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.

Erica Burnett
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I first knew that I wanted to pursue an artistic career path, when I was about 13 years old. I realized that there was nothing else that made me feel more alive. Not only did it give me an outlet to express what I was going through, it also made other people happy. At the end of the day we all want to connect. This was a way for me to do that. Read more>>

Taryn Starr

Are you looking to find your passion? I understand, when I began my journey taking my skills into the marketplace, I was completely at a loss, depressed, and working 80 hours at three jobs to make ends meet. Greatness is built in small pieces over time until suddenly a spotlight shines. A lot of people ask me today how I chose the path I have taken. For some context, I own a music production company, a health and home store, work as a speaker, musician, and model with an agency. Read more>>

Kevin Dary

I’ve always been attracted to the performing arts. As a kid, I remember learning how to dance by slowing down VHS recordings of Michael Jackson videos, and trying to replicate voices that comedians and impersonators of celebrities would do on TV. I think my mother probably has old videos of me at age 4 doing something like that and trying to show it off! However, it wasn’t until I was in my early 20s that I took steps to make it a career. It’s the kind of idea that you have in mind, but that you don’t talk about or consider seriously because it’s not a “real” job. But after hitting a point in my life where regular jobs just felt dull and unfulfilling, I knew there was no other option for me but to give it a shot. Read more>>

Andrew Gros

I first knew I wanted to pursue a creative path professionally since I was kid. I loved watching movies, anime, and reading comics. I started drawing from a young age, I was inspired by my brother who is also an artist and by the cartoons I watched as a child. Instead of drawing what I saw on the television I wanted to draw my own original created characters. I loved to draw the abnormal when it comes to my cartoon characters. I feel it takes a real creative mind to create something fresh and new. In school, other kids took notice of my art since I was always drawing, and they liked them. Read more>>

Samilia Colar

When I was around 7 years old I remember my parents asking me what I wanted to be when I grew up and I told them I wanted to be an artist. I spent much of my time sketching and drawing, and would dream about traveling and creating art in different places. As I got older and discovered more forms of art my passions led me to fabric and later fashion. Read more>>

Khadejhia Kassenbrock

I knew I wanted to be a professional musician after attending my first summer camp dedicated to female musicians! It was called Rockergrrrls and was offered by the local music school I took lessons at. It was there that I finally felt comfortable enough to let myself shine. I’ve struggled with stage fright all of my life, and was also just really intimidated by usually being the only girl in the room when playing in a band setting! Read more>>

Ariel Bellvalaire

I knew I wanted to be an artist the second the song “Complicated” by Avril Lavigne came on the radio while I was on the balance beam in Gymnastics summer camp. Something about the song got my attention and I knew I was put on this earth to be an artist. I loved to sing and at 10 years old was the singer in a young band put together by Summit Studios, the local music studio where I took voice lessons. Shortly after performing a few shows as the singer, we needed a guitarist in the band and I had already began dabbling on electric guitar and took the position of lead singer and guitarist. While on myspace (yup myspace haha!) I had a random desire to hear metal music and the only artist I could think of was Ozzy Osbourne so I put on his song Crazy Train and my jaw dropped when I heard the opening guitar riff and solo. Read more>>

Amy Ryan

I have always loved to create things with my hands, since I was a child. I also loved to play with Barbies and would create new outfits for them, eventually teaching myself to stitch the outfits together by hand. I used to create other things too, like stuffed animals, dolls, dollhouse furniture made with balsa wood, felt beanie baby clothing, etc… I found that I learn by creating with my hands. When I was in high school, I started learning more about the fashion industry and discovered John Galliano’s incredible Haute Couture collections for Dior. I fell in love and sort of escaped into that world of fashion and fantasy. Read more>>

Robert Malmberg

To be honest, I think was born as a “creative”. I always seemed to excel in courses where I could leverage my imagination to achieve a unique and interesting outcome. I’ve always been a bit of a dreamer and find myself drawn to things that contain mystery and spark curiosity. I have a penchant for abstraction, and I think this is why I appreciate visual mediums. The more that I allow myself t0 accept these inclinations in my photography and design work, the more I appreciate the process itself and it enables me to enter a flow state in the studio. Read more>>

John Martin

When did you first know you wanted to pursue….. When I was a child I knew. I always loved to draw. My Saturday mornings were spent watching cartoons, drawing monsters and superheroes, and often making my own mini comics. I also recall being an imaginative child. I would bury dinosaur toys in my backyard and then proceed to unbury them like a Paleontologist. This would explain my excitement for Dinosaurs and Kaiju like Godzilla. I also enjoyed Dr. Suess and Maurice Sendak’s: Where the Wild Things Are. I must admit I was also influenced by science fiction and horror movies in my teens. I was also lucky to meet a famous Midwest late-night television horror host named Ron Sweed (The Ghoul) at an event. Read more>>

Tami Jo Urban

As a child (and adult) I spent a lot of time alone, introverted. I have always been drawing. It was never a question of being introduced or exposed to the arts. As soon as I picked up a crayon I never put it back down. I loved and did well in in school. I just knew I was going to be an artist. I received my undergraduate degree in Fine Art on a full academic scholarship. At Wayne State University in Detroit I went to the counselors office for the specific intent of tracking down a career in Medical Illustration. At the time the University of Michigan had an accredited program and the rest is history. In 1999 I received my Master of Fine Arts in Medical & Biological Illustration. Backtracking, at the age of 18 I underwent a tattoo apprenticeship and worked as a tattoo artist throughout and to the present. Read more>>

Sol Bontemps

My ma jokes the minute I came out of the womb, lol. Honestly it was when I saw her drawing her comic “Frogman” about a frog that was struck by lightning that later becomes a superhero that defends his ponds as well as other ponds from evil such as slugs and rouge fungus. I pretty much picked up a pencil afterwards and never stopped. Read more>>

Lauren Gottshall

I have always been musical. I started playing the piano at 3 and began musical theater at 5—my mom likes to say I sang before I could talk. So, I do not have a particular moment when I found out I loved music because I always had. However, the moment I knew I wanted to be a singer was such a core memory. I was eight, watching the American Idol Give Back episode, and Carrie Underwood sang her song “Change” in a big, black beautiful dress. I watched the performance in awe and told my family that one day I was going to be singing on stage in beautiful dresses. Read more>>

Auroura Morgan

As a small child, I fell in love with the concept of becoming an artist and my hands becoming skilled enough to create whatever I desire. I have pursued that all throughout my life and the dream of being a tattoo artist was always present. The idea of being such a skilled artist that people would delight in wearing my work as tattoos, has inspired me since I was about 5 or 6 years old. I had my whole life mapped out, I’d become a great tattoo artist by making lots of people really happy with my art, have my own fancy studio, live in a big city, have a giant pet turtle, you know all the big stuff small children dream of. Read more>>

Genevieve Allen

It wasn’t until I was in my mid thirties when faced with a career crisis, that I decided to try selling my paintings. I’ve always painted and been creative, and I even went to art school, but I never thought it was a viable career path. In retrospect, I realize that is an outdated way of thinking. I should have followed my artistic path a long time ago! Read more>>

Deven Bromme

I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in Hollywood when I was 25 years old. I had been asked to be in a play and I was instantly hooked. I loved the energy of my fellow actors on stage, and was impressed by how multi-faceted they were. Not only could they memorize their lines, but help build a set, too! I learned about the importance of continuity and how pivotal each department is to a production. Read more>>

Giovanni Cristoff

When I was 12 I started filming, directing, writing and editing with my friends. We would make action movies. We had a blast making them and uploading them on You Tube. What started out as fun, became my passion. When I was 14, I called my Uncle Gino Montesinos and told him I wanted to be an Actor. He saw my potential, talent and drive, then tried to talk me out of it. He said the acting profession consists of a lot of rejection. It is hard work in terms of studying my craft ; Canceling my plans because an audition can come up, I probably would not book the role ,after working many hours trying to book it. He expressed that a few thousand people would be auditioning for that role. I told him I was in! Read more>>

Oler Goodlett

As a youth I played many sports either organized or recreational. I enjoyed being athletic as most children do. What I found fascinating about dance was the idea of being athletic while telling a story. Athletes don’t have to display a persona while performing their tasks, they can be subdued, demonstrative or any level in between. In ballet you have to exhaust your self physically while projecting a persona consistent with your character at that moment. It could be joy, sorrow, anger etc. all within the same dance. I found that to be harder than to just be athletic alone. It made me feel like I was accomplishing more than your normal athlete. Read more>>

Samantha Tang

It was a gradual and slow journey of daring to discover more about myself. The first ‘ah ha’ moment came when I returned back to my corporate job after my honeymoon and I felt a heavy weight on my heart as I stared at the 535 unread emails and uninspiring excel spreadsheet and I thought to myself, is this going to be for the rest my life? I knew something had to change, the most exciting thing of my 40 hour work week had to be more than what my colleagues’ cat/dog/baby did on the weekend. My work gave me financial stability, and wonderful colleagues but I was not passionate about my work- it didn’t “Spark Joy” as Marie Kondo would say. Read more>>

Elan Schwartz

I first knew I wanted to Pursue a Creative/Artistic Path when I had been playing a very heavy band called Apathy for around 10 years. During this time I always worked professional career orientated jobs. I put in around 10 years of my life in the engineering and finance field and was laid off two times. At this point I decided it was time to move into music/marketing, promotions and talent buying full time. I was tired of living someone elses dream and I was ready to put time and effort into my own. Read more>>

Jasmine Wallace

I knew I first wanted to pursue teaching when I realized how much I made an impact in the lives of the children around me. I noticed how Elementary children would cling to me. Children enjoyed playing games, and interacting with me at the daycare I was working for at the time. I was also the Youth Dance Instructor and Leader at the church that I attended at the time and noticed how I would be often portrayed as the “example” to those who were watching. When I discovered that teaching wasn’t just a job but a purpose; I changed my Psychology major to Education. I noticed that I wasn’t just playfully interacting with these children; but there were times I would literally provide them with life lessons and get ambushed with tons of mathematical questions (because young children are so amazed that adults know what 50 x 8 is lol). Read more>>

JR Taylor

I remember being 5 Years old and I saw “Rhythm Nation” from Janet Jackson. It unlocked this creative space inside me in that moment. I didn’t know how to express it, so I told my mom “I want to do what those people was doing on the video” She enrolled me in dance classes and I knew it was more. I started creating stories, shows, with my cousins and neighborhood friends. I knew acting and dance was my future. Read more>>

Jonathan Kaplan

In public high school, I excelled at being a huge underachiever, an average student, and hung around with other kids who had a penchant for getting into trouble. In 1967, my mom and dad decided to take me out of the public school system, and they gave me 3 choices: a military school, a Jewish day school (Yeshiva), or a co-educational Quaker boarding school in New York state. Which, they revealed, had already set up an interview the following day. I took the train from Grand Central Station in Manhattan to Poughkeepsie New York and interviewed. I decided that Oakwood School would be the place for me, as military school or a Yeshiva would be totally unacceptable. This decision to go to Oakwood School, a private co-educational boarding school changed my life in many ways. Read more>>

Luis Venegas

At 8 years of age, I started drawing and making stories in my journals and sketchbooks. My parents are from Mexico, they had my sister and I here in Los Ángeles. They worked 2-3 jobs and we rarely saw them. After school, my sister and I would get home and close the windows, lock the doors to make sure strangers / neighbors didn’t see us. We would do our homework and then I would go to the living room while my sister was in her room. I’d draw, listen to music, and sometimes pause a scene from a vhs movie on tv, to then draw it on paper. I started winning a lot of art awards at school. 2nd and 3rd grade, 6th grade, middle school etc. Read more>>

Hannah Duncan

I knew I wanted to do music ever since I was eight years old. I performed at a summer festival I was participating in at the main stage concert everyone attended. I was incredibly nervous to play and didn’t want to at first. My parents knew I liked the violin and encouraged me to still go through with the performance even though the butterflies in my stomach said otherwise. After I performed, I saw the stage lights beaming, heard the roar of the crowd, and the adrenaline rush was all I needed to confirm that performing is what I wanted to do. Read more>>

Terry Hays

Coming from small town Texas, a deeply religious family (my father was a minister) it didn´t take long after high school to figure out I was pretty much a lost soul. In and out of college courses as a freshman and sophomore… none of the courses I signed up for holding my interest and eventually pretty much just became a drop out. I was definitely up to no good and headed in the wrong direction. Realized pretty quickly I needed to call my parents and ask if I could come back home. Of course they said yes…they could tell I was on the edge…said I could stay as long as I wanted but I had to get a job. Read more>>

Frosti Jonsson

For the longest time I have alwas wanted to be involved in music one way or another, write my own musi, collaborate with other artists, producec and what not. However It took a while for me to realise and understand that my contrubution can have value to others and I dont have to do everything for free. Realising that changed everything, there´s a shift in mindset, you add goals to your dreams and you lay down a roadmap to reach those goals. I believe someone sayd that “a goal without a plan is just a wish” and thats absolultey on point. Read more>>

Kiwan Kim

I started tattoo artist when I was 23 years old. I always liked to draw since I was young. I am an artist who has been diagnosed with colorectal cancer. I’m still taking care of myself and working as an artist. As a tattoo artist, I use ink and needles to tattoo human body. I often use mandala, and I designed it by combining mandala and Korean dancheong I am getting a tattoo using dancheong to promote the pretty color of dancheong in Korea I think mandala works pretty when it goes into the knees, elbows, neck, chest, and joints. Read more>>

Marcus Jackson

I knew I needed something different for my life when every 9-5 job I’d had at that point was completed unfulfilling. Read more>>

Kayla Starr

I always wanted to be a singer. I’ve been singing since I could talk. High school was when I realized I could actually make this into a career. Read more>>

Jay Reed

In my early twenties I knew after selling objects I made with my own hands that people liked and that were fun to make. Read more>>

Kalena Bovell

I knew when I was nine years old that music would always be a part of my life. Read more>>

Henryk Ptasiewicz

Formally I went the College route. Initially to be a technical illustrator, a year studying in North Wales with the intention of working for Rolls Royce, but then I was persuaded to be a more Artistic illustrator and had the good fortune to study Graphic Design at St Martins school of Art in London.. After three years I returned to my home town where I found work as a Designer/Sculptor for several fiberglass companies.. in the mid eighties I had the good fortune to meet Robert Lenkiewicz.. He had a profound effect on my Artistic career.. in 1999 I came to the USA. And have been a Freelancer ever since Read more>>

Changa Bruno

I was a self taught artist in which my art was cultivated by my family. My parents seen my passion for the arts at the tender age of 5 years old. As a result, they put me into a specialized program/classes. The program I had the honor of being apart of was the Jacob Javits program for the gifted and talented. I was apart of the Jacob Javits program from kindergarten to the 8th grade. Along my journey as an artist I was exposed to other great artist as well styles of art by teachers. I was encouraged and motivated by teachers as well which raised my confidence and ability dramatically. More importantly, I was influenced by artists such as Basquiat, Keith Haring, Andy Warhol, Jacob Lawrence, African Tribal Art, and Gordon Parks. I do several disciplines of art such drawing, painting, ceramics, sculpture, graphic design, printmaking, fashion design and photography. However, my two disciplines and focus is drawing and photography. What sets me apart is my creativity as an artist while focusing on my community, culture, the urban youth, and social issues. Additionally, these things also gave birth to my clothing line Atum Ra Apparel. Atum Ra uses fashion and style to celebrate black history,culture, and traditions. Read more>>