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

Sandtereia Robinson

I knew that I wanted to pursue a artistic path professionally when I took it upon myself to write my first song “Too long” I was dealing with a lot of emotions around this time. Regarding wanting to be successful, wanting to be in a better position in life, as well as give back to my family and others. Read more>>

Will Johnson

To be honest I didn’t know what I wanted to do for a while; I just knew that whatever I was going to do I didn’t want it to feel like a job. I was already surrounded by music because all the homies was either rapping or singing (at the time I was doing photography) but on my own time I was recording demos, writing music, asking about softwares and stuff like that; Lowkey I felt like I was already on the way to pursuing it, I just didn’t know it yet. Read more>>

Victoria Michelle

For me, I think that a part of me always knew. There was always a part of me that felt the need to create. Like a pull that I knew I was always going to feel. I also feel that art was a way for me to communicate what I felt, saw, or imagined, as I found communicating expressively with words rather difficult. I drew a lot as a child and I got my first camera at a pretty young age. I played around on disposable cameras even before that. Most of my family is pretty creative in some way or another. Much of that I am sure is genetic, but we also grew up having just enough and not many frivolous purchases. Read more>>

Jahmai Brown

During my struggles with school, art was my escape. It was the one thing that came easily to me. I looked forward to art class because it was fun and relaxing to create things. As a result, my love for art grew even stronger. I continued doing art in middle school, and the more I practiced, the better I got. My middle school art classes were more serious, and we began learning about art history. We read books about artists, and I even began reading books about art on my own time. I was also creating more and more art at home. My god brother loved to draw as well, so we often did it together. Read more>>

Patricia Howard

I would have to say it was when I was around 39 and realized I was a songwriter. As far as I could remember, I’ve always loved music and loved to sing. I come from a big family of singers and musicians. My biggest enemy when I was young was my shyness and fear of singing in front of others. So, I was a shower singer until I got old enough to get bold enough to sing in front of a crowd. My first time was singing karaoke at a restaurant/bar in my early 20’s. My friends encouraged me to go for it, so I did. Read more>>

Anthony Rodriguez

That’s a hard question for me. There can be many starting points in my music life. It would probably be the moment I made $75 at a gig when I was 17-18 years of age. I played for a salsa band that would play at places and we would get paid some money, also played for another band that would also pay. I would eventually scale up to better quality bands where I would then play for Artists and make more money as pianist. In the recording scenario, it was more creative with friends, but eventually I started charging other people for my services as a session and music producer. Read more>>

Merkell

I definitely knew at a very young age. I was 3 years old teaching choir parts to my parents, running around in my Mom’s choir robe from church. That’s all I wanted to do. I would go to school, come home, change into my robe and get to teaching. I didn’t have nor was I interested in any other hobbies other than music. Sports was and still isn’t my thing. Video games didn’t keep my attention either. I just knew every time I heard music or was around music, my soul became overjoyed. I fell more in love with my artistry when I started attending Oakland School for the Arts in 9th grade. That’s when everything clicked for me. I knew who I was, who I was going to become and exactly what I was going to do to get there. Read more>>

Peter Mignone

During the Covid-19 pandemic, I like the rest of the world was cut off from my job and business. The world was changing rapidly and the stability of our global institutions felt as though life as we knew it was at a precipice of change. I was already selling some of my pieces through social media and word of mouth however it was more from a hobbyist standpoint. After being under a countrywide shutdown, we decided to take a leap and set up a booth at a recently opened outdoor art market to sell to the general public. Read more>>

Savannah Magnolia

I was a very creative kid growing up. I was always drawn to making a bit of a mess with paints or trying out some new craft project. From a very early age I was also heavily interested in science, medicine, and anatomy. Growing up in a medically-minded house, I was quite accustomed to these subjects, and I dreamed one day to become a doctor. As I progressed through my academic life, that’s what I went to school for, and I put my love for creating art on the back burner. I first studied Neuroscience at Boston University with plans to go on to medical school. Read more>>

ALON ELIAN

The earliest example I can think of is one of my parents asked me what instrument I wanted to play when I got older—I think I was about four years old—and I said “the microphone.” I think I took to performing in front of people really early on. If there was ever a family gathering or something I always wanted to sing a song or tell a joke, or something like that. There is one moment that really sticks out in my mind, though. Read more>>

Denaron Babineaux

I was always told from my parents that I could sing, and me being shy so much, they would push me like crazy. So gradually I would sing over the phone to females, asking what they think about it, just singing songs from the radio, and it built up a lot of confidence in me to sing more publicly. I was convinced when I was performed at my middle school talent show. I had a friend of mine that ask me to sing the duet song “Slow Jam” by Usher and Monica. We definitely killed the performance with a standing ovation. Read more>>

Kla Higgenbottom

I first knew I wanted to be an artist. When I was a freshman in high school. I was looking for a program to join. So, one night I went to see the school’s musical. My high school was known for their productions. So, I decided to check one out. That year the musical was called “Ragtime”. One of the leading characters was singing a song title “Your Daddy’s Son” . I was smitten with the entire performance. It sparked a joy inside of me that I didn’t know was there. After that I joined the theater program. That one moment set me on my journey to realizing I wanted to be a artist in some way. I wanted people to see my work, and become overwhelm by the emotions they feel when watching. That’s what happened to me. It’s a moment I remember so vividly. Read more>>

nikki blair

I knew from a young age I wanted to be some sort of artist. My mother passed away when I was very young. As a result, I was raised by my father who was a professional sign painter. He owned his own shop and my younger brother and I spent loads of time there. He would often roll out large sheets of paper for us to draw and paint with. These large sheets of paper functioned as a babysitter for us. Read more>>

Jeremiah Laureano

When I was first starting off a few years ago I only saw photography as a gateway to easy money and never really focused on the craft of creating and making better work with each project. Once my teacher saw that I was able to progress through photography at such a short rate she made me turn in work for different competitions and galleries. I never really thought my work was anything special so once all my work was turned in, so many different awards and galleries my work was shown off on made me really appreciate the work I have created. Since then I have pursued to push myself as an artist and create better work with each photoshoot I do. Read more>>

Vanity Diaz

Before I worked in the creative industry, I worked corporate jobs for about five and a half years. Now, growing up I always thought I would be a singer and always excelled when it came to creative activities like drawing, singing, dancing, and piano. As I grew older and began working these corporate jobs I couldn’t really dance or sing so I think I defaulted to the next best thing, drawing. Read more>>

Angela Walling

I have always been creative and grew up in a very creative environment. Both my Mom and sister have art degree. I started painting in my late twenties. Then I stopped for about 10 years. When I was in my mid 40’s I met a fellow artist and we started a lady art group. We would have creative sessions and visit local art galleries and shows. When one of the galleries had a grand opening they invited me to participate. I entered 2 paintings. One was my very first acrylic painting. Next thing I knew I was participated in multi art shows and was making sales on my artwork. Now 7 years later I have my own studio and fashion design company. Read more>>

Thomas Peterson

In high school I was in the Junior and Senior Class plays and after graduation it was off to the military and not much thought about acting for the next 40 years. My now wife Cherry who was my fiancee at the time said to me one day “Why don’t you take acting classes”. My wife has a degree in theater and dance and saw something me that I didn’t know was there. I started taking acting classes back in 2015 from Terry Ross at Acting Professionally and fell in love with acting. Read more>>

Zaylin Yates

My first role I ever had was in kindergarten, at Palmdale Learning Plaza, where I was a butterfly in “Sleeping Beauty”. From there, my love for theatre grew and I knew I wanted to do this for the rest of my life. In 6th grade, I dreamed of owning my own dinner theatre and still continued pursuing theatre in middle school and high school. While in college in double majored in Business Administration and Theatre Performance, and graduated with my MBA, B.S. in Business Administration, and B.A. in Theatre Performance. Read more>>

Jake Rodriguez

I was about 15 years old, and my band “Funk Force,” saved up just enough money to record some original music in a “real” recording studio in Chicago. So we loaded the cars with our instruments and took the 90 minute drive to suburban Chicago. Once there, we loaded all our instruments into the studio and set everything up. The engineer/owner, Jerry Soto of “Soto Sound Studio,” set up mics and plugged in instruments as we started rehearsing our songs. Read more>>

Shacklin Hilliard

It was at the age of 13 was the first time I actually sung on stage in front of people ; along side a D.J.. This came naturally for me. After a few talent shows & competitions in my city (That I won) I was blessed with the opportunity starting at the young age of 15 years old to open up for Reggae musics most “Respected” artist “Gregory Issac”. He came with artists known as “Born Jamericans” & “Mad Lion.” It was from that moment I knew music, performing and recording was something that was meant for me to do. Read more>>

Stacy Gannon

Since growing up in a large family in Baltimore, I have always been drawn to the glitz and glamour of old Hollywood fashion and makeup. The pages of Vogue, Fashion TV, and the behind scenes makeup magic, all continued to drive my passion and desire to one day become a part of this industry. I have been influenced by many, one being the late great Kevyn Aucion, his passion, kind soul and love for beauty for all ages, captivated me from the very beginning. To this day, his book “Making Faces” has been in a sense a makeup bible for me. Some other giants of the industry who have continued to fuel my love of makeup, Pat McGrath, James Vincent, Danessa Myricks, and Yolanda Fredrick. Read more>>

Nakia Jade

The first time I knew I wanted to pursue my creative/artistic path professionally was right after I did my first school program/workshop with Poetry Matters Project. I was made the Team Coordinator and our goal was to work with Alternative school students with low test scores and uplift them using the power of poetry. At the time I had no idea what I signed up for, but I was excited and up for the challenge. The initial team coordinator had accepted another position working for a big company, so I decided to step forward and give my best shot. I had to learn a lot, such as dealing with team dynamics, making lesson plans and handling conflicts. Read more>>

Rasheda Randle

Since I was a little kid, I’ve had a very vivid imagination and wanted to be on TV. But, growing up I didn’t have the support from my family to be the child star that I wanted to be. So, I held on to that desire until I was able and fearless enough to pursue my dreams. The earliest memory of my fascination with acting was when I saw my uncle’s girlfriend, who became a very popular actress in the 90s (and who is still acting to this day) on TV for the first time. I was blown away that someone I knew was on TV. From then on, I started acting things out (and acting my way out of trouble). Read more>>

Kathy Dupuy

I grew up loving musical theater and dance and performing as often as I had the opportunity, in high school and before. When applying for colleges, my parents thought it would be a better idea to pick a non arts-related (“more practical”) major and, if I wanted to, I could minor in something arts related. I chose to minor in theater. I would never have imagined, while majoring in Political Science, that I would one day start and run a dance studio with its own “black box” theater! After gradulating college and starting both a household staffing company, as well as an assisted living home, I returned to my arts background about 10 years ago, and started my own dance studio! 5 years ago, I acquired a second location about 30 minutes north of my first studio location. Read more>>

JAMEL ROBERSON

When I was 11 years old, I initially realized I wanted to become a musician. Like most young boys, I grew up idolizing well-known rappers and musicians and admired their ability to use music as a means of emotional expression. I developed a deep love for the musical arts. Read more>>

Karlton Clay

I have always enjoyed writing. I truly believe that my love and passion for writing is a true gift from God. When I was a kid, I used to play Power Rangers with my friends, and I used to write stories based on our “adventures.” As a student, I also enjoyed reading. I always envisioned being able to create characters and craft stories that would ignite the readers’ imagination and take them to worlds that they truly could see as they read. When I was 16 years old, I was diagnosed with leukemia. During my fight with cancer, God gave me the vision to start my company, Victory Productions. Read more>>

Zosia West

I would say the age of five. I was in a ballet recital and my mother told me this story. All the ballerinas came out onstage and had gone one way lying on the ground. I had gone the complete opposite. I guess when someone had gone to correct me I believe it was my mother. The instructor said, no! No! NO! She’s the star………I guess I was meant to carve my own path. Read more>>

Ashanti Alexander

I’ve had so many jobs since I was 15 and though I excelled in all of them, they never lasted long. I could never see myself retiring with a company. Not because I don’t want the stability of a 9-5 but because being an artist makes it very difficult. I need freedom. In January 2020, I did my first open mic in years. It felt like home and I knew that I wanted more of that. I wanted to write and perform poetry. I also wanted to start back teaching yoga. Something I didn’t have the time to do due to my 7-6 job. A few weeks later, I quit my job and started teaching yoga again. I also started making hand bound poetry chapbooks and sold over 400 of them. Read more>>

Pratiksha Muir

When I say I watched a painting tutorial on youtube and quit my job to become an artist, I probably sound unstable. So I am going to take you back. Back to 5 years ago when I was always on the hunt for my next indulging dopamine hit – the next glass of wine, next order of takeout, next chocolate-anything dessert. I would tell myself ‘it was a hard day’ or ‘I deserved it’ – which I could make either work for any day. Until eventually I felt like I was losing control of my habits and health. One day I looked up 20lbs heavier and had the ability to drink a case of white claw if I really wanted to. That only led to the candid realization that living in the hamster wheel was not how I wanted to live. Read more>>

Donnie Dolo

It was about 7 years ago, lost and confused but had a burning desk to create something. I didn’t have a clue on what it was that I should be doing. I then made a call to my best friend/big brother, Swurve, to assist me with some ideas. It then came down to 2 things that I loved at the time, music & poetry. Something sparked in my brain to put 2 and 2 together, almost like a voice in my head. I never wanted to be a rap artist because of the negative light it had on it but if it wasn’t for my big brother Swurve convincing me that it will be ok, I would have never started the journey. I’ll love that guy forever. Read more>>

Ashley Sierra

I’ve always loved art and creativity in every medium inparticular music ,I grew up in a family full of creatives from my grandparents on down, I used to watch my older cousins freestyle and have cyphers and battles and that sparked my love for hiphop I grew up with my older cousin burning cds and tapes for me of A Trbe Called quest and Wutang clan and so on and I felt like u could do that. I began freestyling and moved on to writing and really perfecting my craft until I became sharp enough to compete I eventually started recording music and did my first mix called the amuse bouche which received a lot of love that project alone got me a 1000 dedicated listeners on soundcloud which is a huge deal for someone who is just learning the art trying my art with the public, Read more>>

 

Jamaal Williams

So presently where I’m beginning this part of my story, I’m working for a school district in the special education department going on my third year. Just as I began my journey with the district, I pretty much began an internship at a film production company in Houston as a writer. As I began to progress in the world of film having opportunities to write more, spend time on actual sets, and most importantly meet likeminded individuals at different levels. It became more and more evident to me that I was feeling like a version of myself that words couldn’t describe when I was in that world, and I had the skills to keep up. Read more>>

Meam Hartshorn

Growing up I was always interested in creative activities like drawing, creative writing, and music. While I had so much support and encouragement to pursue my creative interests, I was also inundated with the message that it was impossible to make art your career. I think in my heart I always knew I would enter a creative profession, but it wasn’t until midway through my undergraduate degree that I started to consider it. I studied Psychology and Studio Art, with plans to become a therapist and to make art for fun. During this time, I was exposed to several working artists who served as expanders for my own career aspirations. Read more>>

Deborah Marie Rodriguez

The first time I knew I wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally was when I was 15 years old. I was a dancer and choreographer and I had just founded my own dance team at my high school. Around that time I was in a program called Upward Bound. This was a college preparatory program that prepared high school students for college. In this program, we would have guest speakers come to speak and they would ask what did I want to do when I graduated, and I said I wanted to be a psychologist. Deep down inside I knew I wanted to be a professional dancer and that dancing was a passion of mine. Read more>>