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.

Astrid Kallsen

I really didn’t. I procrastinated from other life responsibilities and put more effort into my modeling. I got so enthralled with doing it it’s what I worked hard on. Eventually I found ways to get paid for it. I started off modeling as a hobby, but to be honest my modeling didn’t grow and become what it did until it became my career. I could spend all of my time on it: how to meet more photographers/artists, how can I travel to other artists, where are places I can create, and how can I become a better model. Read More>>

Daisy Nguyen

I have been doing art for pretty much all of my life, and I genuinely can’t imagine doing anything else as a career. Not only because it’s a genuine passion of mine, but because I can’t imagine not putting my creative energy into a career. My inspiration comes from a desire to share, experiment, brighten people’s day, and to simply just create. Read More>>

Ken Lyles

To take full advantage of a hobby that I was introduced to. Me and my friends believed that we had an interesting perspective on Magic the Gathering and a variety of personalities to entertain others interested in this hobby as well. Fortunately other saw value in what we contributed to this community and have assisted us on our journey. Essentially this started out as a carefree hobby that evolved into much more than we expected. Read More>>

YaaA Universe

In all honesty, I actually fell into it. As a youngster, I grew up around artists. I was influenced by the various music heard being played around me.

I used to freestyle for fun and one day took it seriously because people actually enjoyed my sound to the point where I started to believe in myself. Read More>>

Rich Campbell

I agree with many creative artists who say that their art chose them, not the other way around. Throughout my life I’ve led parallel careers as a composer, performer and educator. I began music lessons as a child, wrote my first song in 6th grade, joined school ensembles and began performing professionally and teaching as a teenager. Part time jobs in offices during high school and college confirmed that these other types of employment were not fulfilling for me personally. Creative endeavors were where I found my joy. Read More>>

Roni Robbins

I always liked to write, from my penmanship to calligraphy, poetry and song lyrics. So when a very “popular” high school friend said she planned to major in journalism, I decided to follow suit. Maybe I thought it would make me popular too. It did not. But it also seemed like a great way to write and get paid for a creative pursuit I enjoyed. Read More>>

Zach Wilson

I’ve always been into music. It was introduced to me at a young age, and I just followed up with it and eventually found the love for it. In learning the fundamentals, my creativity started to grow and in watching other musicians and artists be creative and seeing them express themselves through different outlets, I wanted to follow my favorites and do the same thing. Read More>>

Lana Raiford

To be honest.. I never really feel like I “chose” this career its just always been a strong passion that came naturally to me from a very young age and has never once dimmed. I truly feel like I am meant to do this! Read More>>