an outlet for all the complicated thoughts and emotions brewing in my youth and an escape to a time and space of my own creation. Although it took on a few different forms over the years, from initially proclaiming to become a fashion designer, comic book artist, and illustrator, I finally settled on becoming a fine artist so that I could make art without the constraints of a conventional label. Read More>>

Regan Bowman

Growing up I was always drawing. Ever since I could hold a pencil I was doodling things and copying pictures in books, you name it. My parents will always say I was naturally talented. However, they put me in an art class (outside of school) when I was in either 3rd or 4th grade and I hated it! I’ve always been pretty stubborn and prefer to do things my own way, so the art class wasn’t for me. Around this same time, I began to play violin. So throughout middle school and high school, I didn’t take any art class electives or AP art senior year. I was extremely dedicated to orchestra. I was very good if I may say so myself. Read More>>

Arturo G. Lozano

I realized that I wanted to pursue a professional career in the arts, after working for 2 plus years in sports broadcasting and tv news. I found a passion in storytelling and began shooting short films with my friends, with no experience and very little technical knowledge. I worked in many shoots during my college years, and also took some classes in cinematography, screenwriting, film production, film directing, etc. then i spent a while doing music videos, and when I directed “The Last Drop”, my latest short film, at the very last day of shooting (we shot for two weeks) I returned home after driving maybe 160 miles that day, I felt an incredible sense of satisfaction and happiness, also I felt tickles all around and joy for being able to wrap a project up, that was so ambitious. Read More>>

Seunghee Lee

The story begins in an office at a university. At 9 a.m., I sit down and turn on my computer. It’s part of the daily routine for many working people.
I once attended art school and dreamed of becoming an artist, but I set that passion aside for a while to gain experience in the professional world.
The ringing phones in the office, the growing number of unread emails—when the phone rings, I respond with the same scripted line like an answering machine. I take on the tasks of the day, solve problems, and draft documents in response to emails. During lunch, I share small talk with my colleagues. Read More>>

FlightRisk Clevo

I’ve always wanted to be a rapper since a kid , so I always took it serious, my first time performing in front of a audience, I was 9 years of age , from then I never gave up even through my trials and tribulations. Read More>>

Susan Feder

I had art therapy after a bad car accident. I didn’t expect to like it, but as time went by, I found a way to express myself.
Past, now and future were all immersed into my sculptures.
It has been a hard struggle in these last few years, as I like to put happy and confident energy into my ladies. But, as I adjust and continue to push forward, I am back to making sculptures. (Well when my broken arm heals) and feel that I am able to make many new collectors happy and loving their confident sculptures, in my new town of St Augustine, Florida Read More>>

Kranthi

I think the moment I knew — really knew — that I wanted to pursue acting professionally wasn’t a single lightning bolt, but a slow, steady recognition that this was always the path. I grew up surrounded by film, not just watching it but watching it get made. My father was a film financier in the Telugu film industry, and both my parents were involved in the silver recovery process from film reels, back when cinema was still a physical thing — something handled, processed, preserved. I spent summers around sets and film labs, quietly absorbing the rhythm of it all. I didn’t think of it as ‘show business’ — it felt more like a language I already understood. Read More>>

Jack Marsland

As far back as I can remember. Ever since I first discovered rock music, and learned that regular working class kids like me could become something larger than life and make oodles of money not fixing cars or serving food to strangers, I knew I wanted to be an artist. I went to school wanting to leave my mark through the written word. As an author, as an historian, and as a story-teller. I pursued a PhD in History because I wanted to shape the future by writing about the past. Read More>>

Sophia Zolan

From a young age, I felt like an outsider, and the arts became a natural way for me to feel more connected. As a first-generation Greek-American I found it difficult to relate to others and comedy became the thing that made me feel seen and less alone. I’d obsess over stand-up and sketch shows and recreate them in my living room for my sister and grandma (some say “by force” but I say it was clearly my magnetic charisma). Though I come from a family of artists, they prioritized “real” jobs, so my creative instincts weren’t really nurtured and I wrestled with the push and pull of pursuing the arts versus taking the practical route. Read More>>

Shae Whisler

I am fortunate that living creatively was something taught to me at a young age. My Father is the Executive Art Director for Woodsmith Magazine and my Mother is the Owner and Operator of our families 4th Generation Garden Center. I grew up surrounded by flowers and plants seasonally growing and learning, my hands always in the dirt. I’d even get the chance to go hang at dad’s photography studio, shooting the latest carpentry project. I was motivated that life was meant to be surrounded by beauty that we have the ability to provide the world. Humans are so amazing and capable of great things. Read More>>

Pamela Jayne Morgan

Hard to point to a “first time” since Little Pamela had big dreams very early on. I took ballet, pointe, tap and jazz. Started buying 45 records (remember those?) when I was eight years old and listened to them over and over to learn the lyrics. I can still sing every song (and have ALL my 45s and albums). As an only child, I spent so much time listening to music, voraciously reading books and teleplays published in the now vintage Scholastic SCOPE Magazine, making up skits that I performed along with a group of kids for a paying audience (our family and friends), dressing up my cousins and lip synching to the currents hits of the day with our family as a thoroughly entertained audience… the list goes on. I was an entertainer from Day 1. Read More>>

Tristan Kemm

I remember shortly after graduating high school, I had already been accepted into the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque as a civil engineering major (I wanted to design roller coasters for big amusement parks at the time), but I remember feeling very suddenly and urgently that I had made a big mistake. Aside from music, my best subject in school was math and I enjoyed it well enough. But music and the performing arts had always been my passion. From as far back as I could remember, I had always been involved in music. I was at a crossroads. I very clearly recall one morning having the conversation with my mom that very well changed the course of my life. Read More>>

Madison Marie

There was never really a moment when I knew I wanted to pursue a creative career. As a kid, I had the sense that successful creative careers were few and far between. I grew up with this idea that no one can financially support themself as an artist. That mindset stuck with me through my teenage years and into early adulthood. After high school, I followed the expected path and went to college, but it never felt like the right fit for me. I tried different majors, worked retail jobs, and even took a desk job until I finally realized nothing felt right because I wasn’t on the path I was meant to be on. I took some time off from school, stayed at my full-time job, and started photographing anyone willing. Read More>>

Wade Hampton

It may’ve been high school. One of my skateboarding friends was aware of my artwork. And had asked of a drawing of his mother. Completed, his mother took the drawing to a gallery/frame shop (Hearne Fine Art), for framing. The director inquired about the artist. Read More>>

Caroline Hockenbury

I’ve never not been a writer. As soon as I could wield a crayon, I got to work. From illustrating my kindergarten journal entries to compiling my first collection of poems, the act of composing has always felt integral—almost inexplicably—to who I am. It’s difficult to look back and pinpoint an exact moment I started taking this all seriously because, really, I always have. Read More>>

Ciara Elaine

I had always known I was meant to do something with my music, however, it wasn’t until a little later in life that I truly trusted and committed to it as a vocation. After the end of a six-year relationship and a healing career gone stale, I found myself in a pretty intense personal reckoning. Music & writing had been largely absent during that chapter, but there was still a deep soul calling to reintegrate that back into my life. During my realignment season, I encountered multiple people that modeled and reflected back to me what was possible. They embodied the viability of a fulfilling creative life. They encouraged me, believed in me, and guided me back to myself. After enough positive reinforcement, I stopped running from it. I faced myself in the mirror, and in September of 2023, I made the big leap to Nashville and said yes to something I only felt. Read More>>

Lynnette Potts

Growing up, I was raised in the heart of Carver Heights—in Leesburg Florida. I saw a lot of things that, even at a young age, I knew I didn’t want to become. There was this internal voice whispering, “There’s more to life than what’s around you.” And somehow, I believed it. Read More>>