Deciding to pursue an artistic or creative career path isn’t for the faint of heart. Challenges will abound, but so many of the artists we speak with couldn’t be happier with their choice. So, we asked them about how they made the decision in the first place.

Kyle Kizziah

I pursued my career in Creative Leadership and Design because I am enamored with the idea of creation and the idea that if you can put your imagination to the test, you can achieve something greater than your own imagination. Read More>>

Mark Robinso

Never have been a 9-5 guy and for me creativity isn’t a job. It’s the way I serve, heal, and leave a mark in this world. It’s how I bring order to chaos, sound to silence, and beauty to the everyday. I didn’t just choose this path it’s just my calling. I was born to create. Read More>>

Juniah “Junie” Johnson

Honestly, it was not until recent years that creating a baking business was even a thought! I learned my love for baking at random, which, in my own opinion, is the most genuine way to find your love for anything in life. I truly found two main motivations that keep me in this business: my love for learning to new techniques/facts about this field & the happiness I bring to people just by providing my products to them. Read More>>

Caryn Grossman

I don’t think I had a choice not to … Design completely fills my soul. It keeps me curious and constantly learning, thoroughly engaged with the world around me.

I started my creative career as a writer. My first job out of college was as a writer and junior editor for design magazines. A few years on, I started my own freelance writing business, with architects chief among my client base. I found myself sitting in on their concept meetings and preparing their competition entries.  Read More>>

Harrison Simons

I chose an artistic career because I am natural born storyteller. Storytelling is how I connect with the world. I thrive on the pressure that comes with being entrusted with someone’s vision, and I find real satisfaction in exceeding what they hoped for and imagined. I explored other career paths when I was younger, but photography was the only one that truly made sense to me. I was called to be a photographer and I feel I can genuinely help people by using my talents. When you help others, you also help yourself. Read More>>

Damien Larkin

Ever since I was a child, I always wanted to write a book, but I always put it off. I dreamed of fame and fortune without ever typing a word. In my mind, I created vast worlds and intriguing characters that I never shared with a single person.

Fast forward to my late twenties and I’d decided to work part-time to look after my first child while my wife focused on her career (she’s the corporate professional while I’m the dreamer). In what little free time I had, I slowly built an indie app development company and even landed three contracts. I pictured growing my business to the point that I could quit working for someone else, and then, finally focus on what I wanted to do. Write books. Read More>>

Adam Clarke

I spent most of my professional and academic career denying my artistic self and doing what I was told was best or necessary in life. None of that actually worked out in my favor and I realized that I needed to be my true self.
Previous jobs were extremely impersonal and devalued creativity and self expression. I could not exist in an environment like that. Read More>>

Sandra Hogan Cochrane

I can remember connecting strongly with music from a very early age. In 5th grade, I started organizing and choreographing dance routines to pop songs to perform with friends at our school’s talent shows. At 11, I started playing acoustic guitar and composing songs. At 13, I went to see my very first concert at the Omni in Atlanta, Georgia. Alice Cooper was the headliner and the opening act was Suzie Quatro. She came out in a tight leather jumpsuit with a huge bass and proceeded to tear up the stage all by herself. That was powerful stuff for a young girl and it was at that moment that I said, “That’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to play bass.” And that’s what I’ve done ever since. Read More>>

Cam Norton

Truthfully, the answer is simple: I never really had much of an option. No matter what I do, the drive to create never goes away. As a matter of fact, the farther I stray from a creative path, the more I feel as though I’m doing something innately wrong, or like I am wasting time. Life is fleeting and fragile, and to deny myself the urge to create would be a disservice to not only myself, but to those around me who love me and love what I do. Read More>>