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

Margaux Vranken

When I was teenager, I was part of the Youth Choir of La Monnaie Royal Opera House in Brussels. It was a very demanding musical environment to be in, but I really liked every aspect of it: the rehearsals, the late nights, the shows, the feeling of being part of an artistic family… This experience made me want to pursue a professional music career! Read more>>

Indigo Violet

I always knew that I wanted to pursue a creative path, however, I originally thought that writing or perhaps even acting would be my primary focus. While I still enjoy writing, I realized about 10 years ago that music is what my heart desired as a professional career. It wasn’t the allure of money that attracted me to music, naturally, but the experiences I had with music and the community centered around it. Growing up, I was an especially introverted and awkward child. I much preferred to bury my face in a book or spend time writing one, rather than go to the movies or partying with friends. Read more>>

Mula Migz

As a kid I have always been into hearing music and i have grown into creating music for myself and the world. I can put all my creative ideas into my music. Read more>>

Paige Galdieri

Funny enough, my mom actually signed me up for an after school acting class when I was around 6 years old, and I HATED the idea of it. But I was not interested in sports like my bother or cousins were, and I was always playing dress-up and making my family members play different characters and act out scenes with me. So, her reasoning was not far off and it wasn’t long until I caught the “bug” and I haven’t stoped performing since. Read more>>

Abel Gonzalez

When I realized there are billions of people in the world who love and appreciate music. In that I found that there had to be a handful of them that would like my music enough to support it. I’ve had different areas of my life where I realized I wanted to pursue it. Often when I’m sitting in my home studio and I begin crafting a song, I feel a magic somewhere deep down that excites me like nothing else does. If it feels right, to me it is right. Read more>>

Maxine Leu

Art is always part of my life just like an organ in a body since coming into this world, for me, working in art is to solve problems in life. It can be an individual’s spiritual level, a community environmental issue, etc. Art is a powerful tool for cross-cultural nonverbal communication because art connects to people’s profound emotions. Cross-cultural language touches our super-sensory perception and can make people see things from another angle. It takes us to see the world differently, making us associate, resonate, ask questions, and rethink. Read more>>

Emma Halet

This is a rather ironic story. When I was younger, I really didn’t care much for art. I appreciated those who learned and mastered the skill of painting, sculpting, etc., but I didn’t care to learn it myself. I had no patience at all. In middle school, I would fly through art projects to get them done because I didn’t care to take my time on something I didn’t see as important. Then, going into high school, I was required to complete one year of art to graduate, and I wanted to knock that year out asap so I didn’t have to take an art class again. I signed up for a photography class starting my freshman year because, in my head, photography was a fast art form. Read more>>

Madison Grace

Music has always been a huge part of my life. By the time I was two I was singing in church, it was just something I’ve always done. But I didn’t know it was going to be a career until I saw “Hannah Montana” and realized “oh this is something I could do” I wouldn’t act on it until I was about 10 years old when I started playing guitar, then writing, and performing at local bars, songwriter nights and festivals consistently by that next year. Read more>>

Bella Gallegos

while it may seem funny, the first time I ever wanted more from my creativity and to see what it could someday offer me professionally was in the 4th grade. I had recently done a project on mount Rushmore, and the final piece to the project was to draw a picture. while this drawing was nothing amazing, my teacher had found it incredible. the feeling of her being utterly impressed with this drawing that consisted of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt. I wanted to feel that feeling over and over again and still push my craft to hope people feel that way whenever they see a piece of my art! Read more>>

Rachel Miller

I’ve worked a lot of jobs, and I know a lot of people don’t like their job but I was really suffering. What made it more frustrating is I knew more artistic and creative jobs were available but I at that time I couldn’t find one that fit me. In 2020 I decided that I was going to try selling my artwork anyway. I would get on YouTube after work and watch hours and hours of videos. Then I started my Etsy. I tried to get in on ‘the selling digital products’ bandwagon that everyone was on at that time and because the market was so saturated by the time I started I got swallowed up by the competition. I may have sold 5 things, thanks to my family and friends for those sells. You would think after that I would have given up but no after I’d dipped my feet in I wanted to see how far I could go. After a few setbacks and pivots, I’m still going today. Read more>>

Hannah Huntley

Growing up, I was always singing something- while washing the dishes, in the shower, in the car… I just loved to sing! Around the age of 11 or 12 I started writing songs- they were my way of exploring my emotions using the melodies in my head. As long as I can remember, they’ve always just been there. I honestly always just KNEW I was going to be a musician, and I worked really hard to get here. Read more>>

Melody Pope

I was always a bit of a wanderer in life. I never had a set goal to map my life around, I just knew I loved creating, I loved freedom, and I hated retail. When I was a little girl I used to pretend I was an editor – my grandfather made me a very official looking laminated press pass, and I would spend hours writing, illustrating, and editing a handmade magazine on art, fashion, and social issues (from the lens of an eight year old) to send to distant relatives. I grew up in a rough household, so I escaped constantly into daydreams of being a famous rockstar, a successful businesswoman, a Hollywood starlet on a silver screen, a glamorous model. Read more>>

Jett Pennington

When I was a kid my dad used to take us to this costume shop. I used to try on the wigs. I had a vivid imagination as a child. In highschool I was heavily involved in the theater, it was more broadway and music based but it opened the door to pursue it in a more tangible way. I have always loved the arts. Read more>>

Mason Moussette

My next door neighbor when I was three years old was the main anchor on the nightly news. She was my idol and so I dreamed one day on being on the nightly news. I practiced “our top story tonight” with a hairbrush every chance I got. I went to Washington State University because of their acclaimed communications program. When I got there however…I quickly found out that every blonde girl wanted to be on the news. I also learned that you had to work your way up to nightly anchor. I had no desire to hunt down stories…I just wanted to read the news! And I wanted to do it with personality. So…I pivoted to radio! Read more>>

Diego Barrientos

I knew from a very young age. My dad was a bass player and my mom was a jazz dancer so we always had music and musical instruments around our apartments. So music was naturally my first love. I remember wanting to be a professional drummer in a band when I was four. My parents have pictures of me at my fourth birthday party when I made all my friends have an air band session while listening to Bohemian Rhapsody. Painting and filmmaking came much later. It was in college when I realized my fascination with the art world. After trying multiple mediums I found painting and film to be the ones that gave me the most joy and ability to say what I wanted to say. Read more>>

Lisa Doll

From a young age, I’ve always felt a strong pull towards creativity and self-expression. As a child, I vividly remember losing myself in the world of imagination and art, constantly sketching and dreaming up fantastical scenes. Drawing on my dolls and cutting their hair. This love for creating and expressing myself only grew stronger as I matured. I realized that I didn’t want to confine myself to a single artistic outlet; I wanted to explore various avenues to fully embrace my multidisciplinary nature. This passion led me to become a tattoo artist, where I can blend my whimsical fantasy-based art style with a remarkable client experience. Over the years, my artistic journey expanded to include writing music and performing in a touring band, photography, and now AI-based visual concepts. Read more>>

Ray Corson

I was very lucky to find my passion for tattooing at a young age. I was 12 years old when I decided I would become a tattoo artist. At the time, my Mom was riding her motorcycle with a biker club called the Booze fighters. Tattoos are popular in the biker community so I had tons of exposure to skin art. I loved the uniqueness of their counter culture and knew I wanted a place in it. Read more>>

Kim Loesche

The festival includes artists of all ages as well as a student artist area. Because it is a juried art show artists are carefully selected based on their talent. Read more>>

Monet Anais

From a young age I was surrounded by music and inclined to seek and fulfill the creativity built inside of me. It was aching to get out and life wouldn’t allow me to choose anything otherwise. It started at age 7 when my mom got me into musical theatre. It was fun! I enjoyed being on stage but remember being extremely shy. Over the next few years, I found passion in writing, and soon I discovered I could sing. It helped to have a family full of musicians and even a famous cousin who made it to the top. To say it was inspiring is an understatement. Not to mention the opportunities started flowing my way, to get in the studio and record, to perform on stage; I was sold on a dream and was mesmerized. I dedicated my life to making my dreams come true. Read more>>

Lisa Sonshine

I really dreamed of being on broadway I went to college for musical theatre and graduated in 2003. My whole heart wanted to move to New York and be on BROADWAY. My aunt was taking her young children to mom and tot music groups. She was like “why Dont you do this ?” I met Brock “broccoli “ in college. He was a rockstar. We were best friends. In 2004 I got my first mom/tot music class and I was going to try to do it on my own. I totally chickened out and called Brock for help. Read more>>

Eileen Morris

I was born in Chicago, Illinois and raised 60 miles south of Chicago in Pembroke Township. I went to Catholic schools all my life. In grade school at St. Pat’s Academy (1 to 8th grade), we had a preliminary drama program, and they were going to be auditioning for the play, Snow White. I was in 5th grade- a pivotal point in my life because up until that point I wanted to be a nun- and those adolescent changes made me think that maybe a nun wouldn’t be the best route for me. So, I thought, “I really like acting- I could do this!’ The nuns, however, told me that I shouldn’t audition for the title character because Snow White was, well, WHITE- and they didn’t think it would be in my best interest. Read more>>

Stephanie BwaBwa

Wow, I’ve been a lifelong reader. When I was a small child, my mom would read to me every night out loud. Later on in childhood, about 9 or so years old, I read: A Series of Unfortunate Events, and I loved reading ever since. I consumed everything from Lemony Snickett, Roald Dahl, Judy Blume, and so on. In my late middle school, early high school years I fell on a fairly new series called: The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare. It’s an urban fantasy with a ton of high fantasy elements in it. It was through reading The Mortal Instruments I knew one day I’d want to write my own fantasy novel. Read more>>

Paul Goldbacher

In the 1980’s I worked at a florist as the assistant to the head floral designer. During this time I perused an education as a horticulture and worked at various florists and landscape design firms in the NY metro area. Read more>>

Perry Milou

I realized at a very young age that I was bestowed a gig given talent to create, and it was in the first grade that out class was creating a Huckkeberry Finn mural on giant brown paper ,,, when it was my turn to paint on it , I never relinquished the paint brush ,,, that was the moment that clairvoyance enter my mind form my heart and above guiding me towards the rest of my artistic life . I have always shared with everyone that I do not do art , art does me !!! Read more>>

Dyanna Dimick

I can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to make something with my hands. My parents tell me stories of me painting in a classroom alone while the other kids played outside. Fortunately, my teacher and parents encouraged my passion. This inner drive and love for art stayed with me throughout my academic journey and is still my obsession today. I attended UC Santa Cruz for college and received my degree in Fine Art with a Sculpture emphasis. Here my interest in the environment and found materials grew. My core classes embraced a strong focus on environmentalism. Along with this, my sculpture classes were much more contemporary than I was used to. To my surprise, they didn’t include clay as a material to work with. This allowed for unconventional ideas, growth and creativity, ultimately starting the path for my current work. Read more>>

Kwaku Adu-Gyamfi

For a long time, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do professionally. When I was really little, I wanted to be a pilot. However, my dad ruined that dream when he said I had to be good at math to be a pilot, which was one of my least favorite subjects. So then my next option was to be a cartoonist because I love drawing. But, the thought of sitting to draw for hours ruined the appeal of that career. Eventually I got into dance, which I loved but still felt it was a little limiting. So it wasn’t until my mom got me into songwriting that I felt like I could truly express all my feelings & emotions, on stage and on paper… – I didn’t jump at trying to be a signed artist though. I knew that it would be a long and challenging journey. However, overtime, with more support & encouragement from friends and family, I started to see a real possibility of having a career in music as an artist. Read more>>

Dakar Harrigan

The first time I new music would play a roll in my life, was when I was young beating on pots and pans. I always had a love for music or instruments coming together to create something beautiful sound. Read more>>

Ash T

“Everyone dies, but not everyone really lives”. I once walked the halls of the renowned M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, donning the white coat of a physician. My days were filled with patients, research, and accolades. Yet, within the confines of my heart, an unyielding yearning beckoned me towards an untrodden path – the path of becoming an actor. It was during my tenure as a physician that I met Komal Aurora, one of my bright and diligent fellows at the center. We shared the camaraderie of research and countless hours working together. Read more>>

Don Ruth

While in college, earning my BA, and majoring in fine arts, my main concern was to be able to contribute to the support of my family. I wasn’t married yet, but knew I wanted to make a living in the arts field. I wasn’t confident enough in my artistic abilities as purely a fine artist, so I took business courses and what was known back then a commercial art (now Graphic Design) courses, which fell into fields like sign making, marketing, advertising, illustration and publishing. I pursued them all and landed in publishing, making magazines, sign making. It wasn’t very creative at first, but it put food on the table. Read more>>

Jessy Liu

Ever since I was a child, I’ve had a passion for drawing. However, it was when I decided to pursue a career in art that I came to the United States to study illustration at the graduate level. In China, I studied graphic design at a design institute and after graduating, I became a UI designer at an internet education institution. The life of a designer was quite mundane; I followed a routine, commuting along the same route, spending my days facing a computer screen to meet project requirements, and evenings leisurely staring at my phone screen. Read more>>

Gavin Jordan

I first knew I wanted to pursue a creative and artistic path professionally during the summer of 2016. At that time, I was working in a corporate job in New Jersey. On a Saturday afternoon, while driving by an art store, I had an impulsive urge to stop and buy some pencils. I hadn’t seriously pursued art since my high school days, but this sudden inspiration rekindled my love affair with creativity. I started sketching again, capturing anything and everything that caught my eye. To my surprise, when I shared my sketches on social media, I received overwhelming positive feedback from friends and family. Read more>>

Christopher Glenn

I grew up singing in church at an early age. I immediately knew this was my gift. Seeing my mom sing in the choir activated my curiosity to sing. After being in multiple ensembles and playing with my voice, I acknowledged that I could sing! I’ve become very confident in who I am as a person and artist. I discovered and owned my confidence that’s when I decided to pursue a creative path professionally. I love to create and write my music. That process is the best part of being an artist. Deciding to take my craft seriously finally has been the best decision ever. Read more>>

Jackk The Ripper

Well I started out Acting when I was six years old. I’ve been got into music around 11 to 12 years old and that’s when I knew I wanted a career in the entertainment industry. I started to learn how to play the alto saxophone around 12 to 13 and ever since then, I fell in love with the performing arts. Read more>>