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.

Yash Singh

I first knew that I wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally when I was younger. I have always enjoyed being creative and spent many summers drawing and creating art. I had a natural interest in artistic things, which only grew stronger as I got older. Read more>>

Corey Siegel

I knew that I wanted to be a chef from a very young age. Both of my parents are in the industry and it seems there was no way of avoiding it! When I was in High school, there were many things that didn’t make sense to me like homework. Why am I spending all day at this place and then have to take work home for me to complete? I was a pretty smart kid but did the bare minimum to just skate by. Read more>>

Taylor Blythe

From a young age I was interested in several creative activities such as dance, drawing and painting. I loved being creative with my outfits and expressing myself through clothes. So, when I was 8 my mom introduced me to the show “Project Runway”. I was instantly obsessed. I had never considered how clothes were made or that I could make my own prior to the show. For Christmas that same year I got my first sewing machine, and have been sewing ever since. Read more>>

Michele Romeo

I was very young when I told my parents that I wanted to pursue a music career. Since I was in middle school I didn’t have other options in mind. I started experiencing eye issues during my teenage years. Music definitely became one of the most important and significant things I could have in life because beyond being a great support during my tough moments, I never experienced trouble in learning guitar and studying music theory despite my disability! Read more>>

Tessa Jeanne

I’ve always had a connection with art since I was a young girl. My parents always encouraged me to keep drawing or painting but, I knew for sure I wanted to be a professional artist when I met my art teacher freshman year of high school. She showed me that anyone had the potential to be an artist as long as you had the will to challenge yourself creatively and follow what your heart tells you to paint. Read more>>

Kelsey Simmen

I wasn’t a great student in high school. I learned this year that I have ADHD. It’s not extreme but probably enough to have had a hard time. After high school, I went to a junior college and then ended up enrolling in a massage therapy program. The instructor had us go around the room and share why we were there. I listened to so many people say this had been their dream and they were so happy to be there. When it was my turn I was honest, I thought I could make some money. Read more>>

Malia Sias

I clearly remember a moment in the 80’s Me & my BFF from high school were walking around the East village. and we came upon this simple shop I think it was on e4th. I don’t remember the name. But I remember the feeling I got when we walked in. In the back of the shop was an industrial sewing machine, a pattern table and a dress form. Read more>>

Gin Martini

My mom always created costumes and was Back stage at my dads Performances as an actor. She created costumes for us for Halloween and Dance recitals! I think in some ways i always new. I couldn’t avoid even if i wanted to it’s in my blood. but when I took art classes in High school i honed in on Fashion. when I visited New york for the first time i realized how many different Facets of the Fashion industry there were and How important each one could be. anything is possible. Read more>>

Mikayla Johnson

I knew I wanted to be a performer from a very young age. From designing my Barbies to doing a concert in the middle of the floor, I always wanted to dance and sing for anyone I saw. When I was about 2 or 3 years old, my mom took me to my first dance class. I remember wearing my ballet dress with a skirt and ballet tights so excited to go into class. When we finally finished class I knew I never wanted to stop dancing, and at that moment it became my first love. Read more>>

Miss Treese

I’ve always been creative and unique. I remember being a young girl trying to understand my divine. When I was as young as 9, I knew I was drawn to music and entertainment. I knew I had something people needed. At 15 I got the courage to pursue music locally and then at 21 I pursued major deals..It’s truly unique, I would create poems and songs for years and it all tied to music. Read more>>

Youngwoong Kim

It was natural for me to play with art materials when I was a kid because my mother ran an art academy. Many art materials were all around me all the time so it was like a toy to me. I was always the last child to be at the academy after all the children left. While I waited on my mom to finish work I always drew something and it was a great time to use all the materials that I want. Read more>>

Wanyi Ma

I knew I wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally from a very young age. I started learning to draw at the age of 5 and discovered my passion for painting soon after. My parents recognized my interest and sent me to painting classes, which ignited my love for art even more. As I grew older, I started taking professional painting courses, and eventually chose Multimedia Stage Design as my major in college. However, after completing my undergrad studies, I still felt like I had more to learn in the field of multimedia design. Read more>>

Sarah Tokley

When the pandemic hit I turned to creativity as an outlet and mental health break for both myself and my children. As a family we made the decision to turn it into a side hustle as a way to teach our children some usable skills and expand our creative community. 6 months into the pandemic I lost my long time management career and in a heart beat knew that I was going to follow my creative goals and build our creative workshop business. Read more>>

Kait Culbertson

I have always been a creative person! Drawing, painting, making color palettes, and journaling, in between other things. However, back in 2020, with my full-time job on hold due to the pandemic, I had a lot of time on my hands. I spent a lot of my time looking inward, re-evaluating things and starting to bring my long time creative ideas to fruition! In this time of reflection, I began to take myself seriously as a creative and develop my brand, Posse Paper Goods. Read more>>

Kathleen Stelick

I have been playing with pigments and imagery since I was a child, as any child does. My exception was that my mom worked in craft stores, Michael’s and Joanne’s, where I would go to the small classes in the back rooms while she worked. The smell of these stores is the most nostalgic and comforting to me. I grew up my whole life painting flowers and suns and moons on various doors, cabinets, windows, and basically anything I was allowed to paint. Read more>>

Sam Giarratani

Probably 7th grade. After I saw footage of the Columbine shooting, I wanted to find a way to help heal. Making art was something I knew that brought me joy and also was one of my expressions of love. I started to think could I make something that could help heal? Since I lived a short walk from the beach, I would collect countless seashells, so I had so many great surfaces to work on. I figured if the beach was a place that helped me find peace, maybe it would be so for others. Read more>>

 STAN WONG

In 2021, I was living in the West Village, Manhattan. It was a very creative area of the city. Many of the people I met were artists. Things weren’t going great for me at work, and I had a lot of stress and frustrations that I couldn’t find a way to vent. I decided to write a screenplay just for fun. I had no idea what I was doing, but writing a story where I created an entire world with fictional characters felt so liberating.  Read more>>

Beth Howard

While I had always been a crafty, artistic person, I was completely convinced when I graduated high school that I was going to be a computer science major. Which, for two years, I was. I hated it. I could do it all, but I didn’t like any of it. A friend’s mother suggested that I look into graphic design, which would allow me to use my technical skills but be a lot more creative. Never having heard of graphic design, I naturally changed my major – practical, right? It turns out, that was exactly what I needed. Read more>>

Yasuyo Maruyama

It was when I had my senior thesis exhibition at undergraduate school in Tokyo. Originally, my parents were always opposed to me becoming an artist and were worried about my future. My parents had no confidence in my painting abilities. When I started college, they kept telling me to give up painting and find another career. So, I assumed that after I finished my senior thesis exhibition, I would give up my career as an artist and become a schoolteacher. Read more>>

Mike Theory

I have thought about this a lot. I remember being in Jordan on deployment laying down on some sand dunes with two other Marines. We were staring up at the stars talking about life back home and what we had planed, and at that moment i knew what i wanted to do. I began to map out my endeavors and of course not everything went according to plan, but I like where i am and we are still going strong. Read more>>

Tone Love

My path to unlocking my creativity started in computers, not the arts. Since elementary school, I was mesmerized by the power of computers. My school possessed a single Apple II/e computer designated for student use, which the faculty would rotate among classrooms every few days in a round robin fashion. I found solstice in playing and learning games like Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego, Logo (a programming language) and Oregon Trail. Read more>>

Raul Rodea

During my freshman year in college (2013), I started working part-time at a retail store called Ecko Unltd which was a famous rhino brand known for its graffiti streetwear. I disliked the customer service part but loved being surrounded by graffiti art on clothing. My main attraction was folding graphic t-shirts because I loved looking at the details and feeling the textures of the designs on the shirts. I was inspired! Read more>>

Rey Sunshine

When I was 9 years old, I told my mother I knew what I wanted to do with my life. I feel that I am living in my destiny. I am walking the path that I have been preparing for my entire life. I have accomplished so much with my singing, dance, acting rapping and modeling career. I will continue to grow and continue to become successful with my music career. I will continue to train and develop my skills everyday. Read more>>

Addy Kimbrell

As a middle schooler, my biggest hobby was signing on to MySpace Music and searching for new artists I’d never heard of. I loved discovering talent and investing myself in the careers of artists I believed in, even if at the time that just meant going to their concerts, buying their music, and telling my friends about them. Read more>>

Ms. Sparker

I loved drawing and painting when I was little, but it didn’t occur to me that it could be a solid career path choice until somewhere around junior year of high school. The summer of 2006, I left my bubble in the Chicago suburbs to stay a few weeks in the dorms at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. They were hosting an annual pre-college program, which sounded like a pretty solid way to learn some new technical skills and potentially make new friends. Read more>>

Lauren Weber

Funny story, a few months ago, my parents were cleaning out boxes from my elementary school days. They came across a journal where we needed to respond to questions. The teacher asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I responded, “I want to be a designer.” Read more>>

Joonho Bang

I’ve always been drawn to creative pursuits, but it wasn’t until I was a bit older that I realized I wanted to pursue an artistic path professionally. As a child, I struggled to find my footing in many areas and often felt like I was lagging behind my peers. However, I always found solace in cartoons, animations, and drawing. Art was the one area where I felt confident and competent. Read more>>

3mpowered

3mpowered is a singing trio with members Meagan, AArica, and Tatiana. Each member answered this question below: Meagan: I have always known that I wanted to be a creative! I was introduced to dance and theater at a very young age. My parents put me in dance classes when I was three and I never stopped! I originally thought I would go to college for dance, Read more>>

Haley Clancy Inyart

Growing up I was surrounded by two artists, my mom and my oldest sister, Gabrielle. My mom would dedicate time each day to making work, even if it was for a short time. It was engrained in me at a young age, any free time I had I would be drawing on notepads or sitting at the table next to my mom watching her paint or playing with her beads. Read more>>

Dalis India

I have always had a very free and creative spirit. Music, arts and crafts, dance and other creative outlets were a core part of my childhood. Growing up in a single parent home my Mom always put me in after-school programs hosted by non-profit organizations, and that was where I really found my passion for creativity and expression. I’ve always loved being on stage, performing, acting, dancing, creating and turning thoughts into actions. Read more>>

Raquel Gardner

When I was 5 years old, I would tell my parents that when I turned 18, I was moving to Hollywood. And I did!!! When I was 19 I moved to Los Angeles. And not just to pursue a career in acting but also because I was being drawn to LA for reasons I didn’t understand at the time. But I sure do now! :) The best thing you can do for yourself is follow all of your dreams and not to just see them come true but because following your dreams will lead you to the life you are meant to live. Read more>>

Tuesday McGowan

From a very early age, I considered myself to be a bit of an outsider. I’ve always been drawn to design, photography and music. I think my fierce independence and rebelliousness led me to a more creative path of personal exploration. At 16, I was in my first band, then I became seduced by photography, animation and filmmaking. In college, I spent every weekend learning and exploring trying to get my hands on equipment. That led to producing work and ultimately moving to San Francisco for my first job. Read more>>

MAXA

In high school I was in a college accelerated program called Bridge. I remember taking a course there where the professor said ” Think of something you would do for free, and that is going to be your career.” I feel as though high school was the time for me I really explored creatively. I had always been attracted to the arts but never knew who to the infiltrate that world. During my 4 years at Ucity high I was able to fully emerge myself into that world participating in choir, dance, as well acting! I felt like i was finally finding my niche’ and was looking forward to expanding my craft after high school. Read more>>

Monica Rue

I knew I wanted to pursue a creative path early on,when I was a little girl. I saw the joy that my mother brought to sooo many people from her beautiful seamstress work, myself included and I wanted to bring joy to others similarly! Read more>>

Bill Kambol

I was torn between a creative life or a life in the sciences. I chose to attend college thinking I might want to go into the medical field, which I thought would be a better way to make a living. Shortly into my freshman year, my oldest brother, who was at the same university as a med student, asked me see the cadaver he was studying. I turned him down and knew that I could no longer ignore my calling to a creative path. Soon after I visited my counselor and discovered the many ways to make a living being creative. Read more>>

Brenda Zlamany

When I was six, the nuns asked the kids in my class what we wanted to do with our lives. My first career choice was to be an astronaut, but they said that was only for boys, and my second choice, a nun, was not for lefties. Being an artist was my third career choice, and in the end, it was the best choice for me. I grew up in a family where achievement was not valued, especially for girls. Read more>>

Kiki Somerville

I became a lawyer because I loved helping people solve their problems, but I wasn’t very happy working in a firm and only benefiting large companies. In 2009, a friend of mine from Miami came up to New York, attended some of my events, and asked me to produce one for them where they could display and sell their art work. That’s when I started thinking about how do artists make a living from their work? What do artists do when they don’t have the support of a gallery, connections or business skills? Read more>>

Patrizia Ferreira

I have always relied on my creativity, my capacity to translate into lines, textures, colors, images of things I see, or imagine. Art, visual arts in particular, always provided me with an outlet to escape, to find solace. However, it was not until recently that I felt something higher compelled me to share my work with others. The images, the thoughts, the concepts, it all started to pile up and to form a real concept, a real story. Read more>>

Amelie Monira Egenolf

When I was a child, I spent most of my time in nature. My parents were gardens experts, and they had cultivated breathtakingly beautiful Asian gardens. As the second youngest of five children, I often found myself in the garden, admiring the vibrant colors of the flowers, the fluffy clouds that floated overhead, and the playful animals that scurried about. Read more>>

Sarah Mays

At the beginning of 2020, when the pandemic began. I thought to myself, clearly anything can happen so you might as well be pursuing a career that makes you happy to contribute and be alive every day. Even the days, when I am struggling, are the days I know what I’m capable of, those are the days I know I’m doing what I love more than anything. I’d rather struggle to get it right as a painter than any other job, and that’s the only truth that makes me want to improve! Read more>>

Kyle Nobles

I knew from a very early age that my interests fell more on the creative spectrum. I grew up constantly scribbling on surfaces, or constructing things with Legos or Play-Doh. I also spent the majority of my youth involved in community theatre, flexing my creative muscles while also working in a collaborative environment. I don’t think I had fully committed to the idea of becoming a creative professional though until I hit high school, and had to try on different versions of the future in my mind. Read more>>

Kay Darby

I first knew I wanted to pursue a profession in the arts fairly early in life. Over the years, I’ve shown interest in many forms of art and creativity, such as dancing, music, and visual art. I initially wanted to be a professional dancer and singer since I was already taking dancing lessons and was on the youth choir. Eventually, dance led me to fashion design, a passion I’ve had from the age of 7. The beauty of the costumes I wore for recitals really inspired me and piqued my interest in fashion. Read more>>

Willie Jorden

After learning to produce records back in 2016 for recreation, I wrote my first song and the joy I felt from being able to turn the uglier episodes of my life at that time into a creative medium. It was a feeling I knew I wanted to build my life around. Read more>>

Philip DeAngelo

I knew I wanted to be an artist when I was still in high school in New Jersey. One of my teachers showed me how much potential I had by submitting my work to County and State competitions, where each painting won top honors. It took me until my gallery ownership ventures in Ocean City some time later to address that desire more professionally – I was to be one of the artists we were representing in our gallery, so I had to jump in and paint daily, a discipline that’s really key to making a living at it. Read more>>