Artistic and creative careers are among the most rewarding, but they also come with unique challenges. We asked some of the city’s best creatives to tell us why they choose to pursue a creative career.

Amariah Andrews | Crochet Artist

I decided to pick an artistic/creative career because it’s what I truly love to do. Often, people say to do what you love and what brings you the most satisfaction. Crocheting, working with fashion and clothes, and making apparel are what bring high levels of satisfaction. I also enjoy having complete creative control over my work and what I do. I love being the boss and doing what I want. This reminds me of times when people ask me what am I going to do when I get huge and need more help. To this day I have no clue because I am so hands-on and love doing everything by myself. I also decided to go this route because I want to show my community that crocheting is a unique form of art. It is an art form that falls under the category of fiber arts. It is quite artistic as it uses many different stitches, colors, and types of yarns. I also joke around and say that my work will be in a museum one day. I hope that joke becomes a reality someday. Read more>>

Stepenie Barrett | Photographer

I love the feeling I get when I look through the lens and see what may not be artistically appreciated through the naked eye. Capturing the fleeting moments that may go unnoticed or may be missed if not photographed. Imagine your first dance at your wedding, for example. When dancing, you may not see what I captured in the background- your grandparents tearing up for example. Read more>>

K3lvin Kaos | Music Composer/Music Producer

From an early age, I have always been a creative person and music happened to be the thing that I was drawn to. I feel that a creative career is fulfilling and a personally rewarding journey. It truly has allowed self-expression and I love how I am able to let my creativity in creating music allow me to communicate thoughts, emotions, and ideas. Read more>>

Mae Young | Clothing Designer & Artist

So the funny thing is, I’m actually in school now pursuing a career in the medical field which I personally wouldn’t necessarily put under “artistic or creative” so much, but me pursuing this career in the medical field, partially contributes to why I decided to tap into this artistic and creative side of me in the first place. My brand brings out a different side to me that I honestly am just now learning and getting to meet, and probably would’ve never met if I didn’t start. Growing up, I’ve always had a love for helping people, doctors, science and all things of that sort but the love I have for making and designing clothes just feels different, it feels like a passion. This is something that I truly want to pursue because it allows me to be unapologetically me, and find out more and more about myself. It’s like I can literally just picture something and just create it. It allows me to see the world so differently, to be able to see the art in everything! Before starting my brand, I didn’t really think I had anything that gave me this type of spark, I would always see people doing what they love and be inspired, but would be disappointed realizing that nothing gave me that type of drive or spark, I honestly hadn’t seen much talent in myself & I would pray about it all the time. Read more>>

Sandra Llusa | Business Coach & Consultant

I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit; I enjoy having my schedule and my own rules. I’ve worked for several companies, including positions in management, but I always did something to feel entrepreneurial, even if it was crafting and selling to friends. Since I was young, I’ve wanted to have my own company and my own rules. Read more>>

Julia Leonard | Motion Designer

As a kid, my best friend and I used to spend our afternoons creating an iCarly imitation show. For those unfamiliar, iCarly is about best friends who start a comedy web show. They get up to all sorts of silly antics with sketches, guests, and the power of their imagination. We would write out a script, set up my mom’s camcorder, film the sketches, and then I would edit them on iMovie on our family computer. I loved editing those videos, finding the right clips, and cutting the story together. Although at the time I didn’t have any technical verbiage for video creation and editing, I understood that intrinsic feeling of a story feeling right or slightly “off,” at least at its most basic level. Most importantly, we created some of my fondest memories. Read more>>

John Porter | Author, Motivational Speaker, Life & Relationship Coach, Host, Podcaster

That’s a great question. It’s funny because I was telling someone the other day that I’ve been a creative or “creator” ever since I took my first Creative Writing and Arts class in the 7th grade almost 35 years ago. So, I was a creator before creating became “Cool, Popular and Profitable” so I’m an O.G. Creator in these streets. lol But seriously, God put me in a place where I had to tap back into my creative side and it’s been a journey and a blessing. God literally stepped in and interrupted ALL of MY Plans, and started to give me HIS Plans. My plans were to retire, continue mentoring young men open an event center for live music and comedy shows, get married, travel, BUT, lo and behold God had other plans. Read more>>

Jay Lotus | Artist

My mind has been constantly flowing with ideas for as long as I can remember. I’ve been using creative outlets since I was a kid, so I naturally fell into the arts. Over the years, I’ve developed a deep appreciation for alternative types of music, cinema, comedy, and fashion. Read more>>

Randall Owens | Writer

Art is about humanity, and humanity has not been kind to itself. The only way to save ourselves from the problems we’ve manufactured is for artists to sit with the problems most would rather ignore. My way of contributing to the task at hand is writing. Read more>>

Chaqueta Veale | Licensed Esthetician

I am the Owner and Operator of Queta Veale Esthetics. I have been educating and perfecting my craft in the art and beauty of Esthetics since 2017. I enrolled in the Esthetics Program because I wanted to have a career in beautifying women with providing makeup services. It became a passion of mine when I started having skin issues of my own trying to hide my imperfections with makeup. Since taking the course, I discovered Esthetics is all about the healthiness and wellness of the skin, and I began to love everything that it had to offer. Not only was doing makeup a passion of mine, I also became very interested in waxing. Over the course of time, I began to learn, study, and perfect the key essentials that was needed to be knowledgeable about waxing and skincare, along with women’s health. I very proud to say that I specialize in quite a few areas in the Esthetics field. I specialize in makeup enhancements, full body waxing, facials with at-home skin care regimens, chemical peels, body skin care, brow waxing and tinting, and vaginal steams. Making people feel good about themselves and putting a smile on their faces would make my whole day. Offering services to accommodate for people’s self-care need is topt tier for me. Read more>>