We asked some insanely talented artists, creatives and makers to tell us about when they know they were going to pursue a creative career.

Changyu Zou

The idea of being a freelance illustrator was first born when I was in college. I studied visual communication design in college and realized that I wasn’t cut out to be a graphic designer. Because I seem to be more interested in images than rational design rules. I enjoy the process of emotional thinking and uncertainty when drawing. I think drawing can bring a lot of fun to life, and it gives me a sense of accomplishment when my drawings are published in publications. So when I was in graduate school, I started to study illustration and began my path of art creation. Read more>>

Megan Sullivan

When I was a freshman in high school, my choir teacher, Mr. Wesp, asked if I had ever considered getting a degree in music. With him having over 50 years of experience in the music industry, I took this as the highest compliment! With this nudge, I was inspired to bring up the idea to my private violin teacher, Dorothy Han. She was immediately supportive, but was also realistic about what a career in music might look like. This support and encouragement from my teachers is what inspired the confidence in me to try. With that, I focused all of my high school extra-curricular energy on music, which eventually led to my acceptance into the conservatory of music at Baldwin Wallace. Read more>>

Sophie Coyote

Since I was young, I’ve had the desire to write and sing songs. I remember sitting at the edge of my brother’s bed humming melodies until he fell asleep at bedtime. We lived in an old farmhouse on seven acres of land. Voices carried in the big, open house. I was a considerably shy, quiet kid. And was embarrassed by this thing I enjoyed doing. If I heard my family coming up the stairs anytime I was singing, I would immediately stop. The want was there, but the confidence was nowhere to be found. Read more>>

Jim Infantino

My father worked at an advertising agency, but was a really good illustrator. He didn’t want to take the risk of pursuing a creative life and I could tell it bothered him. He got to do lots of cool creative things for a variety of campaigns, but he still had the pull of something more artistic. I felt I should try and make a go at a creative life from watching his struggle with that. My grandfather had the same problem. He was a saxophonist and violinist but gave it up when he had kids. My uncle drew comic books for a living. My mom was a brilliant artist, both musically, and as an illustrator but did neither professionally. I figured that life is short, and it was worth the risk. Read more>>

Brittany Noriega

I have known I would (and have been stubbornly determined to) be a creative professional since I was very young. During my high school and college years I excelled in all things art related. The arts were the only thing that made absolute sense to me.. I was told repeatedly by teachers, family, and professionals that a career in the arts was either a bad choice or a very difficult one. That being an artist wasn’t a real job. Because of this “advice”, I became determined to do just that. Read more>>

Katie Hunt

I have always been an artistic person, but never really considered art/design as a career path until midway through college. Read more>>

Sam Genualdi

Raised by a professional violinist and a classical music radio producer, it’s safe to say that I was surrounded by and steeped in music from the beginning. Moreover, having grown up in Evanston, IL, all the culture and music that the city of Chicago has to offer was at my fingertips. This abundance of music in my life certainly cultivated a love of music in me, as well as fertile ground to develop my skills, but simultaneously it also led me to take music for granted in my life. Read more>>

Giselle Rodriguez

Well it all really began when I was a little kid and largely attributed to my parents. My father is an artist. He went to school for art and started a business designing and constructing Caribbean carnival costumes. Read more>>

Ladies In Full Effect

Ladies In Full Effect began in 2005 as a girls youth empowerment group. With all of the exceptional young ladies we mentored, ages 11-18, we began doing unique outreach initiatives designed to give back to our community in fun and interactive ways using the special talents of each of the girls. We went all around the city doing skits, spoken word, singing, dancing, rapping, and much more. Read more>>

Brandon Vallean

When I was a kid, I was heavily influenced by comic books, anime, Star Wars, Harry Potter, DC and Marvel. That carried me all the way to 2010 when I started getting into fashion. My connection to fashion predates me because my mother is a retail buyer. I was introduced to clothing since I was a kid; watching her create fashion assortments by season. Why I’m into fashion is because of Ye, formally known as Kanye West. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) changed my whole world at that time. Watching the album rollout with the ‘Runaway’ movie theater screenings and Ye’s style really did something to me to the point it all clicked: I want to do clothes and be a stand up fashionable guy. Read more>>

GENUWINE Beauty

I started professionally at 21 my first ever music showcase in Virginia. I started recording at 17. only i knew then i wanted to see what the music business really had to offer. at the time it was only limited clubs that allows 18+ so i waited till i was 21 to really hit the music scene. my music manger at the time put me thru the ring of fire. My first performance I got booed off the stage. my music manager didn’t really prepare me for my first showcase. Read more>>

Mierra Nelson

Well before doing illustrations I was doing little crafts. I use to make these cute pixel art made from beads for my friends and whatnot. I think it was the day I made my first sale is what got me wanting to do it professionally. I was at my friends college cafeteria and I brought my crafts with me to give away to people because I had so many. People suggested I should sell them instead and as they took my pixel art out my bag they spread it across the table. Many people came in and bought one and it was the joy I saw on their face that made me want to take it more seriously. Read more>>

Quintin Neal

Growing up I always created art and drawings as a child. Art is my creative outlet that allows me freedom to be who I am. My favorite subject in school was art and anything creative. If there was a art club, I was in it and became the art club president. Read more>>

Nora Bruhn

I have woven in an out of ‘wanting to be an artist’ my whole life. I remember being around 5-years-old and writing on a piece of paper ‘I want to be an artist when I grow up’. I don’t particularly remember loving art at that age, moreso, I think it probably just sounded fun. However, there was a spark in me at a young age that was drawn towards the unconventional. Read more>>

Cameron Cunningham

I was at an art show where I seen this canvas that I really liked and thought to myself that I can do this. I can paint this, and the very next day I went to target and bought a pencil and sketch book. I did a sketch for a friend that paid me $20 bucks and I decided then I wanted to make income off my creativity with a paint brush and I’ve been creating everyday since. I quit my job in st. Louis in 2017 and moved to Atlanta Ga where I sold my first canvas. Read more>>

Krystle & Vanessa Forst & Trelford

I had been working for the same company for 12 years, while having many creative side hustles. One side gig was doing product and brand photography for other local business owners and creatives. I always knew I would tap into something I was really into once the timing was right. Once my family and I moved to a home with more space, I was really able to expand my creativity. I was a mom of two young children, exhausted and really needing to reconnect with my artistic side again. Read more>>

Angelica Trygar

I have always wanted to pursue a creative lifestyle. It was when my mom passed that I realized that being on set, pursuing creative opportunities, growing as an artist, and pursuing a creative lifestyle still was going to keep me going. I always say that I didn’t realize it was such a passion until I realized going after my creative dreams was what I wanted to continue to live for. When my mother passed, many people told me to get a job with benefits and a 401k. Something about that didn’t sit right with me. Read more>>

Stefanie Röder

I always have been creative and into art and crafts. It wasn’t until my mom’s cat, Muffin, was diagnosed with FIP that I started making my own cat toys. Read more>>

Alexis Graham

I’ve always been unique in my own way. Growing up, I was active. I played soccer and basketball and as a hobby I drew from time to time. Never really took drawing to seriously as basketball became my main interest going into High School to eventually doing AAU ( Amateur Athletic Union). Starting in middle school everyone thought I did cheerleading because of the way I carried myself and would dress. I was girlie but with a splash of toughness or I would just say male tendencies. Everyone would be so surprised I played aggressive sports and would clown me saying” Are good?” Especially with basketball. Read more>>

Paul Schloss

I knew I wanted to pursue a creative path my freshmen year of high school. I was playing in multiple bands and doing shows almost every weekend. It simply made sense to me. I would write lyrics in class, constantly tap my pencils like they were drumsticks, and even practice double bass sitting at my desk, observing which floor is which class sounded cooler. Drums was my main instrument then, but I was starting to sing a lot more, learn how to scream, and learn piano. What confirmed this was the path I wanted to pursue was the feeling I got every time I got on stage. There’s nothing like it, even today. Read more>>

Iz Scheerer

I think I’ve always known that I wanted to have a career in the arts professionally. I’ve always been very creative, and I’ve always wanted to express myself through art. I don’t think there’s ever been a time in my life that I wanted to have an “ordinary” job, and that’s not to say those jobs don’t matter or aren’t of value, but I just could never see myself doing them. Everything I do—The way in which I think, process things, see the world, dream—They all relate to being an artist, so it just makes sense for me to do that full-time. It’s always been a very natural thought for me, honestly. Read more>>

Jordan Sundberg

I had been illustrating for about 7 years, but it wasn’t until the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 that the first spark of wanting to make picture books appeared inside of me. Our family was tuning into daily to Mac Barnett’s Book Club picture book readings, I was participating in illustrator, Carson Ellis’ quarantine art prompts, I was realizing my degree in writing might not have been a mistake, and all of my many years of loving picture books (even before we had kids) was somehow speaking to me clearly: I love illustration because I love story and I love the intertwined and miraculous magic that illustration and story can make together. Those months were a clear invitation into the next part of my working path. Read more>>

Kyla Ugwu

I am originally conducted clinical, application and basic research for the past eight years in the realm of Biochemistry, but a year ago God set me on a very different path. I have always been very big in my faith, and I was recently directed toward working in entertainment. There is something I have to say that has been very long silenced and working in entertainment has given me an opportunity and platform to practice speaking my truth and using my voice. I first knew that I wanted to pursue my creative/artistic path professionally after I did it for a few months. I began to realize that my creative talents were really avenues I wanted to cultivate and share with others. Read more>>

Jasmine Friday

dancing in the church, dancing with friends for fun, and even dancing in front of the TV while at home, I have always been into entertainment. I met my dance instructor while attending church one Sunday with my mom. She took me in and the rest was history. I began to perform in front of large congregations and soon after, performing at local community events around the Jackson Ms. Metro area. At that time, I knew that performing arts was going to be my thing. I was always an active child, not only was I into dancing, but I also played the piano while attending a performing arts school, which kept me extremely busy. Read more>>

Marcus Donald

Well first and foremost I always kept God first I wouldn’t be where I’m at now if it wasn’t for him that’s the first priority. My backstory is that in the year 2019 I had a few ideas coming to mind and around the month of July around my birthday I did my first photo shoot and that’s when the idea came I wanted to be a model. I started to get into some modeling activities by doing shoots and fashion shows and then I wanted to go even further and got into some acting and I have got booked for tv shows and movies I would travel to Atlanta all the time for opportunities and I would definitely thank my supervisor that I work with at the hospital his name is Roger Krebs and he has been looking out for me and letting me go along on this journey and ever since I’ve got to do acting I met great people on set and even famous actors we all got to work with and it has been the greatest experience and I love the work that I’ve been doing and I’ll continue to keep doing. Read more>>

Xavier Julius

The moment I first knew I wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally was after I hosted my very first fashion show. During that time the hit show “My Sweet 16” was out and of course like anyone else I was inspired and wanted to have one of my own! So, I planned a fashion show THEMED birthday party however to my surprise the way I put everything together and the way the public perceived the show they thought it was an actual fashion show. The event was a phenomenal turnout considering I had limited resources and assistance. Read more>>

Danger Aurora

I have always been creative and curious about the potential of becoming an entertainer full time. I started performing at the early age of 5. It’s just first nature. I really only made the concrete decision to give this a real go about 2 years ago. Enough was enough. I despised my retail job as a supervisor at the time so, I took a chance on myself. One day, I decided to never clock back in from break. I quit my 9-5 and headed to the studio immediately! Making that conscious choice totally shifted my work, my attitude, and my career! Performing is apart of my purpose. Read more>>

KymBerli Dee

I knew at an early age that I wanted to be an entertainer. I think around the age of 7-8 years old, my cousin and I would put on skits for the family, at the holiday gatherings. And seeing my family laugh gave me such a high! I was addicted to that feeling ever since and I never turned back. Read more>>

Olivia Stober

Deciding to pursue a creative path was sort of a slow burn for me. It wasn’t something that I set out to do when I started creating art, but something that slowly revealed itself as the most desirable path. I’ve had a lot of jobs that run the gamut – from the coffee industry to teaching yoga, from the nonprofit sector to social media marketing – and nothing really stuck. Even as a small kid, I never could relate to the feeling of having a “dream job”. Read more>>

Adam Moorman

I grew up in a small town in Indiana where not many kids were super into a creative lifestyle. Thankfully, my parents were both artistic and appreciated the arts deeply. My older brother was an actor so I grew up watching him perform on a stage. Read more>>

Shakara Monique

I come from a musical family. My dad is a musician and my mom is a vocalist. All of my sisters sing as well. When I was a kid all I knew was music and I wanted to be a singer. I was in choir and band in high school, I also sang in choirs and praise teams in every church I was a member of. Read more>>

Hillary Howorth

I knew from a very young age that I wanted to do something creative and within the arts. I can remember trying to consciously skew the career tests we would take in middle school to ensure it would say I was meant for the Arts and Humanities career cluster! I grew up as a dancer traveling the country and spending summers in LA to learn from the best teachers and choreographers. I even attended a fine arts high school part time for ballet. Read more>>

Anthony Jacques

My first experience with electronic music was “Benny Benassi & Global DeeJays – San Francisco”. I still remember the feeling I got from listening to that song. It was a combination of excitement, wonder, and nearly anxiety. I needed more of whatever this sound was. That’s when the bug started to bite. Fast forward to EDC Los Angeles, 2010. I was big into Trance and Electro. I had the opportunity to see Above&Beyond, Armin Van Buuren, and Benny B. I was HOOKED. The sound, the lights, the bass vibrating my spine. Read more>>

Réjane Pratelli

I became an artist by accident, both figuratively and literally. I was bookish and annoyingly curious as a child, and the constant search for answers led me to science and a career as an academic researcher. Lab life took me all over the world and I enjoyed the discovery of new cultures as much as my scientific explorations. However, every small success came with higher expectations, additional pressure and increasingly less personal life. Read more>>

Jessey Jansen

I was in 7th grade when my art teacher presented all the students with a 12×12-inch copper plate. He explained to us that as soon as we pressed into the plate the lines would be permanent, so we were to give thought to what we wanted to create before starting. I loved it, all the students started with the same tools and resources, so I pressed my lines into the surface with no worries if they were right or wrong, just instinctively assured I was creating a big picture. Read more>>

Boyd Smith

After I completed my undergrad studies, I was asked to help a friend run their art gallery in our hometown. We continued working together for almost two years. From there, the owner decided to pursue another entrepreneurial opportunity that left me in complete control of the gallery space. Moving forward, I explore multiple ideas with room spaces and people’s reactions to sudden changes in colors and sounds. Read more>>

Kiana Rempfer

The thought started in 2017 when I was working at a cheerleading and dance gym and they told us they were closing the gym next season. I was devastated and wanted to stay connected to my passion. I didn’t get an opportunity to move in to the next gym like everyone else did so I kind of had to forge my own path. I started putting myself out there as a dance instructor and a dancer being that I have been dancing since I was seven years old; and I got my first client a year later. I was so happy and started to get great reviews and now 5 years later I’m one of the top dance instructors and dancers viewed and recommended in my area. Read more>>

Ashley Kaee

I knew that I wanted to to pursue a creative artistic career because it naturally came to me as a child. As a kid I was always singing and always creative. So becoming an actual singer in tattoo artist those were my dream jobs as a child. Read more>>

Kate Waddell

During my first painting class my junior year of college, I immediately fell in love with color. My painting style was noticeably different compared to my classmates & my professor at the time really encouraged me to continue on with painting. Read more>>

Whitney Sarjeant

Being artsy / creative has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember. I love making my own birthday gifts / cards for friends and family, scrapbooking, making jewelry, and I always dreamed of doing cute little art projects with my own kid one day. Now here I am with a 4 year old son who is my heart beat and the name behind my business, The Sonshine Shop! I’ve been a stay at home mom since he was born and I’ll forever be grateful of all that precious time together, but now that he’s in preschool and I have extra time, I knew it was time to turn my hobby into a small biz. Read more>>

Connie Chau

Like many kids other there, I liked drawing when I was small. I enjoyed it and never stopped doing it, but I had never thought of making it my profession. No one back then mentioned the job of an artist. In fact, no one around me knew what artists were and what they did. So I did not even think of joining the creative industry at all. My dream career was always teacher, chef or police. However, something happened in my life that changed my mind and led me to the way I am. Read more>>

Harrison Shook

The dream of one day being a filmmaker came to me when I was early in high school and stumbled across Youtube video essays and Edgar Wright movies – but dreams are a peculiar thing, and at some point you wake up, and usually you forget them forever. But sometimes, if you’re very, very lucky, you’ll stumble across an image or a word or idea in your waking life that jogs the memory of an old, forgotten dream. Read more>>

Julianne Thomas

I knew I wanted to be in the creative world from a very young age. I remember always taking those personality and career tests throughout school and I always got creative based results. A lot of my inspiration and back story comes from fine arts the fashion industry. Before getting into makeup I wanted to pursue a career as a fashion stylist/creative director. There’s nothing I love more than designing and putting together a complete look. I have also been a part of the arts (I.e drawing, painting) since I was a kid. I went from fun flower coloring books to taking advanced art classes throughout high school and little through college. Read more>>

Adam Finkelston

I think I decided I wanted to be an art teacher in about 5th grade. My mom was a teacher, I loved art class, and I had an amazing art teacher named Vicky Scanlon, who I just thought was the coolest person I knew. Her class was so fun. I already loved art class, but I remember thinking during one of her classes in 5th grade that I would like to have her job. Read more>>

Jahmeir Reed

Honestly, I’ve always known I wanted to pursue a creative path, but I didn’t commit until the summer of 2021! My first “artistic” step was learning the art of dance. Before, I was always the quiet kid that sat in the back of the classroom and stayed to himself. However, dance allowed me to express myself and quickly became my ‘superpower’. I joined a dance studio called Philly movements, where I learned to B-boy and learned other forms of dance. During this time, I met my close friends Andrew and Jaelen who were also interested in B-boying as well. Read more>>

Raven K

I had always had a passion for singing, ever since I was a child, I’d always been involved in something musical in school, whether it be chorus or symphonic or concert band. I’d kept my love for alternative music a secret at among most of my peers. but it wasn’t until I was twelve years old and I’d befriended a girl named Sydney, another Black girl who was into alternative art like me, who slipped me a copy of Fall Out Boy’s “Infinity On High”. Read more>>

David Hoffrichter

I was very young when I knew my life as an artist began. I never wanted to do anything else, however my journey led me all over and it wasn’t until recently that I started making it my mission to make this path my career. Growing up with Tourette Syndrome the way I was able to express myself was through a visual means. When I would draw or paint my tics would go away for a time and my art was an ice breaker to meeting new people. Art gave me confidence that not only allowed me to succeed in life but gave me a fire to keep pushing the boundaries of how far I could take my art. Read more>>