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

Lynell Middlebrooks

I knew I wanted to be a videographer when I was invited to be a extra for a music video. To be able to see the making of a video live blew my mind when I saw the final version. It made me ask the question, how did they do that? From there, I was determined to learn everything about filming. Read more>>

Venomous Versus

We knew we wanted to pursue a hip-hop/artistic path professionally when we recognized the talent we had at writing lyrics that meant a lot to us. The way we felt after writing down our mentality and emotions on paper then colliding that with an instrumental was euphoric. Regardless of the lyrics being blissful or dark, we knew that expressing ourselves in this manner was a path that we had to continue to build. Read more>>

Tom McCaffrey

As a teenager. I wrote a poem about a friend who died tragically, and then a short story about another friend who died from a fall off a sky scraper. Writing started out as my way of processing tragedy at a young age. I saw how my writing about those events impacted other people, emotionally, and realized I might have something there. I wrote a few short stories and submitted them to magazines. That was back in the snail mail era, and I still have all of those rejection letters. Given those rejections, I realized I didn’t know what it took to become a professional writer. When I first went to university, there were no real creative writing classes, and while studying English Literature certainly showed me what was considered great writing, it didn’t actually teach me anything about writing. Read more>>

Bree Banuelos

I knew at a very young age that I wanted to have a creative career, but when you grow up in a small town like I did anything artsy was more or less a hobby and not a job. I had to rely on myself and listen to my intuition to make my dreams come true despite the naysayers. Read more>>

Allison Severson

Well how far back should I go to give an accurate picture of how i feel i was destined for creative work. As of until recent, i have never been able to imagine my future career life as an artist. As a child i wanted to be an archeologist or a figure skater, but that was only because of Indiana Jones and the Olympics on TV. The influences were all around, but art was not an early notion of what i wanted to do. Read more>>

Jillian Antinora

I always knew I wanted my work to be in the performing arts. I was in my first professional musical when I was 17 years old. Musical theatre was my profession for over 13 years, it was a wonderful way to earn a living on my own and I loved getting to travel with my work. When I had children, I needed to earn more money to help support my family. I chose to go into real estate 8 years ago, when my youngest child was born. This has helped support my family and given me the freedom and financial ability to work on writing and recording my own songs. Read more>>

Haley Fitzgerald

I first knew I wanted to pursue my creative path professionally in 2017, as a hunter and outdoorswoman I hunt to eat. I grew tired of throwing away the feathers and hide of the animals that I harvest for food and began this mission driven business around whole animal utilization. I create accessories out of the sustainably harvested materials. Anything from hat accessories to bow ties and pocket squares. I have a unique line of products that is ever growing and every piece is one of a kind. Spruced Plume has been a side hustle for many years. Read more>>

Hiral Joshi

In 2006, when I was in India- Mumbai, I was working as a full time Graphics Visualizer for last 10 years and struggling for some time to paint and pursue my passion. At the same time I wanted to find a job I can live/die for. And finally I decided to walk on a different path. Started searching a purpose in Art- learning & exploring new techniques and the journey begun from there. Read more>>

Emily Casey

After getting engaged in the summer of 2022, I convinced my fiance we needed a live wedding painter. I found an artist whose style I absolutely loved and we booked her for our wedding. Right after booking, my fiance said, “you could do that.” That was the lightbulb moment, even though, at the time, I didn’t believe him. I focused on pet portraits at first because I was not confident in my abilities to do a live painting. My fiance was such an incredible support system and pushed me to step out of my comfort zone and give live painting a try. I did my very first wedding this past April and absolutely fell in love. I knew my goal was to make that my career. Read more>>

Jenalta Yates

As a graphic artist, my creative journey began with a passion for art that extended far beyond the classroom. Although I initially embarked on my creative career by taking classes, it was during those early learning experiences that I realized my innate desire to express my unique vision through art. The moment I truly knew I wanted to be creative was when I discovered the sheer joy in using design to transform ordinary objects into works of art. This realization ignited a spark within me and laid the foundation for my future as a graphic artist. Read more>>