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.

Raj Bose

I am lucky to born in a family of artists full of musicians, dancers, and photographers in India. I was a full-time musician for more than 10 years so you can imagine how creativity comes naturally to me. I immigrated to USA in 2002 and for the next 6 years I struggled to settle down in my new adopted country. During this time, I realized that I needed an avenue to express myself in order to feed my soul and give me a purpose in life. In 2008, I bought a Canon 50D DSLR camera and for the next 4 years, all I did was learning this craft. Read more>>

Jeremiah Jenner

Jeremiah was given the gift of music and photography from his artists parents when he was five years old. They bought him his very first drum set and camera for Christmas. He has stayed true to his calling and passion for over fifty years both as a professional musician and photographer. Jeremiah enjoys sharing his gifts and joy with others as a music and photography educator. Read more>>

Leanne Tibiatowski

When I was in college art was what I was drawn to but, while going through critique processes in class I realized that art was too close to my heart and that production work was not something I wanted to do. So I pursued a speech communication degree and studied the art of human communication. As time went on, my professional life has been a windy one yet I’ve been a creative every step of the way for decades now. Life circumstances over those years required that I focus my skills and gifts to creatively bring the visions of others to life. Read more>

Lo Artiz

Since my earliest memory writing music was the one place I could put into words the intensity of waves of emotion I’d feel as early as 7. The kids around me in school had diaries, I had sheet music & a journal dedicated to lyrics. For a few years I solely looked at music at the thing that freed me from how out of place I felt in comparison to every other human around me from a young age. I was very private about it, or at least thought I was haha. My mom was the only person I let hear me sing. Then when I was 10 I performed “Respect” by Aretha Franklin at my school’s talent show. Read more>>

Ari Robinson

I think the first time I realized that I wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally was when I was in college. I believe it was about midway through my sophomore year. I originally went into college not even considering a degree in Art, but eventually switched majors when I realized that I should really be taking classes about topics I am interested in and spending all of the money and time that college takes toward something that really interests me. It was then that I switched gears towards art and I immediately saw a shift in my grades, excitement about class, tests, and just everything in general! Read more>>

Stacy D’Aguiar

I’ve always been an artist since I was a kid. I could always draw really well. I’ve been given a magical gift. I was in AP Art in high school, and knew then, that I would be an artist in some capacity as a career. I was a senior and about to go to college. I had also won a couple art scholarships that year which really drove the message home that I was being recognized for my artistic talents. Read more>>

Angela O’Neill

If you were to ask my parents when I first started performing they would say the moment I was born. From practicing vocal warm ups as an infant, to entertaining the family at the dinner table, or perhaps one of the stories heard most, deciding as a flower girl with ballet slippers that the wedding was actually a dance recital. When I look back at when I first grew a love for storytelling it too goes back to my childhood. As a little girl my mom would read Bible stories to me every night, I soaked them in as she would read. Read more>>

Jon Wasik

For me, there’s two parts to this question – when did I know I wanted to be a writer, and when did I know I wanted to pursue self-publication? I knew I wanted to be a writer when I was in fifth grade. I was always a storyteller, but fifth grade was when I realized I could write my stories down! I had become enamored by sci-fi and fantasy novels, particularly Star Trek and the Star Wars Expanded Universe. Back then, I wrote my first story, which today would be considered (badly written) fan fiction. Read more>>

Ilanit Shalev

For as long as I can remember I have always been drawn to art. From a young age I loved to create, not necessary drawing, but any kind of creating. In middle school, the school counselor recommended I move to art school, but fear paralyzed me . I thought I was not good enough, because I didn’t know how to draw. In my early 30s I got another opportunity to pursue my passion of creating. I moved from Israel to Portland, OR. From the moment I arrived I was exposed to a lot of glass art. The colors, the way the art played with opacity and transparency, it captivated me. Read more>>

Nikhat Qureshi

After my full-time employment ended in 2018, I started working on shifts as an exhibition host. My work shifts were constantly changing. They needed me to work over the weekends, and as a single parent, I couldn’t see myself taking time away from my son to work and not being able to be there for him. I became unemployed in March 2019, and as I was looking into finding something sustainable, I saw a call to apply for affordable housing for artists in Richmond. I feel grateful to be accepted. This opportunity made me explore my creative path professionally, and I registered my art business, Islamic Art of British Columbia. Read more>>

Jackie

I have always been involved in creative pursuits, from elementary school to adulthood. Some of my major pursuits were photography, writing, and music, but always as a hobby, something fun to do and a way to express myself. In many ways, I still approach this the same way, but with much more freedom, flexibility, and a strong resolve to keep improving. The moment I started blogging, I just KNEW, in my heart, that this is what I loved. Sharing the stories, writing up trip reports, giving tips and helpful plans to people through my blogs, was what I was already doing with friends and loved ones, but this allowed me to share it with more people, and people who could truly benefit from it. Read more>>

Kay Moore

Probably because they at one time thought they’d never have a grandchild, my paternal grandparents, when I arrived after they were in their 70s, had high expectations of me, so they bought a piano for me when I was age 3. Fortunately, one of our town’s outstanding piano teachers lived next door on Garland’s 11th Street, so my parents arranged lessons for me immediately. I was so short that my feet dangled high off the floor on the piano bench, but I learned to play quickly and had my first solo piano recital when I was 7. Throughout my childhood and youth I always studied from outstanding teachers; it was presumed that I’d enter the field of music. Read more>>

Christina Rosepapa

As a child I was always curious on how things worked. I loved to paint, sketch and explore. Through artwork I would get lost in my imagination. In high school I lived in Southern California and it was then that I wanted to pursue a creative career. My dream was to attend the ArtCenter College of Design and become an Illustrator. Though this did not happen, I did go on to college at California State Northridge and majored in art history and psychology. At the time I was pressured to choose a more ‘practical’ direction. However, out of college I went into the publishing field as a graphic designer. For years I worked in publishing and then later started my own business. Read more>>

Craig Carter

As a kid and teen I would always sketch and doodle images here and there but the spark of my professional path happened was when I was commissioned to paint a mural at the The Hunter Club Bar and Venue in Bury St Edmunds,UK in 2010. After I completed the mural the owner loved the finished painting and had the editor of the local newspaper (Bury Free Press) to do a story about me, that was my first international feature. That’s when I knew I wanted to take my craft more serious. Read more>>

Lady Dang

Honestly, I didn’t choose to pursue a creative/artistic path. It chose me. Growing up, I didn’t have a safe place to reflect my ideas, thoughts, and experiences. Whatever I was pondering on, or living through that happened in my life, found its way through writing and drawing. Through journaling, short stories, illustrations, or humming my own made up tunes, it all started in grade school. Things looked fine on the outside, but there was a nightmare lurking behind the curtain of my family environment. When I went outside to play, I would imagine myself doing great things to catapult me to a better place. I didn’t know it but my imaginations were the seeds, that helped me survive, and fueled a lot of vision and curiosity for creative and artistic expression. Read more>>

Shun Lauren

I have always loved performing arts! I believe I knew I wanted to pursue a career in acting when I saw childhood actress, Rae’Ven Larrymore Kelly in A Time To Kill and Jurnee Smollett in Eve’s Bayou. At that time, I was twelve years old and told my grandmother that I could do what I saw those kids doing on television. I have always loved becoming another person on stage, even as a kid. I pursued an artistic career because I always enjoy discovering a part of me that is hidden under the layers of who I am in everyday life. Being able to express a different level of yourself without judgement has always been an exciting part of my journey as an actor. Read more>>

Margaret Mizushima

Around 1995 I was working hard as a speech pathologist in my own Medicare/Medicaid certified rehabilitation agency. I had launched the company during the late eighties, and by the mid nineties it had grown to offer multidisciplinary services to both children and adults, including speech, occupational, and physical therapies as well as social work and counseling services. By that time I was still working long hours each week and felt I was missing out on enjoying my children’s teen years. I had stopped at the grocery store on my way home, and while I was standing in line to check out I gazed at the paperback books in the racks by the cash register. Read more>>

Ashley Howland

When I was 14 on a random whim I told everyone I wanted to be a fashion designer who lived in New York City. I couldn’t draw, and looking back… I had literally no interest in fashion design… But what I did love passionately was looking at fashion magazines. The photos are what inspired me. The creativity, the uniqueness, the way each photo set was out of the box. I could tell when the same photographer was used at a young age. I could differentiate their different styles.  I think at that point I realized that maybe I didn’t want to be a fashion designer… but maybe I wanted to be apart of a different creative world that had its foot in the fashion door. Read more>>

Cuit and Necalli Lucio

At the very young age of 2 years old communication was being noticed as a potential issue, and it still is being diagnosed as selective mute and non verbal . The beginning of utilizing boards, paper and sometimes even canvas to communicate was what started this journey of becoming an artist. We all don’t know what our future will be like but for us our art might end up being our sole future our careers our way to be part of society. Read more>>

Emily Cavender

Since I was a child, I always knew I wanted to be an artist, however, it wasn’t until I got to college that I started sharing my work with others. It was then, when I started selling my work, that I knew I was doing what I was supposed to be doing. When I would go to markets to vend, I would come across so many people moved by my artwork. It meant a lot to me, because they communicated that they felt shared emotions as my drawings and paintings. This gave me joy because my art has always been my way to vent and voice. When I hear that my viewers are getting the messages that they need from my work, it all makes sense to me that I’m on the right path. Read more>>

Yolan Apoets Poet Young

The very first time that I knew my artistic creativity was going to be my profession was back in 2010. At that time, I was just writing to bear my truth on the stage or in front of gawking eyes. Then I was approached by several people to perform at their events- – and they were paid events. At this point, I went from doing open mics to weddings, funeral engagements and even pop-up poetry grams, etc. Although it never was my intent to use my art form of spoken word to profit, there were more people that were wanting and willing to pay me for my words; that still holds a precedence to this day. Read more>>