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

Alberto Alfaro

When I began to DJ at underground clubs, and events, in the Houston area December 2010 there was very little representation of the genre that I was performing: Hard Dance Music. The opportunity to curate in a new market space was present and I was determined to be an early pioneer with our first big breakthrough in 2012. Read more>>

Leslie Rich

February 1988. I’d been writing songs before and playing guitar in a school band, but the night I saw Kristin Hersh on late night British TV was when I knew the what, why and how of what I should be doing. Read more>>

Jaime Lovejoy

My dream has always been to pursue a creative path professionally, specifically my painting. When I graduated college, I was at a crossroads of pursuing my creative passion or following a traditional corporate path. I did some soul searching and chose (what I thought was) the safer choice for the position I was in. I could always paint on the side, but I needed to support myself. It was then that I made a promise to myself to return to my painting full time. Timing is everything. Fast forward 20 years later and the opportunity to pursue a new path was in sight. I had left my current job and was looking to break into a new industry. During a coffee date with a friend, she asked me — “if there were no constraints (time, salary needs, etc) what would I want to do everyday?” It was clear, my art. Read more>>

Yueliang Luna Huang

In 2019, when I actually was part of a large scale earthwork project called 800 Live Horses action painting. I have to admit that it was a grand miracle for the human and nature. When the 500-meter-long burlaps stretched out on the Mongolian vast prairie mixed with tons of acrylic paint, gold powder, cashmere and horse manure, 800 Mongolian horses galloped past on the burlap with the artist’s guide. At that moment, I knew I would move on to exploring more grand adventures ( not limited by the materials and space) and maybe different ways of doing ceramics or 2D paintings as usual. An oracle suddenly came from the mother of nature and the depths of prairies and universe. Read more>>

Veeda Shaygan

Throughout my entire life, I was always involved with music. I was in band, learned three different instruments, participated in interesting extra curricular organizations like a jazz and steel drum band. I just always knew no matter what I did, music was my purpose. In 2010, my sister and I watched deadmau5 live at EDC, creating my new obsession with the EDM/techno scene and since then, my goal was always to be a DJ. It took many years to gain the courage to begin my journey but finally in 2020, I knew if I never chased my childhood dream, my life’s purpose wouldn’t have been fulfilled. Read more>>

Anoushka Bhalla

My path to becoming an artist wasn’t some big “aha” moment but more like a slow realization that hit me after dealing with a ton of stress and figuring out what really makes me tick. I’ve always loved the arts, even as a kid, I was interested in history, art history, and literature. Read more>>

Kristin Allen-Farmer

I was about 8 years old, standing in my living room listening to Enya’s piano piece entitled “Watermark” for the first time. I absolutely loved what I was hearing, decided to turn up the volume and then to my surprise, tears began to roll down my face. The song was so poignantly beautiful and moving, that I decided (with 2 years of piano studies already under my belt) that I wanted to have this same effect on people with my piano music. I wanted to compose pieces that made people feel the same way that I was feeling in that moment. It was an impression that has been forever imprinted on me and I have known ever since that moment that piano, composition and making people feel things were a part of my path. Read more>>

Brian Hearns

I knew I wanted to become a professional artist when a former professor of mine told me that he believed in my message of hope, love and understanding. That my pieces would resonate with the world and would change the way people felt about oneanother. Read more>>

Jay Alders

Since I was a little kid all I’ve ever wanted to do was be an artist and/or a businessman. It never seemed like an obscure path or one that wasn’t realistic either. While I was growing up my Dad was in sales and owned his own business, so learning art and learning about business happened simoultaneously for me. I also had an uncle figure in my Dad’s childhood best friend named Marshall who was a professional artist that would give advice and talk to me a bit about life as a working artist. So being an artist is all I’ve ever planned for. Read more>>

Ryan Cheney

I would say as soon as I got my first guitar so around twelve. I was obsessed with Matchbox Twenty and would spend hours in my bed room singing to Push. When my parents bought me the guitar it just clicked to me. Songs are just poems with music behind them. I think I wrote my first song within the first week. Read more>>

Frederick Hines

When I was in high school, I was in a performing arts club called “Brothers and Sisters United” it included acting, dancing, and singing. I would say that brought out my more artistic side. Upon my senior year I became the choreographer for the dance group. It’s kind of funny now thinking back. I love to dance, I thought I was going to be the next Chris brown. But, you never know what life has in store, I put down the beats and picked up a sewing machine and never looked back. Read more>>

Angelica Hairston

Growing up in Georgia, summers were filled with sunshine, the scent of peach cobbler in the air, and my dad playing music on his baritone saxophone. The sounds and influences of the South were all around when I started playing the violin at age 4. When I was 12, I attended a concert at Atlanta Symphony Hall and was blown away by the music of the Symphony and the magic that came from the sounds of the harp. Read more>>

David Mueller

Even in grade school. I probably had my paintings hanging in the school hallway.. My mother was a craft’s person. My father was an artist and my uncle was an artist. In my senior year in high school. I attended a vocational school connected with my high school. We’re 43 periods a day I studied commercial art. It was perhaps here where I knew that I was more serious about looking at art. As a career. Read more>>

Conrad Patrick Johnson

If I had to pick one moment my music journey started, it would be when I got my first guitar. After a bit of convincing, my parents took me to pick the guitar up, and I was pumped! Since then, I’ve practiced every single day, hoping my hard work would pay off. In third grade, I auditioned for my school’s talent show, and got to play “Wonderwall” in front of my peers. This is where I truly got my love for performing. Although I was so nervous to stand on stage in front of my entire elementary school, the joy and excitement in that moment was unmatched. Read more>>

Darel Carey

I’ve always liked to draw, and had a knack for it since I was very young. As a child I used to draw all sorts of things: cartoon characters, robots, birds, and still life. Then in my adolescent years and in my 20s, I got into graffiti and graphic design. However, art as a career was never something I knew was possible. It was always considered just a hobby, and something I should do just on the side, if at all. Not something to nurture and cultivate into a profession. Read more>>

Richard Gillins

I knew I wanted to pursue a creative path from my days in high school. I was always into art and creating. I used to draw a lot, like cartoons and graffiti art. Junior year I got more into DJ’ing and music. A couple of my friends were DJ’s and I hung out with them a lot messing around on their turntables until I bought my first set and then the rest is history. Read more>>

Amanda Gecewicz

I would always sneak my dad’s Sony Camcorder out to the backyard and play with it. I loved making movies, especially when my friends would come over to play. My parents saw my passion early on and bought me my first video camera for my 8th birthday. This was a pivotal moment for me and my love of filmmaking continued to grow. I was never spotted without my camera from that point on! Read more>>

Lori Webster Fore

Growing up, I loved adventures like THE GOONIES and HOME ALONE, character-driven stories like LOVE & BASKETBALL, and classics like GOODFELLAS. But when it came to stories about people like me where I’m from, I felt like something was missing. More often than not, stories about the black experience in the South skewed toward race films. However, my own experience had been so much more than crosses burning on my lawn. In the spirit of my grandfather, a sharecropper turned landowner, I set out to change the narrative. My aunt had no idea that insisting one summer afternoon to cut off the TV “while the Lord was talking” during a thunderstorm would ignite the storyteller in me. It was in that downtime that I put pen to paper to tell stories of my own. Read more>>

Violet Trujillo

After one year of community college back in my hometown. I knew the path I was on was not for me so as soon as that semester finished I packed my bags and moved to San Antonio to pursue my dream as a portrait photographer. I remember being so young and so scared, but it was all worth it. Read more>>

Mikiko Sato

Mishéll

I’ve been singing since I was a child, and my love for music has been a constant in my life. The sounds have always stirred something within me. Feels like it’s an endless source of energy and pleasure. I love the fact that I can create, be spontaneous, and express myself however I want. Thankfully, my parents were incredibly supportive, leading me to delve into the world of music through formal education. I composed piano ensembles for four hands, different musical forms. Read more>>

Eezzy Hendrix

I’ve always been around music, and had silly phases of wanting to be a singer and rapper when I was younger, but nothing serious. I’ll never forget, I was in high school, and I was bored during spring break. I scrolled on Facebook and saw a friend, who was a drummer that was in my grade, say he was on FL Studio playing around for the night. I said “what’s that?” and did my research to see it was a music production software. I ended up downloading it and spent that whole week off making some of the worst beats ever. Read more>>

Ingrid Miller

I’ve always known that I’ve had a passion for artwork ever since I could remember. I looked up to artists, hoping that maybe one day that’s what I could do but I was never actualizing it, up until 2nd Grade. I remember having a classroom discussion about being an artist. I was astounded when I learned that my art teacher was an artist, and that I, too can be an artist. This was the first time I really felt that spark of “Yes, Ingrid! You can be an artist!” From there on I remember becoming extra-motivated to become the creative I am today. Read more>>

Beverly Morrison

I’ve always been a maker; the act of creating is etched into my earliest memories. Growing up, my mother, a remarkably creative soul, turned our home garage into her workshop. From crafting leaded glass windows to painting, drawing, furniture making, sculpting, sewing, and even being an impressive cook—she did it all. She was not just my first instructor and critic but also the one who candidly informed me that the path of an artist isn’t for the faint of heart. Read more>>