Every once in a while we have the good fortune of working on a project that we feel truly matters, a project that we’ll still be thinking about years from now. Maybe even something we can imagine telling our grandkids about – surely you’ve had moments like that where something you did in your professional life really mattered?

Zach Valent

I developed and learned my craft through a combination of formal education, working in construction, working for other artists, and a lot of independent research. A sculptor’s skillset is unique because we tend to adopt a hodgepodge of toolkits and processes while developing a brand or identity. Sculpture isn’t medium-specific like other studio arts. Read more>>

Ka’Vozia Glynn

My journey began, and continues, because of four main teachers. Curiosity. Experimentation. Perseverance. Devotion. Speeding up the learning process doesn’t always make sense to me. Some things will take a while to click, while others will come quicker. For me, a certain level of open-mindedness, comprehension, action and retention are the most essential skills to be practiced. Read more>>

Jack Rome

Learning the craft of writing and delivering rap lyrics was not something that came naturally. I still remember ripping up the first verse I ever tried to record because I couldn’t stay on beat like everyone else I was recording with. Read more>>

DJ VUDU SPELLZ

One of the most meaningful projects i’m proud to be a part of is our Hip Hop Entrepreneurship program, founded by 2023 Clark County educator of the year Robert “Tha Vegas Don” Strawder. This program is part of Donna Street Community Center and Taking Back The Block Foundation’s mission to mentor kids and teach them how to be entrepreneurs in fields that fall under the umbrella of Hip Hop. Read more>>

Galit Friedlander

I’m going to focus on my work as a dance teacher here. My mom is a long-time teacher (I learned a lot from example) and in my formative years, I assisted a teacher, Jonathan Lee, at Steps NYC. I also consistently taught my friends things I had learned whether it was from going to the gym and working out with a trainer or something from dance class. Read more>>

Vita Koreneva

Learning to sing opera is not for the faint-hearted! The journey to mastering your own voice and achieving the skill to produce an awe-inspiring sound that resonates through a large hall, soaring over an orchestra, is a marathon, not a sprint. Read more>>

Zuleika Miranda

Aside from a couple painting classes in high school, I’m a self taught artist. Most of what I know now has been from trial and error. If there’s something new I want to challenge myself with, I’d do a little research and check out video tutorials. Read more>>

Kenny Schwartz

When it comes to music, or any art form for that matter, we learn through a wide variety of ways. First, I learned that I was interested in the drums. When I was given the opportunity to play them, I learned I could actually play them a little! Read more>>

Emerson Millsap

I have been playing guitar since around 2006, but it wasn’t until about 2 years ago that I realized that didn’t really know much about how my instrument worked or how to make it feel and sound better. I started out by watching tutorials on YouTube and absolutely botching my guitar. Read more>>

Angela Cudazzo

My journey as a self-taught abstract artist has been marked by extensive research, trial and error, and much experimentation. I’ve navigated through various techniques and approaches, embracing each challenge as an opportunity to refine my craft and discover my unique artistic path. Read more>>

Oliver Fredin

Trial and error. If there’s a question, an obstacle, a challenge, unknown territory, face it head on and whatever outcome, feed off of it. But I didn’t understand that until later on during my career. I was my biggest obstacle, my biggest teacher and my biggest student. I had to talk to myself a lot, I had to be hard on myself, also kind but if I deserved kindness. Read more>>

Kaylyn Garceau

When I decided that I wanted to pursue floral design as a career, I learned everything by trial and error and through practice. I’ve always said that this helped me shape my own creative voice, but I also did things the hard way for a long time because I did not seek out teachers or classes for a long time. Read more>>

Shengfang Lyu

When I first became interested in filmmaking, I just picked up my camera and started shooting, trying to mimic some scenes that I saw in films. I also watched some YouTube videos and tried to learn some basic knowledge. But at that stage, it was more like just playing around and getting myself satisfied. Read more>>

Collins Climpson

I started learning photography at first just by picking up a camera and practicing. I quickly noticed my photos looked nothing like the photos I would see from professional photographers on Instagram. Read more>>

George Fetner

When I was seven or eight, my first music teacher made a deal with me: as long as I practiced what was assigned to me each week, I could also share with her anything I’d made up on my own. I think she recognized that I was creative but needed more tools. Read more>>

Eli Cedrone

I’ve always been influenced by the power of images to express ideas and emotions. Drawing was something I did quite naturally from a very young age and I’ve never doubted for a moment that I possessed the art sprit. Read more>>

Andrew Mason

This may sound obvious, but the way I learned the craft was just by doing it. I’m really fortunate that the composer whom I assist, Nathan Lanier, gave me the opportunity to write along side him pretty early on. The combination of personal experience I get from that and guidance from him has really been the bulk of my learning experience. Read more>>

Michelle Marlisa

From an early age I’ve always known I’ve had a thing for music and singing. My parents definitely knew that I was a very creative being. My first recognizable talent was being able to draw/sketch pretty well and that was the talent I had no issue with sharing with the world. Read more>>

Nyjo Brennen

I’m fortunate to have different crafts but their origins are all diverse. It was a marriage between studying my crafts intricately, phenomenal mentors and figuring it out on my own. First was music specifically singing. Singing started very naturally. My father is a musician. Read more>>

Rachel May

I decided I wanted to be an author when I fell in love with reading during middle school. I latched onto fiction novels and found myself completely captivated by fantasy worlds, tales of love and daring, and magic. I wanted to make other people feel the way I felt when I read an amazing story. Read more>>

Brandon Whipple-Beachum

I learned what I do through a combination of educational and professional opportunities. As a university student, I studied subjects adjacent to my interests. I had always wanted to work in advertising, and in university had the opportunity to study advertising and public relations. Read more>>

KEVIN JACK

Over the last twenty years, I’ve been blessed to have some amazing teachers and mentors guiding me along this amazing and yet crazy path. I haven’t been taught a particular style but rather to allow the natural process come across the screen. Read more>>

Jacqueline Real

My name is Jacqueline Real but I go by MISS J. Developing MISS J has been the creation of my songwriting craft. I suffered from mental health issues such as depression and anxiety and developing a persona to allow myself to feel free and express myself was the first step to getting to the level that I am at now. Read more>>

Mattilynn Cook

I learned from my mentor Naudia. My mom showed me a video of her organization asked me did I want to model and she signed me and my big sister up. I feel like I learn at my own pace. I’m a fast learner so it was pretty easy for me to be shown a model stance and catch on. Read more>>

Kiana Caton

As an attorney, I’m constantly learning and trying to develop “creative” solutions to legal issues. But creativity in the legal sense is different than creativity in the artistic sense because you’re confined to what the law permits. After a few years of practice, I felt a sense of urgency to find an artistically creative outlet (and a side hustle, to be honest), and that urgency led me to believe I could jump right into my chose craft of voice over (VO). Read more>>

Kaitlyn Reyes

I have been a DJ/turntablist for a little over 7 years now. A majority of you know me as Dj K-Sprinkles. I am now 19 years old, my journey as a DJ started at the early age of 11 years old. I have always had a passion for music since I was born. Read more>>