Are artists born or made? To help answer this question, we asked some of the most artistic folks we know to tell us about how they knew they were going to pursue an artistic or creative path. We’ve shared highlights below.

Christian Iles | Celebrity Hairstylist & Makeup Artist / CEO of Christian Iles Hair Care

I was attending and studying Business at the University of Texas in Austin; really struggling with some of the classes like Micro and Macro Economics at the end of my junior year, when I got a call from my father informing me that my mother had stage four cancer. I finished the semester and moved home to Houston. I couldn’t really attend another University there as all my electives were completed, as well as most of the core classes. My mother was insistent that I continue my education. Read more>>

Sophie Dorsten | Musician

I knew I wanted to be a musician when I was 9 and saw my brothers performing together in a band at a small performance school. I’ve been singing since I could speak and thought it would be fun to join them. We started performing around the Phoenix area with that school and called ourselves Sophie & the Boyz. My brother Alex would play guitar and Joey would play drums while I sang and sometimes played bass. After several years my little brother Joey left the band and Alex was too busy with his band so I taught myself guitar and started writing songs. I competed in the Alice Cooper Solid Rock ‘Proof is in the Pudding’ competition and from there it was suggested I start recording my songs – so I did. I’ve been writing, Read more>>

Blane Howard | Singer/Songwriter

When I was a little kid, maybe 4 years old, I wanted to grow up to be Alan Jackson. I would stand in front of the TV with my blue and green plastic guitar, and sing along to videos on CMT. I always enjoyed singing in choir and at church growing up, and I earned a lot of accolades doing it, but I never really decided it was something I wanted to do as a career until I was 16 years old. I came home from football practice one day and told my mom “I think I want to sing.” She said, “Oh, is there a show or concert or something at school, other than choir?” I replied, “No, like as a career. I want to be a singer.” (I know she was filled with panic at that moment). Read more>>

gloria muriel | muralist, visual artist

I wanted to be an artist ever since I started reading comics and watching cartoons. I loved waking up super early to watch Saturday morning cartoons with my cousins. I remember I would appreciate the colors, the cool characters, the vivid backgrounds and settings. I wanted to be an animator, work at Disney studios when I was a kid. Then I got in to drawing and music, I wanted to make music and be a singer too ha, ha. I was always good at arts, music and sports. I still play music with friends for fun and go out hiking in to Nature to disconnect from mental states that aren’t getting me nowhere, but now that I think about it, being a muralist/artist/creative has always been my strongest drive. I can’t live without it. Read more>>

Shonda Caldwell Cipriano | Senior Creative Designer & Special Events Administrator

In the year 2000 I was quite bored with my life. One of my sisters went to hobby lobby and got a candle making kit. She tried playing with it for awhile, but never really found interests in the hobby. So when she finally gave up on it she gave it to me. I took that candle kit and started making all kinds of candles. I have always loved candles and bought them all of the time to keep my house smelling good. Although the candles I bought smelled nice the fragrance never really lasted. Read more>>

Valerie Patterson | Artist – painter

Because I was an excruciatingly shy child, I spent much time alone thinking, dreaming and watching people. Although I always enjoyed making art at home, around the kitchen table with my Mom, my road to becoming a serious artist had some bumps. One teacher I had during Elementary School Art nearly destroyed my interest in art as she often screamed and seldom taught. Fortunately, I had an art teacher in Junior High that encouraged me. As I was unable to communicate effectively face-to-face, I quickly realized that the visual arts gave me a voice. Read more>>

Paul Diefenderfer | Artist Blacksmith

About 20 years ago I was walking thru an art festival in Cave Creek and was intrigued by a guy selling forged ironwork. He had a propane forge and was making items for sale. When he pulled the glowing orange iron out of the forge and started hammering it on the anvil I knew I wanted to do this. I told him I would work for free if he would teach me. He was from out of town but told me about the local blacksmithing club. I joined and have been pounding iron ever since. After a couple years of blacksmithing as a hobby I started doing it full time. Read more>>

natalie legg | Ceramicist

With everything that has happened over the last year, the covid pandemic, systemic racism and social equity surfacing yet again, I’ve had time to reflect on what really matters in life. Early in the year of 2020, I had a full time job as a graphic designer, which I’ve been practicing for over 15yrs, but since then I have gone part-time in-order to pursue ceramics more. Spending countless hours in front of the computer isn’t natural, it’s not healthy and it’s draining, emotionally and physically. Working with my hands, getting dirty and having complete artistic freedom in ceramics is so much more rewarding. So now with more time to focus on my ceramics, I’m hoping to expand outside of just fulfilling wholesale orders and stock my shop and start a mug club. Read more>>

Alicia Stepp | Photographer & Director

I was interested in the arts from a very young age and found a love for photography in high school. It wasn’t until almost 20 years later that I realized that photography could be a viable career option. I’d been working for 10+ years as a graphic artist and started pursuing photography more seriously as the industry was transitioning into digital. Read more>>

Michelle Quiroz | Multimedia Designer

Ever since I was a little girl. I have always loved to paint, draw, and design things. It kinda ended up being something i picked as a career. I have gotten to work with all types of brands and agencies. Read more>>

Jurate Luckaite | Creator of new dimension fusing fine art and haute couture

My road to entrepreneurship was quite unexpected. I came to the United States when I was 19 years old with $200 in my pocket that disappeared like a cloud in the sky within a few days. I was left with nothing but big dreams, courage, and no fear. Five years later I graduated from the University of Colorado in Denver with International Business Degree and celebrated my American dream. I realized that anything is possible only if you believe it and work hard to achieve it. Read more>>

Brian Neher | Professional Portrait Painter

I’ve always had a desire to want to be an artist, even as a young child at the age of three. My grandmother was a commercial artist who always encouraged me to pursue that dream. She would often let me observe while she worked on a drawing for a product that she was illustrating. I was always amazed at how she could take a piece of white illustration board and transform it into a beautiful work of art. She was my first inspiration when it came to the idea of being a full time artist and making a living at something that you loved to do. Years later, as a student in college, I had the opportunity to meet Hall of Fame Illustrator and world renowned portrait painter, Joe Bowler. Read more>>

Monique Williams | Model & Singer

I started modeling when I was 12 and singing when I was 8. For me growing up I was so shy, I had very little confidence. I had so many hardships in my family and it took a toll on me. My mom would try and push me to come out of that, she would tell everyone I could sing wherever we went. The only place I felt comfortable singing really was in a church building and then man changed that for me. I started singing in my room imagining that I was performing in front of crowd’s. I started working with a lady named Tina who heard me sing while sitting in her styling chair, she offered me the chance to sing and model for her talent agency. Read more>>

Suzy Moritz | Artist

I had always had art in my life. I held on to my mother’s skirt, while she painted murals in homes in the River Oaks neighborhood in Houston, Texas. Mother was an art teacher, so naturally, I took lessons right along with her students. I pursued an artistic career, but life took it’s twists and turns, I ended up in the real estate and financial industry for 40 years. I always had a hand in some kind of art work, but not many people knew it. When Mother passed in away in 2003, just when we were starting to paint together again, I decided to keep the art alive by retiring from the corporate world and becoming a full time professional artist. Read more>>

Lidia Dalida | Dalida Bellydance School Owner & Stylist

I started dancing from the age of six and practiced various styles since then. I knew dance is with me forever but I wanted to get broader skills which I can apply in the modern world. While I still was dancing I went to the University where I studied Management of Information Systems. When I was doing my PPT as manager at tourist agency owners of that agency (who owned Sports Fitness Center as well) found out that I am a dancer and I was offered to start teaching classes at their sports studio. Before that I took various dance courses and seminars, performed, and successfully competed. Read more>>

Fernanda Alvarez | Designer of all things funky

I was 13 years old and I needed money to buy something but my parents wouldn´t give to me so I found a box of embroidered elastics in my parents basement and created women’s belts. I made 50 black pieces and 50 white pieces, figured out sizes and I hand sew them, and sold them all in my mom´s fashion show (she’s a designer as well) I´ve always been very creative and powered by uniqueness. Decided to pursue a different career where I was also using all of my creativity and where I developed my PR skills. Read more>>

Melissa Balkon | Brand Designer & Artist

I’d always been really creative as a kid—I love art class. However, the moment I knew I wanted to pursue my creativity professionally was in high school during CAD class. While I really wasn’t that good at CAD, we spent one week on “commercial arts” (what design used to be called) and I spent way more time than was required of me toying around with different designs and layouts—I was absolutely hooked! Read more>>

Eric Addison | Filmmaker

I’ve always loved the movies…always. Spent most of my childhood in a movie theater. But the process of filmmaking always seemed like a mystery. One day while in college, I was invited to the set of a low-budget horror film my friends cousin was directing. As I watched him work, I asked a lot of questions, and he was nice enough to answer them for me. As he explained the process to me, it all made perfect sense. It was that day that I realized this was something I could do….and wanted to do very badly. When I told my mom what I wanted to pursue, she looked at me for a moment, then said with a smile, “That makes sense.” Read more>>

Carolyn Lee Jones | Jazz-Pop Vocalist & Bandleader

I’ve always been involved with and grown up with music and musicians. My mother was a pianist/accompanist and my father sang tenor. Many of my friends were also involved with music. During my formative years I was in school show choirs or small vocal groups but, I also really loved retail! In actuality, retailing had many creative opportunities. For 25+ years I enjoyed a successful first career as a Buyer for luxury stores traveling the world. This career also allowed me to enjoy all of the musical things the world has to offer. I incorporated music in to much of what I was responsible for as a Buyer. Read more>>

Cherrysh Anderson | Artist

I grew up exposed to art, it was my first passion. I had amazing teachers and influences but never met artist who looked like me. This lack of representation was a major factor in why I quit sketching at 14. After a 15 year hiatus from art in any medium, couldn’t fight it anymore. I opened my own cake business in 2015 unexpectedly and realized people were buying my art even if in edible form, this pushed me to pick up my charcoals and pencils again, as a mother I knew it was important for my children, all phenomenal artist, to see a representation of themselves in the art world. Read more>>

Amy James | Greeeting Card Designer

At the beginning, I had no intention of pursuing my creative path professionally, in fact, I did not realize I had a creative side to me. I am an Accountant by profession so creating greeting cards that made others happy was enough for me. However, as I continued making greeting cards for my friends and co-workers I began to get better as time went on and my friends and co-workers wanted to start paying me for the cards I gave them and I asked them why and they said because they were unique and one of a kind. As time passed, my friends and co-workers encouraged my to start my own business. In the meantime, a company I used to work for was having a craft fair for its employees and one of my co-workers asked if I wanted to sell my cards there for the very first time and I immediately said yes! Read more>>

June Cleavidge | Studio owner and entertainment producer

I have always known I wanted to have an artistic career. As a child, I used to sing in perform every chance I got, and in high school, I got to work backstage on a community theatre show. That changed my mind. I loved being backstage, and let’s be real, telling everybody what to do. That led to my first professional theatre job. It was in a different state, and at 18 I packed up and was off to see the world. I ended up with many professional theatre jobs throughout my years. I took a break from national theatre tours to take a vacation to New York City. Read more>>

Mario Marauak | Recording Artist

My mother is an artist. I was always surrounded by canvases, sculptures and music through my childhood. When I was 7 years old I was playing at the living room with some toys on a warm evening in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil (the city I was born) when I heard a beautiful music coming from a TV show. It was a classical guitar player performing solo on a nylon Acoustic guitar. I stopped what I was doing and run to the kitchen to tell my mom I wanted to be a guitar player. She told me both of my grandparents were great guitar players, but they had passed away before I was born. She told me my grandfather’s guitar was in Rio with her sister. Read more>>

Merri Ellen Kase | Graphic Designer and Fine Art Painter

I never thought about what I was going to do when I was growing up, I always knew. . . art was just a part of me. Creating is something I have to do. When I was four or five years old, I would climb on my father’s lap and say, “draw a doodle” on a scrap piece of paper. I would take that doodle and make elaborate drawings out of that little scribble. Drawing or coloring for hours was how I spent my time, and as I grew older, I found joy in designing everything around me. I designed my house, some of the furniture, sculptures, and the landscape. I even designed my wedding ring. I went to the University of Texas in Austin and have a fine arts degree. Read more>>

Mary Koval | Photographer

I’ve always loved photography. 11 years ago I had a fall and collapsed 2 discs in my neck resulting in neck fusion surgery. I was forced to rethink my options and life. There were so few pictures of my deceased mother I felt the desire to pursue photography. I dont want anyone to go through life with so little from deceased family members. It’s my life and passion. Read more>>

Jean-Marie Garayburu | Hair and Makeup Artist

I was turning 13 and had been growing up in Los Angeles. Discovering my own style and listening to all these cool alternative bands, I was being influenced by the fashion and makeup of the 90s. I’d try everything from glueing rhinestones in my hair, cutting my own baby bangs, dying my best friend’s hair hot pink with punky color and wearing smokey eyes inspired by D’Arcy from the Smashing Pumpkins. My family had moved to the OC and I found myself more at the beach, playing sports and writing poetry. I took up a fascination with anthropology, history and fine art that pulled me away from my artistry while in college. Read more>>