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.

Kris Hundt

I was fortunate enough to know early on a 9 to 5 office job wasn’t for me. I took photography in high school and I was a goner. I loved it. At the time I wasn’t thinking about making a career out of it but I knew I wanted to dive deep and scope out my options. Read more>>

Rachel Bruno

I take makeup school by end of 2018 , graduated in early 2019 . from that moment I knew I want to pursue this career professionally . not long after that in early 2020 covid happen , everything shut down, while just at home doing self-quarantine I decided to playing around with my professional camera . Read more>>

Kyle Glenn

I’ve always felt like I was going to be a performer since I was a little kid. I would always imitate actors like Jim Carrey, Chris Farley, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, as well as singers like Fred Durst, Kurt Cobain, Jonathan Davis, and Michael Jackson. Read more>>

Liz Gold

There wasn’t a particular moment but I was introduced and interested in the arts from a young age. I remember watching Elsa Klensch from CNN Style on Saturdays growing up and loving all the new couture fashions on the models. I was sketching evening gowns with my classmates in the fifth grade under my made-up company name. Read more>>

Britt Hamilton

My aunt would always say I should show my work to the public. I was coy about doing it at first because I thought my work was basic. Then a few close friends and other family member said the same things so then I decided to take a RISK. Surprisingly I got a lot great feedback about my work. Read more>>

Milan Credle

I first knew when I was in college in my dorm room doing homework as an undeclared major wondering to myself if I want to do homework and work for others my entire life. At that moment I decided that I wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally. Read more>>

Martyn Smith

I have appreciated and loved art all my life. I love creativity in all its forms. I always dabbled with art and creativity, but never felt qualified to do my own “art” as a professional. Read more>>

Mayo Maggiore

I’ve started doing tattoos very late, usually when you start this career is when you are in your 20’s or before…I was already over 35 when I decided I wanted to try it. I have always loved tattoos since I was a Kid Read more>>

NevadaSYSTEM

I reflect on my lifelong love and appreciation for music. As a child, I grew up listening to a variety of genres and was always fascinated by the power of music to evoke emotions and connect people. To me, music is a language that can convey emotions in a way that no other art form can. Read more>>

Jonas Wald

My whole life, I’ve been attracted to the joy of creation. Growing up, I wore many hats as I explored many creative avenues from drawing, to animation, shooting video/editing, and finally landing where I am now doing graphic design and facing the world with my band. Read more>>

Valeria Feliciano

I’ve always had a love for storytelling and knew I wanted to pursue a professional career as an entertainer. I loved photography and being able to capture different moments. I was the annoying person in my family who always wanted to take pictures of almost everything. Read more>>

Tyler Tisdale

I played guitar growing up and played in church a bit but sports was my whole life. I earned a football scholarship to South Alabama and quickly realized that wasn’t what I wanted to do. I came home and worked in the restaurant/bar business for a while before picking guitar back up. Read more>>

Anjie Best

Since I was young, maybe around age 9 or 10- I’d always been into “creating content.” Whether it was photography, making short videos, or writing stories- I’ve always been a very creative person. Everything I’d ever had genuine interest in and pursued has been something that allows me to better exercise my creative ideas. Read more>>

Patrick Mitchell

When I were younger I use to draw so I always knew that I wanted to be a part of art. I found photography because I would notice when i would watch horror films I would always watch how the film was shot and the angles and when i watched award shows my eyes would alway move to the behind the scenes and thats when I knew that I wanted to do creative photography. Read more>>

Bryan Sanders

I had the most creative and loving mother. At an early age I started drawing. She saw my passion and continued to support it through her entire life. Somewhere along my path, creativity left me. It just wasn’t there anymore, so I did what most people do and put it high on a shelf. While I continued to have the dream, I did nothing to pursue it. It still felt like too much of a reach. Read more>>

Kristina Popova

Honestly, I’ve known my whole life that I am meant for this path, yet it took me a while to truly start living it. A car accident in January 2020 changed everything! It made me ask myself Read more>>

Tea Nguyen

To me, I suppose creativity has always been something of a second nature, so I can’t pinpoint a definite time. Since the beginning of time, I have been the kid who excels in art among my peers, and I held some pride in that. Drawing and emulating beautiful drawings that I saw in comic books were my things. Read more>>

Ariel Quiroz

My name is Ariel Quiroz, a Chilean-born artist now living in Maui. I am an independent and full-time artist, passionate about sharing my love for art with others. Read more>>

Shalome Patrick

I first knew I wanted to work in a creative field my senior year of high school. I was able to spend my afternoons at a career center and took a graphic design class. This was at the beginning of computers entering the design and print world. Read more>>

TooBrightSHINE

I started making music at the age of 12. I used to use an old tape recorder that my Auntie Beverly gave me who is sadly not with us anymore. Of course I started off horrible, so I was always hungry to become better and better. I wanted to sound just like my favorite legends such as 2pac and Scarface. Settling just wasn’t an option, so I have eagerly perfecting the craft ever since. Read more>>

Vinay George

My journey toward pursuing a creative path professionally was a bit unconventional. Unlike many others who knew what they wanted to do since they were kids, I only discovered my passion for filmmaking at the age of 23. Even though I was aware that filmmaking was a career choice, I didn’t know how to pursue it. Read more>>

Allison Thurman

It was a pivotal moment in 2010 when my stepdad passed away, and I realized that life is too short to put my passion for art on the back burner. With a newfound drive to pursue my dreams, I set a goal to return to school. As I started taking elective art classes, I was surprised by how much joy and fulfillment I found in creating art. Read more>>

Sabine Kahwaji

Filmmaking has been my passion since I was 13 years old, but it wasn’t until I released my first indie short at 19 that I knew I wanted to pursue it professionally. At that point, I had already been rejected from film school, which left me unsure about the viability of filmmaking as a career path. Read more>>

Kaila Spearman

Before I began to really take music seriously, dance is what took up most of my time. Throughout elementary and middle school, I took classes about 3-4 days out of the week and had 2-3 different classes each time I went. I took ballet, modern, hip-hop and pointe– but my favorite class of them all was tap. I really miss it and would definitely take it again if I have the chance. Read more>>

Jamee McAdoo

Growing up with parents who were both teachers and creatives, I always saw the importance of education and self-expression. I was intrigued by learning as much as I could about Black history, the arts, and the world in general. I began writing and performing in elementary school, winning talent shows and poetry slams in middle school, and I published a book of poetry at the age of 16. Read more>>

Shannon Celia

When I was about 8 years old, I asked my mother for a guitar. She found me a used Stella for $25. and I was attached to that thing for years until my grandma bought me my first electric guitar. In 7th grade I began singing with a local band and we played school dances and parties. Read more>>

Jennifer Perlmutter

Throughout my life, I have always had a deep-seated passion for experimentation and creation. As a child, I spent countless hours playing with sand and soil by the creek, eagerly tinkering with objects I found on the shore or in the yard. It was during this time that I first discovered the joy of bringing ideas to life through hands-on exploration. Read more>>

Tristan Waldron

I feel like there were many incentives that came across my life that gave me the inspiration to pursue music. To be honest I’ve never been good at anything in my life until I started making music. People I surrounded myself with really pushed me to start taking this craft seriously when I had zero intention on putting anything out. Read more>>

Tyler Aguilar

I realized at a very young age that I could create and conceptualize things with my own unique ideas & characters. I was inspired by my uncle & my cousins. They had this amazing drive to constantly create something and I saw how anyone could become a successful artist with the right practice. Read more>>

Ravon Hernandez

Let’s Go Back In Time , The First Time I Knew I Wanted To Purse A Creative Path ; Would Be At The Age Of 10 Years Old . I Remember Having My First Mp3 Player , Given To Me By My Brother And I Would Go Into My Room And Imagine A Crowd Full Of People. I Would Sing So Loud And Perform With My Eyes Closed , As In Nothing Else In The World Cared . Read more>>

Yan Jin

My career path didn’t initially lead me towards art. After studying French in university, I worked in auditing for one of the Big Four accounting firms before transitioning to corporate finance where I focused on analysis and forecasting. However, while working at an international company, I had a pivotal moment when my boss introduced me to the CFO. Read more>>