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.

ANNEBENANNE

Some of my earliest memories as a child, are gazing at my mother in admiration while she got dressed up to head out to church or to social gatherings she was always well groomed poised, perfect make up perfect hair, perfect nails, and I think watching that ignited the love and fire in me for fashion. I created my first fashion piece, which was a dress I sewed for my Barbie doll when I was about seven or eight years old. Read more>>

Ibby Cizmar

Using creativity as a mode of change has always been in my DNA. I am a first generation Eastern European cis-woman – my mother is Slovak and my father is is Hungarian. My father was a refugee and the story I hear growing up, at its core, is connected to arts and activism. My grandfather, Nagyapa, was imprisoned in communist/Russian occupied Hungary where he was a priest. He refused to convert to the government sanctioned Russian Orthodoxy. Read more>>

Tyrone Burston

When I started being a class clown in the 5th grade. I loved the attention and making my classmates laugh. Growing up my mom didn’t have a job, single parent on welfare. One day I was sitting in class and thought to myself, I probably could do whatever I want to do in here, cause we don’t have a house phone. Read more>>

Michelle Fisher

I think I’ve always wanted to be “artsy” but was too afraid to put myself out there and show the things I made, let alone to try and make a profit from it. I never really excelled in any art class or participated in shows. Looking back, I’m guessing it was because it just wasn’t the right art for me. A few years ago I found a paper from elementary school. It was a coloring page, and it had a note written from the teacher that said something about learning to color in the lines, man if I could go back now and tell them “no I’ll color however I want” that would be great. Read more>>

Gabriella Shlyakh

When I was in Elementary School, I used to staple printer paper together, and draw up these little comics to slip into the Reading Nook. Initially it was kind just an experiment to see if anyone would read through them–but eventually the “Cat Gurlz” (yes, very Y2K), gained a small following in class, and kids started to ask for more comics. I realized that you could bring joy with something as small and personal as stories, and something kind of clicked inside me after that. Read more>>

Skip Reeves

From birth leading up to age 13 I came to realized within myself that I had a strong natural inclination towards music. My Mother told me several times that while in her womb, whenever she was near music I would start to move inside of her. Of course she was very musical herself playing the both the piano and the trumpet. At 7 years old I actually started playing the accordion and eventually winning 1st place in a contest. At age 9 my Mother started giving me piano lessons, but it became apparent playing with two hands was going to be a challenge me so discouragement set in and I quit the lessons. Read more>>

PAIGE

I’ve known I wanted to be an Artist since I was as young as I can remember. One of my earliest memories is me getting a microphone and speaker for Christmas and performing for all my family on it. I was in choir all of middle school and high school and I absolutely loved practicing and singing on stage for everyone! Read more>>

Sheniell Granato

I have loved art and creating for as long as I can remember. My grandmother and father were both very artistic people. Some of my earliest memories were of my father meticulously drawing up house blueprints for his job at the kitchen table late into the night. I gravitated toward creative expression throughout my childhood, but it wasn’t until middle and high school that I really started to hone in on my drawing and painting skills. I did not see pursuing a career in art as something that was feasible in my college years, rather I chose to pursue degrees in business and nursing as they seemed more practical. Read more>>

Angel Alvarez

From my earliest memories, I’ve always identified as an artist. As a child, my dream was to become a Disney animator, and later, a comic strip cartoonist. In high school, I attended Design and Architecture Senior High, a specialized art magnet school in South Florida. Upon graduating, my desire to attend art school lingered, yet fear and self-doubt held me back. Instead, I found myself at Florida International University pursuing an undergraduate degree. Read more>>

Carrie Garrison

I have always been making things- for as long as I can remember. I know it sounds weird to non-artists (artists will get it), but it is an innate part of me, I’ve always been this way from the time I was old enough to hold up a crayon. Some of my earliest memories are coloring and drawing. I was very much a black sheep, none of my family had this same attraction to creating and art as I did. Read more>>

Maedeh Ojaghloo

My name is Maedeh, and I hail from Iran. I embarked on my journey in writing when I was just 9 years old. Art has been a passion of mine since childhood, yet due to the prevailing perception in my upbringing environment that art could not be a primary pursuit, I initially pursued it as a hobby. It wasn’t until I turned 19 that I began to engage in social activities while still pursuing a career in engineering. Read more>>

WAYLON HANEL

We unexpectedly and tragically lost my brother, my only sibling, in early 2021 from complications from an automobile accident. I was just starting out my career at the time and my brother was my biggest supporter. He attended all of my gigs, he carried my gear and set it all up for me, and he had music cued up to play in the background when I took a set break. He really loved being a part of my music; that was his way of being a part of my journey. Read more>>

Barbara Kimmel

When my youngest child left for college, I began exploring activities at a nearby community center. By chance, I stumbled into a memoir class – and that’s where I discovered my creative voice. Read more>>

David Marion

I was drawn to art at a very young age. My story may sound like the typical child artist narrative but my affection for cartoons and comic books really aided my desire to pursue art. I vividly remember creating comic books and going around my neighborhood and selling them for a dollar. My sister even employed me to draw cartoons on her friends jeans back in the early 90’s during the “TLC” era. I think what really opened my eyes was when a news crew came to my school and interviewed me when I was in the 2nd grade. Read more>>

Christina Chang

My artistic journey was sparked at the age of 13. I was at my great uncle’s Manhattan apartment where my artistic aspirations took root. Studying his fashion illustrations, crafted during his time at Vesper George Art School in Boston, ignited a spark within me. My uncle who was known as “Del” was a fashion designer with four decades of experience, who became my inspiration to pursue art professionally. Growing up in an environment steeped in creativity further solidified my path. Read more>>

Megan Dupuy

Thank you so much for reaching out with this question – your timing is prescient. I recently lost someone who was a mentor and supporter of my work. Read more>>

Maria Deely

I had two dreams growing up. One was to become the first female quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the other was to be an artist. I am living out my dreams at least one of my dreams. My first art experience was drawing on the back of my Moms work papers. I loved to draw my family or different experiences when I was really little. Read more>>

Exceptional Failures

Corey Distler (Guitar/Vox/Harmonica): Well I took classical piano lessons when I was 7, but found it pretty boring. Then I discovered guitar and rock n’ roll, and that was it. I joined my first band at 11 and songwriting has been my main purpose in life ever since. For better or worse… Read more>>

Jill Bauman

In my bio I write: When I was a very young child, I had been given a “magic stick.” I found that I could make marks on things with this crayon. I used this “magic stick” to write on paper, walls, floors or any surface that I could find, even though my parents didn’t always appreciate where I chose to create my murals. Soon, I began to discover that I could control this tool. In time, the pencil joined the crayons. The smell of crayons still brings back those first moments of discovery. It was then that I knew I was an artist. Read more>>

Prarthana Joshi

I grew up in India, surrounded by a family deeply immersed in a love for music and art. My great grandfather, a Hindu preacher, journeyed from one small village to another, weaving tales of morality and introspection. As a child, I yearned to sing like my family, but fate had dealt me a different hand—I lacked a single musical bone, a reality that continues to tug at my heartstrings. Read more>>

Karen Budan

I have had a lifelong desire to express myself through art beginning with paint by number kits at a very early age, which quickly moved outside the lines established by others to create my own compositions. Although circumstances led me to pursue a very successful 38 year career in education in roles from classroom teacher, administrator and ultimately to the National Director for Professional Development for an educational software company. Read more>>

Garry Taylor II

I have to some extent always wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path ever since I was a child. Growing up in a family business I was sat in front of the TV most days when my mom dropped me off at my grandparents house who ran an air conditioning business and would just watch Nickelodeon, The Disney channel and Cartoon Network. I would be drawing and trying to figure out how to make my character move and speak like those in front of me. Read more>>

Don Moors

In High School when I was already playing music. My friends would work in grocery stores and park cars, etc. after school every day. I would play weddings and parties on weekends, have fun, meet girls, etc. A little voice went off in my head that said “This is better than getting a job!” and I never did… Read more>>

Lafayette Koo

As a child I’ve always had an eye for music and arts. Always took creative arts in school. Music, theatre and painting. I taught myself piano at a young age while attending church. Well not exactly. I would skip service and hide in the music room. Which had a grand piano. Didn’t really agree with what the preacher was saying so I looked for other things to pass the time. I use music as a therapy a lot of the time and to escape, not so much from reality but just from the world. At least this one. Well… sometimes reality. All I am is what I’m going after. And the best way for me to release everything inside is with a 61 spread. Read more>>

Kacey Herlihy

When I was taught to knit and crochet, my grandma and I would improvise all of our projects. When I was in 7th grade I crocheted myself a pair of scrappy mittens, five different colors and totally mismatched. I nervously wore them to school for the first time and a bunch of friends said they wanted me to make them a pair! I offered to teach them how to make their own instead, and that was when I realized I wanted to create things and show people how to make them. Read more>>

Julie Woodard

It’s tricky to pinpoint an exact moment. I don’t think I knew for a long time, yet art kept creeping into my life. When I was about 7 years old, my uncle saw my artistic skills, and he saved and framed a forest scene that I drew. I didn’t remember writing this paper in high school, but it was about me selling my paintings so that I could buy a horse ( I was also horse crazy as well).

Rogerio Peixoto

From a very early age I talent and a passion for drawing and painting,so as a child I wanted to become a visual artist. At age twelve, however, during my first guitar lesson, as soon as I coherently played the first musical phrase I was taught, it was as if the sky had opened up and I had found exactly what I was supposed to do for the rest of my life. I was too young to pursue it, but I already knew: that was it. Read more>>

Wilfred La Salle

My journey into filmmaking began with a lifelong love for movies. The spark for my first film, “Hilo,” ignited unexpectedly in 2019 during a gym session. A vision of my character in a red leather jacket pushed me to leave, and within two days, I had the script ready. With no prior film experience and having never attended any fancy film school, I enlisted friends, forming a makeshift cast. A small production company brought my vision to life over two intense days of shooting, marking the start of the Hilo trilogy. The rest was history, and La Salle Productions Inc. was born. Read more>>

Sheila Darcey

Roughly seven years ago, while experiencing a personal crisis of faith, I reached out to a therapist to tackle my crippling fear of flying. Seeking a remedy, my therapist recommended I return to sketching as a meditative escape, a means to relieve anxiety and reconnect with my inner-child and an unburdened, unbridled sense of joy. Read more>>

Chelsea Baranski

It might sound cliche, but I have always known that I’ve wanted to pursue art as a creative path since I was a little girl. I would often find myself creating – from drawing what I saw around me to creating Lego buildings with my little brother. Art has been a place I find refuge and it has helped me discover who I am. Read more>>

Myles Carter

Initially I’ve been making music for awhile now I started recording when I was 14 but I didn’t start taking my career seriously til this year honestly. I would only record in the studio than I got opportunity to do a show in Peoria,IL to show case my talent and I fell in love with this life even harder ever since so I knew I had get serious. Read more>>

Heather Taylor

I’ve always loved creating as a child. I would play with clay, paint, draw, and even sew. Thru the years and the endless support of my family and friends I decided my senior year of high Read more>>