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

Todd Saal

I never intended to do this for a living. I took up painting as a way to create to create some balance from the stresses while working in the technology industry. When I moved to Nashville from NYC I decided to leave the tech biz. It was my wife’s idea to pursue art further. Read more>>

Jacqueline Youm

When I was a junior in undergrad, my Shakespearean acting professor asked me to have a conversation about my career path. I wanted to be a lawyer and I was studying psychology and modern languages. He says that I was born to be an actor and he wanted to support me in that endeavor. Read more>>

Christien Gerrick and Rachel Scarborough

Being creative is in your blood but everyone finds their creative voice in different ways. Sometimes you see evidence of your creative spirit from a young age when you find you can draw for hours play your favorite instrument or write about your favorite things. Read more>>

Monica Bhatnagar

I worked as an engineer for 8 years before realizing that engineering was not for me. Actually, I knew early on that I didn’t enjoy the work, but I didn’t know what else I would do with my life. I couldn’t decide whether to stay, or leave my job. Read more>>

Mimi Olins

Before starting SOFTSET ceramics in 2020, I taught visual art for 17 years, focusing on ceramics and sculpture. While majoring in ceramics in undergraduate art school, I knew I also wanted to explore teaching or service. Read more>>

Staci Ogle

Born and raised in Topeka Kansas, my art journey didn’t really take off until I was raising kids of my own. I started dabbling in art in 2010 at the kitchen table during nap times (I did in-home preschool for 14 years) and realized that it was a great way to build bridges in the community and to help me achieve my personal goals of building up my city for my children to grow and thrive in. Read more>>

TE- RAYE

I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in music when I was 7 years old. Girl groups were a huge factor in the music industry during my childhood so I begin mimicking these artists at a young age. Read more>>

Sloane Hartwell

I have been influenced and immersed in the arts since before I can remember. Dating back to Elementary school where my art teacher Ms. Elkins started an after school art club- we spent time muraling a mailbox and then delivering letters sent between students. Read more>>

Nick Massey

I remember growing up watching looney tunes and getting lost in the playful style and mixing that with also being a daydreamer and in my own world i’ve always strived to put myself into these cartoon world but in my own lense Read more>>

Stevan Mraovitch

When I was a teenager, the civil war in ex-Yugoslavia profoundly affected me. This conflict tore apart a nation that I felt deeply connected to, as I had family from every region of the country. Despite not being on the front lines, the pain and suffering resonated deeply with me. Read more>>

David Hopes

If you had asked me what I wanted to be at age five I would have said, “an artist,” without actually knowing what that meant or was. I was a sickly child, and when I think back, I believe that prints and reproductions on the walls of doctors’ offices provided my first introduction to “the image” Read more>>

Mahshid Sadoughi

Pretty much from when I was a teenager. I always loved watching animated movies and when I was in high school, I started learning about the process filmmaking and visual effects from behind the scenes features and it just fascinated me. Read more>>

Danielle Gulley

Since I was a little girl I always gravitated towards the creative arts. I didn’t know how to break into the market but I knew I had a passion for it. After performing in a national touring stage play I knew what I wanted to do. Read more>>

Malachias Gaskin

When I was in the 4th grade I used to walk around on the playground with my best friend and we would sing together. It started with “Sister Christian” by night Ranger. Read more>>

Ziyaad Haniff

Working in the creative industries was something I never thought of until I found myself there. Growing up in a disadvantaged neighbourhood — without access to mentorship, arts programming, or career pathways — we were raised to pursue more “practical” aspirations. Read more>>

Rodney Jay

Grew up with this passion and admiration for music I couldn’t explain looking up to people like MJ, Nas, Pharrell, etc. I remember my elementary/middle schools would hold talent shows on a day they called fun day. Read more>>

Abby Ledet

I grew up in an artistic household, my mom is an artist as well. She loved to make things out of clay and practice photography, so she nurtured my creative side since I was young. Read more>>

Sanwone Santae Benjamin

We knew at age 7 we have always wanted to pursue our creative endeavors since age 7 we have always created fun activities since we were in school doing talent shows performing in front of family members at the family cookouts. Read more>>

Ammunikee Gomez

That would be at the age of ten, but at the age of eight I was already seeking my passion and it was the first thing I could do to make a change in my family, the world, and be recognized for it. Read more>>

Stephanie Matarazzo

I’ve been creating and storytelling since I was a child. I’ve always been fascinated with exploring characters and different worlds from my imagination.  Read more>>

Dwight White II

When I started calling myself an artist as my primary profession and identity. Even while I was still working a full-time corporate role in 2018, by that point art was already a career in my mind. I was committing nearly equal time to both careers and it was a priority to me. Read more>>

Andrés Escobar Toledo

I started participating when I was 5 years old at my school, but I never thought that this could be my path. The teacher told my mother “do you know that he won’t get off the stage anymore?” Read more>>

Kerry Fenster

I first knew that I wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally from a young age. I remember entertaining my friends with either songs I’d made up, or just being silly. Read more>>

Simone Johns

I knew at a very young age that I wanted to be in front of the camera and on the big screen. Coming from a family filled with intelligent women with doctorates and college degrees, I never thought my creative right brain would be able to follow my passions. Read more>>

Salakida Kali

I saw a production of Dreamgirls when I was around 6 years old and I fell in love with the glamour, the music, the crowd reaction everything about entertainment. Read more>>

Lily Cabatu Weiss

As first generation Filipino-Americans, my parents always made sure that a strong academic program was essential for each of their five daughters while introducing us to music through piano lessons. Read more>>

Sharmin Tahir

At the age of seven years old creativity was my favorite form of expression. Being a very shy and reserved child, I found making things with my hands was the easiest form of communication. The freedom to let me imagination run wild without rules or wrongs. Read more>>

Hanna Simone

I first knew I wanted to pursue music professionally when the idea of anything other kind of work felt like “settling” or uncomfortable for in my body. Read more>>

Torie Montrel

When I was a child, I would doodle and draw on everything except the walls and apparently paper. I loved to get lost in the process of learning different ways to design characters by mimicking the styles from my favorite books and shows. Read more>>

Kelsey Tegenkamp

I knew from a very young age that I was interconnected to my own artistry. I was drawn to performance, engaged in a wide spectrum of genres, and constantly getting lost in creative writinG. Read more>>

Dyesa Policarpio

I wanted to share with you how my journey into photography began, and it’s quite a modern tale. My interest in photography ignited through platforms like Instagram and Tumblr. Read more>>

Sade’ Tippton

The arts of all aspects was introduced to me at an early age. Ive always enjoyed different forms of art like dance, music, fashion and drawing. my first love was dance. Read more>>

Sidney Sanders

I actually didn’t know you could make a living creating art the way I did. I never thought about the artists that created album covers, murals, apparel, etc. It just never crossed my mind. Read more>>

Katyana Rocker-Cook

As cliche as it sounds, I think I always knew! My family love to remind me that when I was growing up (in the UK), I would play exclusively in an American accent, and that I would sing Part Of Your World from “The Little Mermaid” at the top of my lungs from the age of 2. Read more>>

Terri Saulin

My Mom was a “Den Mother” for the Cub Scouts and we had an endless supply of art materials in our South Philly basement, including a six foot on-going macaroni eagle project. Read more>>

Jess Casinelli

I always say that being a musician/artist for me was a childhood dream I never stopped pursuing. I feel like some of the most common things kids say they want to be when they grow up are firefighters, astronauts, movie stars, rockstars, etc. I always knew what mine was and just never gave it up. Read more>>

Phil Bass

I knew of my path in my early teenage years and subsequently started working in my profession at the age of 14. Read more>>

Sonia Kazarova

Since I was a tiny pea pod growing up on a micro ranch in the foothills of the Rockies, I knew that I was a performer. From the day, I could make any sound I was singing. Read more>>

Deysha Nelson

Since I started in the industry at such a young age, I didn’t know there was a professional career for what I just naturally loved doing. When I modeled in my first fashion event, I couldn’t get enough of it. Read more>>

Ji Eun Lim

My journey as an artist began in childhood, where I found immense joy in painting and drawing during my preschool years. This early connection to art has remained a constant in my life. Read more>>