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.

Gustavo Moradel

Growing up in church and being constantly surrounded by music made me curious about music. It all started with my love for the drums. I remember wanting to go to church simply just to see the drummer play and imagine what it would be like if I was the one sitting behind the drums. I used to obsess over it to the point that while the preacher was giving the sermon I would draw drums on a note pad and daydream of having my own set one day. Read more>>

Teasha Cardenas

I started drawing from a very young age, I believe it helped me cope with negative situations I was going though in my childhood. I went through the foster care system at a young age around 4 years old, and felt very alone especially as an only child. Drawing helped me take control of my time and distracted me from the world around me. Read more>>

Paige Van Orden

Ever since I could hold a crayon I was always making art. Growing up you could always find me with a sketchbook, doodling on my notes in school, and always going all out for anything creative. It became apparent pretty quickly as I grew up that I had a knack for art. I put a lot of time in and often was complemented by others. In my classes from elementary school to senior year everyone knew me as the most artistic one and I was their go to girl when someone needed something drawn for a project. Read more>>

Jeffrey Boutin

If there is a backwards way of becoming a full time artist, I think i did it. I have always loved to draw and paint and like many artists , i didnt feel like i was good enough to actually show my art. Not even to a close friend! When I found out a friend was purchasing an expensive piece of art, I offered to do something similar for the cost of materials. I put no value on what I did. Well he liked it better than the original peice of art and paid me my agreed price. Read more>>

Mary Bue

My utmost dedication and personal power statement came when I was 24, working as a clinical research assistant in Providence RI at the women’s prison and RI hospital. I was sitting in my cubicle doing data entry, and I decided NOPE, I want to be an artist. I booked a month long tour with my music, from Rhode Island to Austin, Texas with my keyboard, guitar, and best friend, and never went back to the desk job. Read more>>

Jacquery Valentine

I’d dreamed of being an artist one day since I was a small child as many kids do. However I could never make up my mind about what kind of artist I wanted to be. I loved every medium I picked up; drawing, painting, sewing, the list goes on. However my family is full of artists who never gave it as a chance as a career choice because they thought it was too much of a risk. The older I got the less realistic being an artist seemed to be. Read more>>

lyndsay Dean

I am the daughter of a fine furniture craftsman and grew up watching my Father design and build custom furniture and so my love for art and my curiosity at self employment began at an early age. I always loved art classes and pursued metal smithing and jewelry making in high school, preferring the metal studio to the pottery studio because at that time I didn’t like getting my hands dirty in clay. Read more>>

Neskin Sebastien Perrin

When covid happened, i felt stuck at home back in Haiti and was trying to figure out what my next move was. It caused a lot of pain and i know that many of us could say the same. Making art was the best way to express myself and my pain Read more>>

Sal B.

The first time I knew was during my sophomore year of college. I was always musically inclined. I grew up in the choir at church and would always write songs in the notes of my iPod, but never took it serious until I began being more open about my music within my circle and one of my friends suggested I take it serious. Initially thinking about taking music serious seemed far-fetched, but here I am years later thanking God that I did and I am never looking back. I don’t know where I would be without music. Read more>>

Mauricsa Moniece

I always knew I wanted to be in the entertainment industry since a little girl but me or parents honestly never knew where to start. All I ever knew was basketball so I figured the WNBA would be my way out. Everyone told me that I could make it to the WNBA but deep down I knew I didn’t love basketball and I wasn’t passionate about it. I even had a few college coaches looking to recruit me but I didn’t want to waste their time because I knew I wasn’t going to give it my all.. Read more>>

Diamond Capreé

The first time I knew I wanted to pursue music as a career was about nine years old. I always love singing. In fact, no one knew I can sing until I was about nine, but I knew at the age of five. I remember learning lyrics really quick from artist songs. Honestly, Disney channel opened my eyes as a child, knowing that you can pursue a dream other than what society tells you, you have to. Everyone on the shows had multiple talents, singing, acting, dancing, so I knew young that it’s possible to pursue a creative path as a career. Read more>>

Molly Stricker

I have certainly grown into an understanding of my professional path over my life this far. I was very fortunate to have access to artistic and creative activities of all kinds from a very young age, instilling in me not only an appreciation for the arts but also a deep reverence for those who were lucky enough to bear the title “Artist”. I’m not sure if I ever thought seriously about my career path until I was in high school, when choir and theatre took precedent over all else. Read more>>

Domonique Brown

I first used the name “DomoINK,” in 2018 when I was selling pins and earrings on Etsy. I was always under the impression that my art featuring people of color would not sell. So, I focused on selling other products. After running my Etsy shop for a few months, I shut it down to focus on saving for my first home. I spent the next year working two full-time jobs while juggling going to school for my MBA in marketing at the same time. Read more>>

Elisha Garza

Having an entrepreneurial spirit has always been part of my personality. Throughout my life, I have always been drawn to fashion. When I was a teenager, I was captivated by designer tags and dreamed of creating my own label. Even though I took an interest in clothing and accessories, my heart was set on jewelry design. As a young girl, I remember my first time selling my jewelry at a local art show. Read more>>

Jordyn Dryden

THE SPANISH CLASS Before there was Photographer Jordyn, there was Middle School Spanish Teacher Jordyn. Being the oldest sister, I always knew I wanted to be a teacher. I went to college to study Spanish and Secondary Education and landed a teaching job right out of college. My time as a teacher served as an unlikely foundation for Illuminate Photo Co. There, God was preparing me: to communicate directions clearly, to wrangle even the most excitable groups, to equip others to feel prepared and confident, to simplify the chaos, and to roll with all the punches in between. Read more>>

Tiara Powers

I was working my 9-5 and hated it. It was a call center job and it really took a mental toll on me daily. I was about to get married and really felt like I was walking in to a new chapter of my life so what if I could start a new chapter in my career as well? I had already went to beauty school years before and been practicing doing makeup. I was just scared to pursue it seriously. Read more>>

Gena Culler-Green

The first time I knew when I felt the joy of helping and solving a need it was when I as becoming a woman welder. I needed a hat comfy but safe clothes and wanted to look cute. Read more>>

Ben Allison

When I was 8, two musicians came to perform at my school. They were Jazz musicians – a bassist and a pianist. I had never heard jazz before. My formative musical experiences were hearing my mother perform choral music and listening to records. In both cases I always new what was coming next. Of course, the record sounded exactly the same each time I listened, and choral music was fully notated and rehearsed to yield precise performances where each note, each dynamic was in its proper place. This is how I thought music worked. It was structured and predictable. Read more>>

Kindra In Christ

Although I have had a passion for music since I was a little girl, I never considered pursuing a professional music career until about four and a half years ago. It was at that time, I really felt the Lord calling me to write songs and to sing. I began receiving “downloads” of songs so quickly that I started using my phone to capture the vocal melodies and lyrics in real time, sometimes even in the middle of the night! Read more>>

JR Sicola

Initially, I knew I wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path mid-sophomore year of college at Stephen F. Austin State University, in Nacogdoches, TX. I just didn’t know HOW or WHAT path I would or needed to take. Read more>>

Kate Asire

I think I have always known that I would pursue a creative path. My parents raised me and my siblings to follow our interests and passions and created an amazing home environment that supported and fostered those ideas. As I child I was always elbow deep into a project from learning how to do ribbon embroidery to planting a cutting garden to taking art and music lessons and performing in speech and drama camps. Read more>>

Steve Sterlacci

I knew I wanted to become a professional guitar player way later relative to most. I had not even touched a guitar until I was about 18 years old, and really did not start learning until I was about 21. Prior to music, my passion and pursuit was professional baseball. I had a scholarship to play in college and I wanted to play at the professional level instead of pursue a career in Math Education. Little did I know that I would catch the guitar bug and completely dedicate my life to the instrument. Read more>>

Frank Murphy

I feel like I’ve always known I wanted to be in the media. As a kid, I emulated the speech and the non-accents of newscasters instead of the New York accents of my family members. To this day, people are surprised when I tell them that my parents are from The Bronx and that I grew up in Yonkers. Read more>>

Noelle Stoffel

I always knew I wanted to be an artist. As a young child growing up in Wisconsin, I announced that I was going to work for Hallmark Cards. I designed cards and wrote “HallNoelle” or “NoelleMark” on the back and gave them to relatives. When interviewing at Hallmark years later, I think they found that amusing. I also dreamed of showing in galleries. After a decade at Hallmark, I decided to focus on gallery work and commissions full time. Read more>>

Geraldine Wilkins

The first time I knew I wanted to pursue a creative path professionally happened when I switched from a business to a visual arts university and became an apprentice to famed Harlem photographer, Austin Hansen. Read more>>

Kaitlin Brock

I have always done some form of art, as far back as I can remember. Growing up, I’d often be inside drawing and painting while other kids were outside playing. I always knew I wanted to do SOMETHING with art. After high school, I went to vocational school for commercial art. It didn’t pan out. I kept doing art as a hobby, whenever I could. Read more>>

Maddie Morrill

I wish I could say that an art career has been my goal since I was a child, but to be honest, I only realized an art career was where I was meant to be once I was on the right path! Throughout my childhood, I covered my homework and notes in doodles, and I would Sharpie designs onto my friends’ arms in high school, but I never considered it a viable job option. I remember some friends and family claiming that getting an art degree was a “joke”. Read more>>

Yahzmine Yael

I have always had a passion for the arts. I grew up as a classically trained dancer, played instruments, took photography courses. It’s always been something dear to me. Before I knew what a content creator or influencer was, I was creating content the way I liked to express myself. I used VSCO, I was an avid Tumblr user, Flipagram and Triller were my best friends. Read more>>

Tiff Sutton

I started plotting my raise as a well-renowned photographer when I was 15. I really fell hard in love with the camera, the quiet in the darkroom, and the thrill of seeing the print emerge in the developing tray. It has been a long journey and I have thought about quitting, but I never stopped thinking about creating images or about the legacy I wanted to leave behind. Read more>>

Daniel Sulzberg

From an early age, I was always interested in drawing. While other kids were doing their homework, I was making doodles on the sides of my notebooks. I was also lucky to have an older brother who was brilliant at drawing and I wanted to be like him. Even though illustrating was my super talent, I was pushed away from it as a career from teachers, coaches, and even my own parents stating that it wouldn’t allow for a stable life. Read more>>

Re DeVine

I was 11-years-old when I knew that I had to be on stage. All my life, I grew up around music but I had horrible stage fright all through elementary school. It was bad like I would get physically sick and just freeze up. Until I saw The Beyoncé Experience Live. Every time I tell this story, people laugh but it’s a true story! I was watching the concert over Christmas break and at the end of show, Beyoncé sings Irreplaceable. Read more>>

Felicia Shantell

The first time i realized i want to purse the Arts professionally is when i had my first poetic high and i didn’t want to come down. I remember Senior year, in high school, Feb 14,2008, I was sitting on the stair, at Gs & Zs Poetry cafe, listening to all of the Houston’s Greats- Marie Brown Equality, Savanna blue, Rain-hosted by Black Snow. Read more>>

Samil Molina

I was learning to make beats way back around 2005-2006 on pirated versions of Fruity Loops. But it wasn’t until I was in grad school in the middle of pursuing a masters degree around 2015-2016 that I really decided to go in head first and go all in. At the time I thought I was going to really pursue a career in academia but my heart just wasn’t in it and I was going through a lot in those days. I dropped out of grad school and never looked back. Read more>>

CJ & Cassie Grae

We both have origin stories that got us into pursuing music. From CJ playing in bands since middle school and growing his musicianship through learning different instruments, producing and songwriting, to Cassie dabbling on instruments and trying to start bands with her cousins in her basement at 7-years-old, we were always moved and inspired by music. Read more>>

Bella Lara

At four years old, I knew I wanted to pursue ballet. My parents exposed me to the arts and books when I was very young. At the age of four, I was reading, and my favorite book was “Angelina The Ballerina,” about a mouse that danced ballet. Yes, I was inspired by a dancing mouse! Seeing my first Nutcracker performance validated my desire to dance. Read more>>

LoFrmDaMo

Once I turned 14 I was fully committed to the idea of pursing my music career. All of my earlier years I always wanted to be a doctor, but as I realized music was my true passion that went out the window. I eventually informed my family of my plans for college; a music degree. I was talked out of it by all of the “what ifs”, something I now look back and feel I shouldn’t have let stop me. But feel it’s all going to go exactly how it should in the end, even if it wasn’t my way. Read more>>

Mike Severo

From my earliest memories, I have always loved creating mini-movies with a home video recorder, recording music, and integrating the two. Music. I LOVED it all. I LIVED it. All genres. I was a fan of everything from a young age, reggae to rock, funk to… the ambiguous. I was hooked, and by adolescence, I had made it my business to be familiar with every known genre, and sub-genre of music. Read more>>

Anthony Ortiz

I was very young when I knew I wanted to pursue a creative career. My story started the first time I went to the movies. It was in the late seventies and I grew up in The Bronx. I saw the 1976 version of King Kong. I was just in awe of the movies. The images just grabbed me and the intensity was incredible and I was hooked. As I got older I pursued a career in street dance in the earlier eighties which landed me in The Greatest Show on Earth (not the movie), but the actually show. It was then that I started talking my artistic Journey seriously. Read more>>

J Quinn

From my first breath, I knew my purpose was to be an artist. It always existed as a deep knowing inside of me. There wasn’t an aha! moment. I just had an understanding of that part of myself. It was so authentic that I never doubted it. As often as I’ve been unsure of myself or my skills, I never questioned the need to create. I understood that urge better than I understood myself. Read more>>

Amai Rawls

I knew I wanted to pursue my artist career when everything was pointing in that direction. I’ve been into art my whole life. As a child in school i used to draw to calm my mind, I remember I would challenge myself to draw something as realistic as possible. In my eyes art was always just a ‘hobby’ never something i could see myself making a decent living from, as society’s ‘starving artist’ narrative is ever-increasingly being pushed on emerging artists. Read more>>

Genevieve Godlesky

So, I started dance at the age of 2 yrs old and immediately fell in love with it. I was put into dance by my mom and ever since I was in her stomach, every time I heard music, I would dance. My first years of dance, I was just dancing recreationally but when I turned 7 yrs old and started seeing broadway shows and movies with dancers, I realized that that is what I wanted to do. To do what I love, dance, as a career was exactly what I wanted. Read more>>

Mista Whitson

I was born and raised in the mountains of NC where my dad owned and operated a small country store. Our store was the center of our community. People would gather on the weekends around our store to whittle wood, sit by the wood stove, sing, talk and share stories. The ladies most often would gather to quilt, do tatting and other crafts. Read more>>

Raw Talent

I knew at the age of 6 or 7 I’d say that I wanted to be a preformer or an actor. I started out in church and it went from there with solos in school. Getting roles in plays in elementary / middle school. Then it just became a lot so I took a break from it and went back to playing sports I grew up playing football and basketball so I went to go play college basketball for a bit then when my grandma got sick and passed I went back to music and released my first song in 2020 Read more>>

Charles Pratt

That’s such a great question! To be honest, I’ve always had a creative spark. I remember as a young child living on an Army base with my parents in Germany, the service members would put on plays and fashion shows for entertainment. I participated in both and I remember having a wonderful experience making people smile or laugh. Read more>>

JuJu

Looking back I feel like I knew I wanted to pursue an artistic and creative path professionally, but it wasn’t understood until more recently in life becoming a DJ. Early in my childhood, I played the piano for a few years, then later learned how to play guitar, and the journey as an entertainer started at my family’s dinner table hosting game shows and segments with what whatever my mind came up with. Read more>>

James “Shwill” Beamon

I grew up around music my whole life. I started out as a musician playing the drums for my church and in the band, but I always knew I didn’t want to be in the spotlight as an artist. This made me think about all the many ways you can get paid in the music industry. That’s when I started looking at other fields in the industry that I could get paid from. I was throwing parties in high school and that made me want to get into the event/concert business. Read more>>

Tiffani Douglas

I really knew I wanted to rap once I started entering talent shows and I kept winning first place. I won my high schools talent show 2 years in a row and I also won two trophies in one night at the “Hip hop for the soul’s talent showcase.i won first place and I won freestyle battle night winner. I felt like God was trying to let me know I had a gift. Read more>>