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.

Andrew Scotchie

Music was always part of daily life growing up. My parents never played an instrument but they LOVED all kinds of music. My dad Tom would take my brothers and I to all kinds of shows. I experienced lots of bands on my dads shoulders. The melodies and the thrill was etched into my brain early on. It was at age 10 I started taking a few lessons. It was then I started to become obbessed with learning my favorite songs and then in my teenage years I started writing my own songs and playing with my peers. Read more>>

Michelle Boucher

I always knew I would live a creative life, even as a child, I knew. Although, I did not understand what that would look like. The next Bob Ross, James Robins, or Frank Frazetta? An animator for Looney Tunes? How about a fashion designer or a puppet maker? The possibilities were endless. I remember a high school assignment asking me to describe what I wanted my life to look like by the time I would be 30. Well, a famous artist painting wildlife who lives on the Serengeti, naturally. Big Dreams, and not a single clue how this could happen. Read more>>

Jennifer Kuhns

As a child, I always wanted to be an artist one day. Over the years, my goal shifted between painter, fashion designer, architect, writer, make-up artist, and art professor. In high school, I absorbed the pervasive message that the arts were not a viable career option and that it would be necessary to pursue a “real” job that would support my creative hobbies. I still had no idea what that might look like when I started college in 1989, but I hoped that following my interests would lead me to the answer. In my 20s, I fell into various jobs mainly in food service and child advocacy while always exploring different mediums; printmaking, collage, ceramics, mixed media, wire jewelry, drawing and painting, and finally, at age 30, mosaic. Read more>>

Queen Majeeda

I’ve always known that I wanted to pursue a creative path professionally. I remember being about four years old, climbing on top of furniture with a flashlight and pretending I was on stage. Right after high school, I started hanging out with musicians in Jamaica, where I grew up. I would show them the songs and poems that I had written and we would rehearse them. I started writing during high school so I had a few songs to rehearse with bands. One musician encouraged me to record an album and so a group of musicians got together to provide backing for my songs and poems. Read more>>

Gg Brewer

As a child, I was always a bit of a weirdo. I had a deep fascination with animals, art, and capturing everything around me. My poor brother and a handful of friends probably had no idea what they were in for—entire childhoods immortalized on film because I always had a camera in hand. This was back before smartphones and social media, just me with a small video camera and disposable film cameras, recording every moment. Read more>>

 

Richard Banker

When I was very young my parents took me to see the Ritchie Valens film La Bamba. After that night, I wanted write songs, sing, and be in movies. Read more>>

Ronald Walker

When I was a child I loved art but once I hit Junior high I grew self conscious and decided I hated art. In high school I had a terrible registration time and got stuck with an art class. Wish I could say that I fell in love with art at that time but I can’t. I hated the class and was relieved when it was over. I vowed never to take another one. Well I guess one should never say never as the very next semester I had an even worse registration time and got stuck with two art classes. However for some weird reason something clicked and before that semester was over I not only decided that I loved art but wanted to be an artist. Read more>>

Sara Maese

Since I was little, I have always had a strong interest in drawing and the arts. I suppose it’s something that came from home because I remember my grandfather painting pictures, and even though I never saw him in action, I know that my father also has a special sensitivity for art. Regardless of all of this, both my parents did not look favorably upon me pursuing an art career because they thought it was very unstable and difficult to find work in that field. That’s why I decided to study graphic design, because I thought it was the perfect middle ground. And the truth is that I was quite good at it, but at the end of the day my work was fine thanks to the prominence that illustration had in it. So it seemed obvious to me that the logical step was to start a career in illustration and soon I realized, despite what my parents said about the instability of an artistic job, that nowadays it doesn’t matter what career you choose because nothing is stable or secure as it uses to be in the past. Read more>>

Julina Busby

The mid- life crisis is real. I turned 30 and that’s when I started to struggle with finding a purpose in this life. I work a full time job as nurse and knew god has to have more planned for me in this lifetime then the 9-5 and living paycheck to paycheck. There are a lot of influencers in tiktok that inspire me and Avery Woods is the perfect example of who I want to become. So I have leaned on social media and content creation go fulfill my time and make me feel like I’m working towards something. I want to look back and at least say I tired then not have. It makes me feel like one day it can happen for me, just like it has happen to every other influencer out there. I want to travel and see the world and be a successful women with money in her pockets and life life to fullest and also provide the best life possible for family and friends and spoil them like they deserve to be. I also want to give back to charities with the extra money I make one day. Read more>>

 

Kyle Denman

Ever since I was a child, I have always wanted to be an artist. I was always drawn to creativity. I spent my childhood sketching, building, and imagining, and I instinctively knew that art was my calling. I wanted to be an artist, but I also understood that pursuing a career in the arts wasn’t always straightforward—especially when opportunities seemed so far out of reach. While art was my passion, I took a more traditional route in higher education and studied political science. The decision to study political science wasn’t a diversion from creativity; rather, it was a way for me to understand systems, human behavior, and the power of storytelling. In a way, it was another form of expression—a different kind of art, but one that would later complement my design work. What I didn’t know at the time was that my studies would help me in unexpected ways later in life. Read more>>

Thien Dragon

It was the summer of 2017. I was 23, freshly landed in Atlanta, Georgia. Back then, I was still hustling to become a full-time videographer and content creator, figuring out how to actually make a living from my creativity. At that point, YouTube AdSense was already bringing in $500 a month, and film gigs kept me afloat. Understanding my journey requires looking back at my roots. I grew up in Longview, Texas, a small Southern town overflowing with hospitality, but utterly devoid of real artistic opportunities. My escape came through touring with my brother’s clothing and media company, Loyal K.N.G. We traveled across Texas – Dallas, Austin, Houston, you name it – creating content and shooting videos for clients. Somewhere amidst this whirlwind, I started my “RealTDragon” YouTube channel, which eventually generated more income than I ever dreamed possible. Read more>>

Tynan Townsend

Ever since I could remember I’ve wanted to entertain, whether it be entertaining my family with magic tricks to dancing, making jokes, funny videos, playing instruments or even streaming. One way or another I knew from a young age I was going to be an entertainer no matter what form it took. Due to my passion for this my family has also supported and encouraged me to pursue all and any forms of entertainment I’d adopted into my life. I can even recall one of my elementary teachers speaking to my parents insisting I was going to be extremely successful in my endeavours. Read more>>

Jamyah Montissol

Growing up I have always loved to draw and was intrigued by the idea of creating something from scratch. However, being a student athlete caused me to pursue other things with my time off the court. When covid hit and our basketball season just ending I was forced to relocate, so I moved back home with my family for a few months. Now that basketball was no longer an outlet I started to look for other things I enjoy doing; one of those things being drawing. After days of drawing I was bored with my images, as they lacked color. This made me start painting and after posting my work a couple of times, people started reaching out to me encouraging me to sell them. So I did and my business Juvisuals was created! Read more>>

Vivian Macero

I’ve always known I wanted to be part of the creative world, but I wasn’t sure which path to take. As a kid, I was always creating—writing songs, painting, choreographing, or doing crafts. I did well in school and even considered a medical career at one point, but deep down, I knew my heart was elsewhere. Thankfully, my mom supported me in everything I wanted to do. She enrolled me in art, singing, and ballet classes, which shaped my skills and helped me find my direction. Read more>>

Lila Lopez

The first time I realized I wanted to pursue a creative path professionally was a moment filled with both excitement and uncertainty. Doubts and uncertainty are a constant part of life, especially when making big decisions, but I’ve learned that it’s all about balancing dreams and reality. For me, it came down to believing that with discipline and passion, you can create the life you envision. Read more>>

Cristian Torres

The moment I realized I wanted to pursue a creative path professionally was the perfect intersection of two lifelong passions. Cars and Photography. Growing up, I was fascinated by cars. I remember being that kid who could name every model on the road, even before I could properly spell their names. My father was a huge help for that. He would bring me with him to car shows, wide-eyed, with a smile from ear to ear. Read more>>

Tyler Harris

The first time I knew I wanted to pursue an artistic path professionally was when I was in high-school going into my senior year. I had awesome art teachers that helped me grow and explore my talents past my comfort zone. My teachers were Mrs. Morris, Mr. Robbins and Mr. Simpson at McCluer North. I loved the way they interacted with us and pushed us artistically. I got to explore drawing, computer graphics, painting, ceramics and independent study classes. These classes let us study master painters and come up with our own projects to use for portfolio reviews to get into college. Read more>>

Kenny Wright

My maternal grandparents were professional musicians/entertainers and my father was a musician, although he didn’t pursue it professionally, so I was always around music growing up. I never once thought of doing anything else other than music, as far as I can remember. When I was about nine years old, I was exposed to the music of KISS, who were just approaching the Zenith of their career in the mid seventies, and it captured my attention like nothing else ever had. I remember getting a magazine a year or so later, and it had pictures of them at a party or something, and they looked like they were having the best time and living a lifestyle that I wasn’t even aware existed. From that moment on, I never considered another line of work. Read more>>

Kylie Brown

My parents always say I came out singing. I remember begging them to enter me in a talent show at my pool when I was 5 years old. I have always been comfortable on stage. I started performing locally around my hometown in Northern Virginia when I was in 7th grade. I started with a 45 minute set then quickly led to me performing 3 hour sets all over Virginia. I really started songwriting during Covid. I was bored with my school classes and I started writing songs. I decided to apply to a few different songwriting camps and I was thrilled when I found out I got in. It was at those camps that I realized I loved songwriting. Read more>>

Kylie Wiggins

I think I’ve always known I wanted to pursue a creative path. I have this journal from the 4th grade that I decorated to say “Diary of A Future Author.” For as long as I can remember I have been weaving stories, in the copious amounts of journals my parents got me as a child. My dad has always told me that he was 100% sure I would write a book one day so you can imagine how proud he was when I actually made it past a couple pages. Read more>>

Ashley Turner

A few years ago, I was trying to figure out what was next for me. In doing so, I had to settle my thoughts and come to realize the simple things in my life that I always enjoyed – reading and journaling. I decided to join my two passions and become an author by publishing my first book last summer – “Redirected – The Road to Self-Discovery” Read more>>

Robert Capron

In some ways, the answer’s my whole life. My earliest memories all have something to do with stories: I was riveted by Thomas the Tank Engine and would recite entire episodes at the dinner table. In hindsight, I think getting a GameCube was a major part too. One of the first films I ever saw was the original Spider-Man, and my mom’s constant questioning of whether or not the movie was appropriate for a 4 year-old (compounded by Willem Dafoe beating the ever-loving crap out of Tobey in the film’s finale — the first truly great film sequence I ever saw) helped me realize somewhere, subconsciously, that there were entire worlds out there of information I didn’t know about. Read more>>

James Jones

The year 2021 after completing my first feature film. I got into filmmaking because I saw the impact that visual art can make. Whoever controls the media controls the mind. Malcolm X said “The media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent.” As a filmmaker, I compare myself to a musician who makes music but with visual content. Real music heals the soul as it also plays as the soundtrack to life. I was also inspired by filmmaking by watching Spike Lee joints, Ernest Dickerson, John Singleton, Julie Dash, Marvin Vann Peeples, and many more! Read more>>

Bernice Andah-lovely

The first time I knew I wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally was when I was 8 years old. In the 1970’s, my mother was a seamstress and shop owner in Ghana, West Africa. She sewed custom women’s clothing in an area of the capital called Asylum Down. I spent many days watching her take clients and work through the creative phases of tailoring: fabric selection, cutting and sewing. I started off back then making outfits for my dolls using a needle and thread. I fell in love with textiles and learned some of the most compelling designs can flow directly from your starter materials and fabric prints. This realization turned into a passion and never left me. I was certain I wanted to be a creative in fashion design when I grew up. Read more>>

Gen Yoshimura

I honestly don’t remember exactly when I thought of becoming a professional musician, I guess it was more like a gradual thing. My parents love music, so I grew up listening to music since I was born. I started to play drums when I was 6. My mother was very enthusiastic with making me play music. She recommended me to play either piano or violin, but I refused. She took me to a lot of concerts, I had always liked music but for some reason they never hit me enough to think of playing music – except this one time, she took me to this concert called percussion festival. I saw my first teacher Mr. Yohichi Odagiri playing this percussion called cajon. I immediately told my mother, “I’m going to play that!” In the first day of the lesson, I was excited and came in to the room, what I saw wasn’t cajon. Read more>>

Sherida Edwards

I knew from a young age the beauty insdustry was my home. I was always enthralled with the amount of products available and I needed to learn about them all. The first time I was asked to do a customers makeup it was life changing. I became obsessed!! I wanted to try every single product on every single skin tone. Read more>>

Jhazmin Carter

I was in middle school and I was definitely an outcast simply because I didn’t like school. Me and School have never really had a close relationship. That is until one day I had the choice between band or theatre. A decision that was going to decide the course of my life FOREVER. Theatre for sure got me here, but I also don’t want to play a tuba. Very beautiful instrument just not my medium. Read more>>

Lamont 4real Wallace

I knew back around 2004 that I wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally. I was working at Lowe’s in Las Vegas, NV and knew I wanted to do something more with my dancing skills and talents. I was able to connect with a co worker that introduced me to some local dancers the next day. That was the Big Bang moment for me, from there I went to street performing, to being in a Las Vegas variety show, performing various gigs across the city, teaching at Las Vegas dance studios, schools and even dancers from UNLV. Read more>>

Matt Cruz

Honestly, the choice to make music a pathway for me was made before I could walk. Music has been a significant part of my life for as long as I could remember. I grew up in an extremely supportive and creative household, with my dad playing guitar and songwriting constantly. My mom would always make sure I was watching and listening, and always found ways for me to make music a part of my life. Read more>>

Taekyung(tk) Suh

The moment I knew I wanted to pursue art professionally came shortly after I moved from South Korea to Chicago. It was a tough transition, and I was needed to adjust myself to a new life in a new country. I struggled with the language, unsure of how to express myself or connect with others. To find belonging, I followed some classmates to an art class. What started as an effort to fit in quickly became something much more profound. Read more>>