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.

Dan Traglia

Without exaggeration, it’s hard for me to remember a time when I wasn’t set on pursuing a future in music. I was really fortunate to grow up in a home where music was an important part of everyday life. My father is a trumpet player and was a middle school band director for 37 years. My mother was a nurse but also a huge music enthusiast. There was always a wide variety of music being played around the house, so I was exposed to everything from classical music to pop, r&b, funk, soul, rock, and jazz at an early age. My parents made it a point to take me and my two siblings to see a lot of live music. Normally local jazz festivals and things like that. Read more>>

Elizabeth Howe

Okay I’ll set the stage for you. In the late 1960’s my family moved from a suburb just outside Cincinnati, to Jackson, Michigan, pretty much in the city. We lived in a townhouse development with lots of friends. I loved the simplicity of the place and it had what I thought were super cool white metal cabinets. The playground of the neighborhood school was right across the dead-end street in front of our house where everyone parked. I was almost 7. We often played on the playground, or in the street. Read more>>

Jourdan Truth McGowan

Back when I was in undergrad school at Stillman College, I took an elective painting class. My professor saw something in me and my work that she believed could be special. She later on convinced me that I could be an art major. I took that chance and changed my major to art. The following year I transferred to the University of Alabama where I got my art degree in 2017. After graduating, I had a few art related jobs and didn’t really know what I was going to do work wise. Read more>>

Allison Thompson

I have always loved to express myself in creative ways! From a young age I was encouraged by my parents and amazing teachers to ‘think outside of the box’ and that led to some really fun creative projects. Even when I was in grade school I can remember sitting in art history class and being enthralled by the fact that art could be a career. When I eventually got to college and chose my focus, I chose painting because creating a design, putting paint onto a canvas and collaborating with peers were aspects I knew I needed in my professional life. And it just sort of came together once I learned the tools and skills I needed to create an online business. Read more>>

Victoria Ray

When I was in middle school I dreamed of working in a company. I wanted to get up early, get dressed neatly, go to an office to work with my computer until my tasks for the day were completed and then close the computer and be able to stop working until the next day. I mean, basically I imagined myself structured, with fixed schedules, with a marked agenda, routine and being able to finish work at the office and not take home work. It´s funny to think how life turned out to be for me profesionally. Read more>>

Jack & Tim

Tim – I was around 9 maybe 10 when I began hitting post and pans and making a racket ! I was pretty shy kid though , it took me many years of being a star in my bedroom to finally dare go out and sing in front of people , Growing up I listened to lots of different music, from Simon & Garfunkel to Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Prince , we really were split for choice in the 80’s, It was while at art college around 18 I happened to borrow a guitar and from the moment I held it , I knew I wanted to play. Read more>>

Minerva Moon

I was a bit of a late bloomer who felt very uncertain of her place in the world, so I didn’t realize I wanted to earn a living (even a supplemental living) until my mid-20s. I always enjoyed making jewelry, sewing and inventing cosplays, but it didn’t occur to me that other people would be interested in what I made until my boyfriend pointed it out to me. “You should do craft fairs”, he encouraged, “you should start modeling since that’s what you want to do.” Read more>>

Raleon Moore

I was very young watching a movie called the 5 heart beats with my grandmother. To me the movie was magical I had no idea it wasn’t real .. the story, the songs , the characters I fell in love with all n knew then that’s what I wanted to do with my life .. right at that moment I became an entertainer Read more>>

Savannah Leighton

About 10 years ago my vocal coach Gwyn Sanborn invited me to perform on a music show called Country Live At The Merc. It’s an Opry style show where local music artists are featured. I had never performed with a live band before so I really didn’t know what to expect. I remember nervously taking the stage. The band begin to play and this big grin came across my face. I looked over at my voice coach and all the butterflies had melted away. As I sang I felt at home. I was right where I was supposed to be. I knew then I wanted to pursue music professionally. Read more>>

John Knell

I was in third grade and the year was 1976. Dad had been assigned babysitting duty with me on a Sunday morning before church as Mom had some meeting/activity she needed to attend. My Dad’s usual Sunday morning ritual included stopping by a coffee shop along the way to the church to have a coffee with the boys and he saw no reason to change this fact just because I was in tow. Read more>>

Dwayne Williams

I first knew I wanted to be a creative for a living when created the Surf Klub 216 brand. I’d been dealing with a serious bout of depression, and music seemed to be the only thing I did to make myself feel better. I was a member of a rap group (Everybody’s Cousin) and wasn’t really happy with the direction the group was taking, so I created my own brand. From that moment, I felt empowered by taking charge of my own creativity and felt a rush of inspiration. This inspiration birthed music that would become songs I am know by in my own city (Cleveland, Oh) to this day. Read more>>

Hector Miray

I was frequenting comic cons and hanging around in crowded convention centers filled with geeks of all fandoms. Seeing booth after booth of artists that had created their own stories and products, and were taking the chance to put them out there. But after 3 years of visiting shows I never saw anything like what was in my mind or heart. So I decided no one was going to fill that void but me. So I set a goal to write and create the book that I was looking for but never saw. Read more>>

Aniket Patel

Now, this is very interesting because nobody knows how I got into photography & artist stuff, not even my friends & family, But now they will come to know. From the beginning, I was in love with mother nature & its creatures and I was also raised in the village so that is very obvious that you get connected with nature. Later on for my study, we moved to the city, but whenever I got the chance I always went to my village to revisit those places where I loved to go & I still do visit those places. Read more>>

Romique Thompson

The first time i knew i wanted to pursue a creative path professionally is when i was growing up watching my cousin Shamann, rap and make beats here in Richmond, Virginia. Throughout the years of him perfecting his craft, he was fortunate enough to move to ATL and meet with big names like T.I, Rick Ross, Lil Duval and many more names. Him inking his deal with Roc nation also gave me hope to keep going and chasing my dream of becoming a global music artist. The more i listened to music and i saw how rappers were living the lavish lifestyle, it also make me wanna go harder for the finer things in life. Read more>>

Julia Wheaton

I starting singing when the first Frozen movie came out in 2013 – I was nine years old. From that point on, music and singing captivated me in a way I could not explain. The years that followed, I attended singing lessons until I was 12. This age was the turning point for me. At this point in my life, I would spend countless hours a day watching Youtube videos of famous singers like Whitney Houston, Ariana Grande, Celine Dion, etc. Attempting to sing just as they did. As I dove deeper into behind the scenes videos my curiosity sparked. I wondered, what could singing could be as a career? Read more>>

Kristen Ayanah

My senior year of high school I joined my cousin & her friends on their college radio show called “Island Mix” radio. The show focused on Caribbean culture & the experiences of first generation Caribbean college students. From then on I KNEW I wanted to have a career in media/journalism because I loved entertaining, speaking & overall sharing people’s stories. Read more>>

Yulissa Mena

When I was in my late teens early 20’s I was called weird for how I presented myself – for context I grew up in The Bronx in the late 90’s early 2000’s – and for fun I would go to SOHO downtown just to walk around for hours with a bag of warm roasted nuts from the street vendor and people watch, thrift shop, hit up the art museums, dream of living in one of those cool lofts with the big windows hosting amazing parties. It was one of my favorite solo things to do in NY, my self-care ritual.  Read more>>

Lourans Mikhail

I had just finished my service in the Marines after 13 years and was taking graphic and web design in college in 2016. While going through the program and learning about marketing and advertising, and what I had seen during my time in the MarinesI didn’t want to do something that wasn’t going to align with my morals and principles. I didn’t want to be working at a company and have to design cigarette ads or use psychology to manipulate consumers into a purchase. Read more>>

Steve Backmon

I’ve technically been pursuing an artistic/creative path in some shape or form my entire life. I took dance lessons for tap, jazz, modern and ballet for over 15 years. I was on the writing staff for my high school’s semiannual literary publication as a poet for 3 years. I have been drawing and painting since I could hold a pencil. My father was a house DJ in the 80s and I have been around the music scene since I was in my mother’s womb, so pursing music was just the next natural step in my creative journey. Read more>>

Luna Ase

When I was 5 years old I used to makeup song lyrics in my carseat, so I always had an interest in music and creating. However it wasn’t until about the age of 9 that I began to believe that being “famous” was possible. I knew that I wanted to sing my own music and make albums that would move people to the soul. However with being bullied by my step brother about my “shower concerts”, my confidence began to dwindle. When I was in High School I joined the Choir and continued to sing because it made me happy. I got to sing at the Disney Concert Hall, special needs schools, and even for my Graduation. Read more>>

Elizabeth Shanahan

Realizing that I wanted to be an artist was a slow process for me. I think I knew for a long time what I really wanted, but was too afraid to say it out loud. I knew I would face pushback from friends and family who wanted to protect me from the struggle it takes to build a creative career. I was scared too. I went into college expecting to major in history and art and to go into education. Read more>>

Christian Ray Blaza

I spent much of my childhood with my head down, pencil and paper in hand. I’ve been drawing with my older sister since I was young. We would go through sheets of printer paper, drawing whatever came to mind. She eventually grew out of it as we got older. As for me, it continued on as a hobby. In high school, I never thought of illustration as a possible career. I looked into drafting, graphic design, and architecture. I enjoyed the creative side of art, getting more into the craft by taking AP art classes. Read more>>

Nesha Nycee

I knew at the age of nine years old that i wanted to pursue music full time as an outlet to express the challenges and adversity i was pushing through. Read more>>

Nebula Sky

I realized at a very young age that I wanted to live a life outside of the normal 9-5. I dreamt of and romanticized the idea of being an artist or musician for a living because all of my favorite people were creatives. I used to fantasize about living in a loft apartment in the downtown area of my home city (Cincinnati) while twirling around with my favorite music and wine. By the time I was 10 years old I knew I wasn’t meant for a standard lifestyle. I craved excitement and marched to the beat of my own drum. Read more>>

Cassie May

I can’t pinpoint an exact moment but I’ve known ever since I was a child. It’s all I’ve ever loved. It felt as natural as anything else we must do throughout the day, like eating or sleeping. Whatever I was going to do with my life, I knew it would have to be creative. I always excelled in the arts. I originally went to school for makeup artistry and prop design, then began working in film. During this time I spent any free moment I had drawing or painting. I craved a more of an independent artistic path. Read more>>

Jaylin Brokemond

I first learned my creatively side at the age twelve. I liked to do YouTube videos and work on music. I would be around my dad who is music producer he would play beats and I would make lyrics to them. Read more>>

Valerie Scheiber

Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve loved drawing, art, movies and creating things. I remember when I was a junior in high school seeing a behind the scenes video for Veggie Tales of all things, and they showed some animators working. Before that, it had never occurred to me that I could have an artistic job. When I saw that little behind the scenes special, I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in animation and the arts. I did become an animator and have worked on a wide variety of feature films for over a decade (Hotel Transylvania 2, Rio 2, Hop, X-Men Days of Future Past, etc.) and then games after that. Read more>>

Sterling Jackson

Hmm, I think a lot of people have these real moving or connecting “aha” moments in their lives that can instantly change them or their value systems. For me, that moment came when I was only about seven years old. I remember my brother had some boyscout meeting and I had to sit and wait until it was over. For whatever reason I had a Walkman with headphones and a Michael Jackson tape. Sitting there listening to that music I had these visions of wanting to do something similar with music. Read more>>

EMMANUEL CHIBUIKE

During my early days in high school there were different dancing groups performing amazing dancing styles, my attention was drawn to the performances and I found it very interesting, this was the birth of my love for dancing. Moving to the next grade in school I decided to join a dancing group where my interest for dancing increased as we occasionally practiced new dancing steps to varieties of music during school parties,events.Dancing became part of me till date,the passion grew and here I am doing what I love the most. Read more>>

Camilla & Dustin Frank

Camilla: I’ve always enjoyed being creative, and was lucky enough to have parents that supported me in that, but never thought I’d pursue it professionally until a few years ago. I had unintentionally taken a break from creativity as we began to raise our children, and noticed something missing from my life. I began painting with watercolors, a relatively child-friendly medium, and found so much comfort and release through the creative process. Read more>>

Big Al Weekley

Music made a huge impact on me at an early age. My Dad and my brother played old time music and played a variety of stringed instruments. I would often sit and listen at them. My Mom showed me three chords on the guitar, and I started sitting in with them as I learned. As a family, we would often sing songs together from a hymnal. I continued to learn chords and sing different vocal parts. When I was 13, my brother John, left his guitar for me so I could learn more about it. I would sit in the bedroom after school and play along with Hank Williams records. Even though I can’t read music, I can play the guitar. Read more>>

Jauwan Stinson

I have always known that I was called to a creative career. I tried to go into Psychology in college but quickly switched to Music Therapy. My childhood was very chaotic so I never focused on my gifts until late high school/college. Read more>>

Mark Narmore

The first time I realized I wanted to pursue an artistic path professionally was probably at around 15 years of age. I grew up in and around the Muscle Shoals, Alabama area and my first cousin Spooner Oldham had helped launch the music industry there years prior. Spooner had a very successful career as a songwriter and studio keyboardist and he was definitely a mentor and role model for me. At 15 I began playing keyboards in local high school rock bands. We didn’t make huge money at the gigs, but I remember thinking that one could sustain themselves if they worked hard as a musician. Read more>>

Kristen Baker

Honestly I’ve always felt I was going to go into a creative field. I started out as a child actor, but I always loved hair and design. Started doing my friends hair in high school, can’t say it was the best, but thank goodness for us being “different” they still rocked whatever I gave them. Being artistic in life has always been my passion. Read more>>

Terrell Leonard

I realized I wanted to pursue a music career professionally when I was in college. I was raised in church, so it wasn’t a good idea to tell my mom I wanted to make hip hop music. So, I snuck and recorded myself after high school everyday when she was at work on my laptop using the program Audacity. I realized I wanted to take this professionally after I went off to college where I didn’t have to hide my craft anymore. Letting my friends hear my music in high school and in college gave me more motivation to keep going. Read more>>

Darryl Wynn

When I was 5 years old, I began to sing in church. Then I began to play piano at age 12. It was during that time that I knew I wanted to be a professional singer. God has blessed me with some amazing opportunities that have been shaping me as I experience the journey.. Read more>>

Ashley Day

Growing up I always knew that I wanted to do something creative but wasn’t really sure what it was. I didn’t take my creativity seriously until I discovered that I could draw. On Christmas break in the 10th grade my mom had this Christmas bear siting on the living room couch. Being a Christian, I heard the Holy Spirit tell me to draw it. I got my pencil and some printer paper and drew it to the point it came out better than I expected. My mom from then on started ripping out newspaper comic strips and I use to just free hand draw them and teaching myself. At the time I was looking at a lot of Project Runaway and I started teaching myself fashion sketching. Read more>>

Mohamoud Mohamed

As a little boy, I was always sitting somewhere away from everybody and writing short plays on my notebook. I knew I wanted to be in the performing arts world at the age of 6 if not before. Around the age of 6, I was already considering some important contexts for my short skits and plays like the setting, plot, characters (played by my siblings and cousins) and theme of each play. My purpose was bringing joy to my audience who were my family and neighbors. Read more>>

David Emenheiser

8 1/2 years ago I made the decision to conquer a 20 year long meth/heroin addiction. I checked myself into the Ventura county rescue mission very lost and broken and my time there God began to heal all the broken parts of me. When I got out of the mission I would go on these drives with just my camera phone at the time, but it was such a sense of peace and serenity that I eventually picked up a camera. From there David Joseph Photo was born. I started my journey with just shooting landscapes but as my skills got better I began getting noticed by NBC La and they began featuring my work often. Today I shoot such a wide variety of stuff from portraits to Aviation as well as landscapes. God turned what was intended as a therapy for me to so much more Read more>>

Chris Hodge

I feel like I was pretty much born into the arts. Growing up, both of my parents would bring me art supplies and encourage me to create. My mother loves to draw and paint and my dad is a builder who designs furniture and sculpts. So, I started on a creative path at an early age. Making artwork just made sense to me… it was something that I just did, and something that I thought everyone did. Read more>>

Octavia Barnes

The first time i knew i wanted to pursue being a Loc Artist professionally in back in 2015 when i gave birth to my baby girl. Even though i had already had my son having a daughter was just different its like i gave birth to my purpose as well. I felt i was supposed to do something amazing with my life and set a foundation for my children so i was guided back to my first love of doing hair. Read more>>