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.

Paul Martin

My parents had a band when I was growing up. I made my stage debut with them at age 5 playing tambourine that evening. I believe that was the point where I knew I had to make this my goal to do what I love and try to make a living doing it. Read more>>

Matthew Allen

I’ve always known I wanted to do something creative or at the very least artistic. I wanted to entertain. But remember one night at a highschool production of “Cats” the lights went out when I was singing a solo. I kept on singing in the dark and eventually the rest of the show caught up when the generators kicked in without missing a step. I got a standing ovation that night and I knew I would never do anything other than this. Read more>>

Josh Smith

When I was a kid it was easy to think of being creative. My mother is creative and my Aunt is a professional artist. I was around art and design almost daily. I wanted to make stuff all the time. As I got older, school almost took that away from me as I think it does to many kids. I was lucky with a few teachers and my family that helped me stick with it. I really got back into the creative mindset in college with digital photography and graphic design. Read more>>

Karis

Growing up, I would get picked to sing solos at school concerts and I remember loving the thrill of the pressure. As a kid it felt like such big deal getting up there and having all eyes on you for a moment. I would practice until the music became second nature to me in an effort to rid myself of any nerves, but I was still pretty nervous no matter what I did. It would always end up going better than I expected – all that prep for just a short few minutes on stage. Read more>>

Marika Takeuchi

I have always loved music growing up. I played piano since the age of three, violin, and French horn for several years, loved singing, dancing, and simply listening to music. I started making up songs when I was around 8 or 9. I always wanted to be a musician. But it was when I suffered from depression in my teen I deceived to actually pursue music as a career. Read more>>

Michelle Rose

I’ve always known, but it became a bigger focus as I grew up. When I was three, I took my first acting classes. From there, I really felt like I had to have a career in the performing arts/entertainment industry. When I was five or six, my parents heard me singing along to Sarah Brightman CD’s in the backseat of their car, and they felt that I sounded like I had some natural singing ability. They encouraged me to try singing lessons. Read more>>

Trish Kennedy

I feel like I’ve always known this about myself to be honest, ever since I was a kid I’ve always had an interest in art and creativity as a whole. From drawing, to music, to dance, I was interested in it all and learnt all of it, from a very young age so I always knew I would end up in this space somehow, I just wasn’t sure what exact field I’d be in. Read more>>

Jason Williams

First off, thank you guys for inviting me back. As always I appreciate the exposure. I would say I knew the moment I wanted to pursue cartoons and illustration as a career as early as five or six. I could see and draw shapes in everything, so I taught myself how to draw Fred Flintstone from a cereal box and Popeye from a can of his Allen’s brand-name spinach. I remember asking my mom after seeing the credits at the end of a show, is that these people’s jobs? To make cartoons? Read more>>

Dusty Roadz

Thinking back I would probably say when people started actually requesting me to send them my songs. I would go to these artist showcase events and get off stage to people wanting to know where they could get my music. I knew then if it was in demand I could possibly make a few dollars in the process. Read more>>

Dinesh Sunar

hello I am from beautiful Place form country Nepal . Nepal is the country of the mountains Everest the highest mountains peak of the world and birthplace of Lord Gautam buddha Lumbini and The Brave Gurkhas .There are more than 50 festivals celebrated in Nepal every year. While the national festivals have fixed dates, religious festivals in Nepal are set by astrologers following the lunar calendar.. Read more>>

YUJIN BPMs

When I was 15, I decided that I wanted to become a professional musician. While in high school, I started composing music and selling it at school. I used a 4-track tape recorder to record drums, bass, guitar, piano, synthesizer, and vocals, and edited them myself. I also created the cover art and designed the flyers on my own. Read more>>

Niki Dawson

I think I may have been just like every other kid that thought it would be cool to sing after watching Cheetah Girls lol And thankfully I kept trying & exploring things that involved singing. Over time, each win confirmed that maybe I should take things a bit more seriously. I think finding ‘your’ path is giving things a try & learning what sticks! Read more>>

Penny Fountain

We all met in high school and got together to form the band in our commercial music class in 2018 during our sophomore year. But we fell in love with music way before the band was formed. (Joel) Honestly, my grandpa inspired me to start playing music. He taught me how to play drums at a very young age and I have loved them ever since. Read more>>

Alannah McCready

My parents will say they have always known since I could talk that I was going to be a singer for the rest of my life and I tend to agree haha. I have been singing for as long as I can remember. There are drawings my parents have that I did as a 4 year old where I drew myself singing in front of a crowd and wrote “I am happy when I sing”. growing up I always participated in musicals, extra curricular choirs and competitions. Read more>>

Vallie Noles

I’ve really loved music ever since I can remember. I began creating original melodies and making up my own lyrics at a very young age; since before I could even write. Early on, I was pretty shy about my songs and kept them to myself. However, as I got older and more comfortable with my creativity, I began sharing them with my family and friends. Read more>>

Luke Rathe

I was 13 years old when I played my first paid gig. I remember the manager handing me $75 dollars at the end of the show and saying to my Mom “Is she serious”? I knew right then if I could make money doing what I’d had done for free that this was the life for me 😊 Read more>>

Amanda Pettaway

I was in my late 20’s. My 4th company, a downtown Chicago investment firm, melted in the 2008 “recession” and I wanted to begin resting in life as a wife and mother, but so much of my identity was rooted in “taking care of myself” and making my own money. Read more>>

Anjali HARIYANI

As far as I remember my existence, I believe I have always had an artistic instinct for Fashion and dressing up. The creator in me always wanted to do something in Fashion. At first, my paths led me to a different area, I professionally landed in Finacial Industry. Read more>>

Dennis Lawrence

First i started by doing local performances in our Primary school. After time passed, i started to write my own lyrical works and the thing kept growing inside me steadily till my high-school years that is when people around me started to push me to go harder in my music carrer. From then i’ve never lose the momentum Read more>>

Tammy de Zilva

The creative bug bit me way back in my childhood days, when I was stitching together fabulous outfits for my beloved Barbie dolls and Cabbage Patch Kids, amongst other things such as decoupage and appliqué. I’ve also always had a special place in my heart for bright and bold colours. There’s just something about the colour orange that fills me with energy and pure happiness. Read more>>

Leeza Miller

The beginning of my career was unexpected. When I was very young I already knew what I loved to do, sing! My Mom and her sister ( Kay and Helen Lewis, “The Lewis Sisters” ) were musicians, songwriters and vocalists with a blossoming career in Jazz and Pop music. They had already established themselves in the industry as performers and songwriters by the time I was born. Read more>>

Zhané Dupree

I knew I wanted to pursue an artistic path professionally once I began my nail career. I enjoyed the freedom I had of being self-employed, but it was also the flexibility of creating. It allowed me to explore the psychology behind everything to connect myself and to the world and others around me. Read more>>

Jada Shaw

I’d say the 2020 pandemic really helped me figure out I wanted to fully go into the arts umbrella for a career. Writing has always been something I loved to do, but when it comes to writing I like to do it with my creative freedom. 2020 was the year I got more interested in Classic Rock, and a band that truly inspired me the most was Guns N Roses. Read more>>

Dave ‘Champ’ Moore

I think the moment I realized that I wanted to pursue a creative path is when I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It’s a true passion. There are times when I hated jobs, or didn’t feel like working on something even though I was being paid, Anything with my creativity never felt like a “job” it felt more like a way of expressing myself. Read more>>

Keidra Scott

From a young age, my dreams have always exceeded my reality. Grade school is when I discovered my interest in art . Not just one facet of it, but everything having to do with self expression. I held on tightly to the fact that since 2nd grade, my life wouldn’t be regular. Read more>>

Sheeba Lee

I always knew I would do something creative but it has been a journey to find my niche. Starting in high end residential and then commercial interior architecture, costume design, graphic design, art direction and then creative direction for my own two brands. Sheebaleedoo, marketing + design services and Tigrwolf, apperal + home online store. Read more>>

Ike Avelli

Well, to go way back, I was 7 years old watching The Carol Burnett Show, and I remember wanting to put together a variety show like that one day. I was so impressed with the costumes, the sketches and the musical numbers. I would put together small shows for family. Read more>>

Kailan Carter

I think I always knew my dream job involved being creative, and I was interested in photography from a really young age. I was always stealing my mom or grandma’s camera at family events to take pictures, and I’d get so excited when I took something good! I held myself back from the idea of pursuing photography as a career for a while, because I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to make a living or be respected in my professional life. Read more>>

Destiny Howard

I have always been an artist with a love for drawing, writing, painting, designing, and putting on a show! As a child, I would create characters and comics in my many notebooks. It wasn’t until I was in the 5th grade that I noticed how much I enjoyed drawing the clothes for my characters. It was this realization that led me down the path to becoming a fashion designer. Read more>>

Hi, my name’s Kuhlahbee my day ones call me Caleb

My career path started in psychology. I wanted to be psychologist because I have always felt like my goal in life is to be there for the people who know one is there for and to help people through life. After a few years of college courses, I decided that being a psychologist wasn’t for me. Read more>>