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.

Romi Myers

My earliest memories of wanting to pursue a creative/artistic path occurred during my early childhood. I was maybe 4 or 5 years old…? I was obsessed with creating art, but also designing vehicles, planes, furniture, accessories, houses, etc. As I grew older, it morphed into all things art and design related. Read more>>

David Bright

I was in college on an engineering scholarship, after turning down a full scholarship in creative writing. In the middle of the degree, I read famous screenwriter William Goldman’s tome, “Adventures in the Screen Trade,” which included the entire script to “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” Read more>>

Daniel Johnson-Brewer

When I first started learning Saxophone in Fifth grade, it started out as something that I wanted to do for fun throughout middle and high school. However by the time I was in Seventh grade, I started to realize that music was something I really loved doing and found myself investing a lot of time into. About this time, I was also introduced to the Jazz Academy ran by the Jazz Arts Group of Columbus. Read more>>

Sarai Middleton

After parting ways with the retailer I worked at for 12 years, I decided it was time to pursue my passion to be a professional visual artist more aggressively than I ever had before. It was not an easy transition. The phrase “starving artist” could explain my life post ending my career with my former job. As I maneuvered my way through trial and error these last 3 years, I can proudly say that I’ve unlocked a new level of artistry. Read more>>

Minh Tuan Nguyen

Deep down I knew as a child growing up I wanted to pursue the arts however it wasn’t until my third year studying at the university level, that it dawned on me that I wanted to get into the film and entertainment business, after having several conversations with my close friends that they helped me realize what I really wanted to do. In this regard I wanted to give a big thanks to my friend Brian. Read more>>

Sidy Maiga

Growing up in Mali, West Africa, I watched how music brought joy to people’s lives and how it brought people together. I decided that is something I wanted to do professionally to be a part of bettering the community through music. Read more>>

Alexander Lugo

When I was 4 years old, I picked up a comic book while waiting for a hair cut at the local barber shop. The cover was red and very colorful, It featured characters whose names I recognized, but they were different: Robin, the Flash, and Green Lantern. After reading the book from cover to cover, and then re-reading it, I realized that these heroes were not the same ones that I would watch on the Superfriends on Saturday morning, but their alternate Earth counterparts from the Golden Age of comics. Read more>>

Jennifer Pierro

My family moved from Putnam County NY to Brooklyn NY when I had just turned 16 years old. It was a real culture shock at the time and life changing. I had to leave my friends I grew up with to start a new life in a big city I knew nothing about other than the stories from my Mom who grew up in Brooklyn or from what I watched on TV or in films. Read more>>

Emilie Pierre-Paul

I’ve always known I was destined to be an actress. At five years old, I was reciting lines from my favorite television shows. Since I was a child, I had a strong belief in infinite possibility. I have always had a keen intuition. I was aware that there was more to life than what meets the eye. At 14, I made a decision. Read more>>

Marianna Asimakopoulou

Life has always gone hand in hand with art for me. I am very grateful to have grown up in a household where, despite my home country, Greece’s, disregard for arts education, my siblings and I were always encouraged and supported in our creative endeavors. We were taught to appreciate and experiment with as many crafts and disciplines as possible. Read more>>

Onedeep Outlaw

When I was around 10 I saw Master P I’m Bout it movie change my life. I grew in a neighborhood that mirrored parts of that movie and when I seen a rapper tell his story thru tv and film I knew that’s what I wanted to do. Read more>>

Ashley Rosenwinkel

I have always been an artist. When I was little, if I wasnt reading, I was drawing or painting something. I loved creating elaborate doll houses out of cardboard boxes, & making clothes for my barbies out of whatever fabric scraps I could get my hands on. When I got to high-school I took every art class I could, and I even got to dabble in pottery. I still have some of those pieces hanging around. Read more>>

Raquel Cohen

I have known I wanted to pursue a career in the arts from a very young age. Art is my passion, and to not pursue it really isn’t an option for me. The first time my work was ever published was a really validating experience for me, and I realized that I could make a career out of doing makeup. Not just due to technical skill, but also that I can be a valuable part of creative team, and help bring a vision or concept to life. Read more>>

Manuel Garrido-Rodriguez

I discovered my passion for music at the age of 14. At that time, I developed a profound connection with American music from the 70s and 90s, which served as a profound source of inspiration. Despite this early realization, I consistently felt misunderstood and never seriously considered pursuing music professionally. Read more>>

Terry Lamar (Sk8luv33)

I believe that journey started when my mom discovering me drawing cartoons on random pieces of school paper. From there, she worked with the nearest school seeking out a program which for art students. At the time, the school had a program funded by warner brothers (WB). I was excited about going to the program but lately discovered my talents were not into the animation sector. Read more>>

Olivia Rose

I first knew I wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path when I was really little. Two crucial things happened: my mom put me in piano lessons when I was 4 (after I begged her for them), and I discovered Taylor Swift when I was 5. I would sing and learn to play her songs, and then I started writing my own songs as well. Read more>>

Owen Hisle

As a little boy since the 70’s, I always knew I wanted to be an actor some day (not knowing then that Directing & Voice-Overs would be my actual calling) but, I also knew I wanted to make the Army my first stop. In 1984 at 24 I joined the United States Army. Because it was known by many of my Military NCO’s & Officers that I wanted to pursue an acting career, I had the awesome opportunity to work OJT outside my regular assigned MOS-11Mike-(Infantry 3RD ID), as a movie photographer, film camera operator and movie director for various military missions and as an assistant director to the director for plays the military put on for soldiers (that was the best 6 months experience I had). Read more>>

Marissa Childers

I have always been a fairly creative person, however growing up I never saw it as something I could do professionally. It always seemed like more of an outlet. So, when I started college, I naturally gravitated towards something that could “make me money”. I had strong math and analytical skills, so I chose to major in accounting. Read more>>

Ernest Brown III

The first time I knew that I wanted to be an artist was when I heard a song at the age of five by D’Angelo entitled “Brown Sugar”, From that moment on I was captivated with learning more about music and investing in my craft. Read more>>

Heather Domer

It was Fall of 2016 after a year of doing donation based sessions for fun and experience, I had a co-worker ask me to capture her wedding. At that time I was scared and told her that I have never done a wedding before. She put her trust in me and I captured her special day – I fell in love with weddings! It was then and there that I decided I wanted to start a business and capture primarily weddings and strive for a full time professional career as a wedding photographer. Read more>>

Valincy-Jean Patelli

I decided to be a full-time artist ten years ago with a recipe I call desire and risk. I grew up in an artistic family where creative expression was a love language in my home and, at times, felt as if it was my birthright. Read more>>

Katty Smith

It only took me sixty-five years to recognize that I was an artistic person waiting for the aha moment. The signals were there growing up in the small town of Halifax, Virginia, such as always liking to color, draw on the blackboard at school and draw all the first ladies for my older sisters school report. However, there was no exposure to art and I went to my first art gallery when I went away to college. Read more>>

Rena Alraee

For as long as I can remember, I’ve known that I needed to have a creative career in order to be fulfilled. I never really dreamt of being a doctor or an astronaut like most children. I always knew that I had so much to offer creatively. While other kids my age were playing sports or joining school clubs, I was taking acting classes. My passions are a big part of who I am. They all get to play a role in my business with photography. Running my business allows me to get a bit closer to my dreams each day! Read more>>

Alexander Bohnet

I first wanted to pursue contemporary Christian music because I saw how dark the music industry was and little later after that I came out of new age spirituality because I was having terrible health issues and demonic oppression. I found pastor and I basically had a real life experience of what you would see in an exorcism movie and then I saw God and Devil are real. I decide to go on God’s team and am using my talents for Him. Read more>>

Jingyu Li

From a young age, I found myself less engaged in typical childhood social activities and more captivated by the world of comic books, animated movies, and fantasy tales. These weren’t merely sources of entertainment; they were integral to my childhood, nurturing a deep-seated love for art and shaping my career aspirations. Growing up in this imaginative environment, I learned to see the world differently and discovered my unique place within it. Read more>>

W.D. Kilpack III

I’ve always been a storyteller. Before I could write, I would draw my stories. I remember drawing the starship Enterprise and the Battlestar Galactica, and others, and they would have epic battles, firing on each other. I would draw in the weapon blasts, then the explosions, then erase out the parts of the ships that were destroyed. Read more>>

Meghna Shourie

Initially in my days of undergrad, I had no idea what I wanted to pursue. I had moments where I thought “Oh maybe I should be a Veterinarian because I love dogs.” Of course knowing that loving just dogs isn’t enough to pursue a path like that. I ended up majoring in Computer Science (mainly to fulfill the south asian norm) where I still felt stuck as to what I was passionate about. Read more>>

Gia Nold

I had been in the art business for over 25 years but more as an educator artist. I taught art and language arts in Denver Public School for 25 years. I decided to open up my art studio and sell my art since 2021. Read more>>

Samantha Tieger

From ages 14-18, my friends and I would see artists like Brandi Carlile, Ingrid Michaelson, Joshua Radin, and A Fine Frenzy at venues around Cincinnati as often as we could, and I was mesmerized. We even saw 16-year-old Taylor Swift play a show at Walmart in Lexington. The energy of live music captivated me, and I knew that being a singer-songwriter was what I wanted to do. Read more>>

Kianny Antigua

When I took a Spanish class (while pursuing an Associate’s Degree in Business Administration at LaGuardia Community College) and after reading the most amazing short stories I had ever read by writers from the BOOM–Gabriel García Márquez, Elena Poniatowska, Rosario Castellanos, Alfredo Bryce Echenique, Julio Cortázar, etc.–we read what I considered a terrible story, compared to what we had “experienced.” I expressed my disappointment and disillution to the professor and her reply was, “If you don’t like it, write your own.” And so I did, and showed to her. Read more>>

Chynna Williams

I didn’t realize that I wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path until later in life. I studied abroad in Italy during my undergraduate program at California State University, Chico, and fell in love with the city and country. The beauty of the architecture and deep history was very inspiring and it made me want to craft rich historical worlds of my own. It was during my semester abroad that I began writing and creating fantasy stories inspired by the real world but also when I began telling my own adventures and stories. Read more>>

MaSean Williams

I would say when I was around the age of 13. My mom was a big fan of Motown, so she’d play some Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder around the house. I would sit and humm along to the lyrics, eventually getting enough nerve to hold a note with Smokey Read more>>

Jay Watts

In my heart, I’ve always been drawn to the arts in general. I used to use a lot of opportunities to make noise and create something new out of something old. My first true pursuit of making music began as I was headed for college. I always expected to go to college, but I had no idea for what. While looking through brochures, I found MTSU’s RIM program and I was sold on engineering! Read more>>

Christine Solomon

When I was a little girl, I used to imitate and sing the songs of two of my favorite Egyptian actresses, Sherihan and Feyrouz who were performing in musicals. I had no idea at the time that those people were actors, much less that this was a career. All I knew was that I wanted to look and feel just like the folks I liked to watch in movies and on TV. Read more>>

Sandra O’Connell

I’ve always had a creative vein running through me. I still remember some of the worlds I created in my head as a little girl. I was perfectly happy playing by myself, with my imagination. Read more>>