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

MacFour Ent

When we were young we always loved music. Whether it was singing in the car with our Mom or blasting music on the stereo with our Dad while he exercised. We have always been around music in some way, shape, or form. We also have been around professional theater shows, so we picked up a love for acting. Ever since then, we decided that we wanted to be entertainers. Read more>>

Ford Ferreira

I love acting and am so fortunate to work in this artistic, imaginative space. However, pursuing a creative path took me a long time compared to other actors I’ve met. Being relatively pragmatic, even with a deep passion for the arts, realistically, I didn’t see a lot of other actors who looked like me growing up. So, I was apprehensive initially; it wasn’t until I started performing and getting encouragement from acting coaches and working actors in the industry that I decided to go for it. Being in an industry that is so inconsistent, making authentic connections with other artist who can share their personal experience and knowledge has been vital in me navigating this business. Read more>>

Stephanie Rojas

I knew I wanted to pursue an artistic path when I was in high school, well, let me say it goes back when I was a child. Drama class really helped get me out of my shell during my senior year of high school. I always knew the introverted person in me wouldn’t budge from being extroverted. Up to this day, I’m still an introverted person, but once that camera is on me and “Action!” is called, you better believe that introverted little child isn’t around. I give it my full 100%! Read more>>

Callie Paige

After 10 years of working as a Phlebotomist and losing my ability to work in that field a due to health issues which effected my ability perform my job safely, I realized I had been living and working unfulfilled the entire time. I wanted to be the person that lived up to that saying, do what you love for a living and never work a day in your life.” I wanted to show my two girls what it looks like when someone follows their dreams. I wanted them to know that it does take dedication and hard work but that it is possible and that it is worth every bit of effort that it takes. I started in Feb. of 2020 which felt like split seconds before the Covid pandemic hit the world. Read more>>

Carlo Marcucci

I always knew and probably inherited the art gene from my mother’s side (she is also an artist). When I was a very young child, I would entertain myself drawing quietly for hours. I was eighteen and attending a liberal arts college when I had my first solo exhibition at an art gallery in Atlanta. After transferring to an art college (to learn graphic art and design) I worked for two graphic design firms. In the 90’s I moved to Los Angeles and worked a year as a designer at Disney Imagineering. It was a good and steady paying job, but the office was in an industrial building with few windows, which made my days monotonous. During that time, I started to exhibit my work in Southern California and soon decided to give the new art career a try. Read more>>

Troy Bravo

In my years of adolescence I remember engaging in an altercation with another boy and undoubtedly, I was punished. I had most of my possessions removed as a result, and all that was left in my room stood an instrument. The fiery white Ibanez that became the object of my new found desire. The instrument of my passion, a white rose 6 stringed guitar. Ever since that day, I knew I had to make an impact and a statement for the world to hear. Read more>>

Viktoriya Gurskaya

I wanted to be a musician since I remember myself. Somewhere throughout the years I forgot about it since people kept telling me to “be realistic” and that being a singer is not a career. But I kept singing as a hobby and kept writing lyrics all the time. When I finished military at 21 years old I was very lost, I didn’t know what I want to do with my life and I didn’t even consider art. I was thinking maybe business school but nothing was exciting, nothing felt right. It took a certain (not very pleasant) event that reminded me who I really am and what I was destined to do – MUSIC. Read more>>

Annabella Sardelis

In my early twenties I did a lot of traveling, and everywhere I went I collected textiles. I had textiles from Tanzania, Japan, Mexico, and Guatemala. The first seed was planted in Barcelona. After graduating from Wooster, my best friend and I saved up enough to back-pack around Europe for 3 months. We were traveling on a shoestring budget and often sought out the least expensive accommodations, which were often youth hostels. We stayed in a place near Las Ramblas and everyday we walked past an upscale atelier. The designer was often sewing in the back. After a week or so I got up the courage to walk inside even though I felt self-conscious wearing my Vasque hiking boots, well-worn Patagonia baggie shorts and most likely a well loved long-sleeve tshirt. I’m sharing these details to paint the picture, I did not look like a fashionista. I looked like a back-packer. Read more>>

Rosa Lopez

Growing up as a first generation Mexican American in Los Angeles in the early 80’s was more than colorful. My youth was filled with great Latin American music and amazing home cooked meals made by my abuelita and mom. Watching shows with my favorite Latin American actors, singers or groups were always so vibrant with colorful costumes, dances, and styles from each of their Latin American countries. Watching them on screen and creating looks like those for artists was most definitely my drive to become a designer at a very young age. Read more>>

Cherish Alexander

I feel lucky to always have had a clear picture of what my purpose was and what I wanted to create in my life. I was born with a sense of music in me and started writing songs when I was seven. My first song I wrote was called “Love will find a way”! Although my musical path is always refining itself as I’ve progressed, my process in the way I create songs and lyrics has remained the same. It has always been a knowing and a very intuitive visceral process. I was born with music in me. Read more>>