We asked some of the most creative folks we know to open up to us about why they chose a creative career path. Check out their responses below.

Liv Clark | Multi-Disciplinary Designer/Business Owner

I would say that artistry and creativity chose me, but that might be a little cheesy. So, I will say that I was surrounded by it from the day I was born and sort of just leaned in. My mother was an engineer by trade but an artist at heart. Her lineage is full of illustrators, poets and the like. I found design in a digital arts class in high school and quickly learned that it was something (maybe the only thing) that I could give my full attention to for long periods of time. I knew then that it would be my industry and that I would make my way in it. Read more>>

Zaynah Miller | Content Creator

I choose this career path because I really enjoy making all types of content for people. Weither it’s just TikToks to Youtube videos or simply taking pictures to post on Instagram I enjoy it all . When I was little I always loved being on camera and making fake haul videos for YouTube . So now that I’m older I decided to put my whole mind to it and fully take it on . It all just aligns and fits me well to do content creation. Read more>>

Jordan Binney | Painter

I was lucky enough in my adolescence to have a pretty clear vision of what I wanted to do with my life. I grew up always being interested in the arts but developed a passion for it during a harder time in my life. It took me being almost at rock bottom in high school to realize that painting was the only thing I looked forward to in my days and the only thing that could encourage me enough to get out of bed. Once I discovered this passion I really tried to hone in on what message I wanted to send. Sending a message through a visual is exactly why I chose the arts for a career. I felt lacking in my use of language and discovered I could let an image speak for me instead. Read more>>

Marissa Young | Professional Body Piercer & Jewelry Stylist

Having the opportunity to become a piercer was the easiest decision that I’ve ever made! I have had the passion for being artistic and creating things since I was a little girl. When I was 16 I started my first business and began making handmade jewelry that I sold on Etsy. Once I knew that I could make a product that I loved making that I could make a living off of (which wasn’t much at the time), I knew that was the only direction that I wanted my life to go in. Working in a creative career fuels my spirit and feeds my soul in so many more ways that I can explain and I encourage any other creative mind to try to take the opportunity to work in it as a career. Most days at work don’t feel like I’m working at all! Read more>>

Subramanian (Vishal) Venkatachalam | Level Design | Game Production | Mentor

I never imagined myself following a creative career, but life has a way of surprising you! Believe it or not, I failed my first drawing class as a child, and that is a true tale. It’s safe to say I wasn’t exactly a prodigy in the arts as a kid. Instead, I spent many hours of my childhood playing video games, with FIFA being a particular favorite. I’d be lying if I said I was a model student; I was frequently “strategically” skipping courses to conquer virtual soccer fields. But it was in those virtual worlds that my journey to a creative career truly began. Those countless hours of gaming sparked my curiosity, and I started working on some side projects, which gradually transformed into a deep passion for game development. Read more>>

Theresa Sylvester | Creative Writer

Before I started calling myself a Writer, I considered myself a Stay-At-Home-Mum in transition. In 2015, I resigned from a corporate job, boarded a plane with my husband and our almost two-year-old son, and moved to Australia. I left everything and everyone I knew in Zambia. In the past, I had worked as a Personal Assistant at a busy law firm, and before that, as a cashier at a service station, so starting over didn’t scare me because I had reinvented myself many times. So there I was, far from home, when, one day, I stumbled into a shop and the colourful book display caught my eye. I bought a novel, devoured it and went back to buy another one a few days later. Just like that, I was that little girl at Olympia Basic School who loved reading story books and making up my own stories again. Read more>>

GA Anderson | Author

I didn’t pursue a creative career or outlet purposefully. My degree is in Business Administration, and all my “day jobs” have been business oriented. The writing came in steps, one thing leading to another. Friends often said my emails were weird, but funny, then suggested I turn them into a book. Once I began writing, I was hooked. I also believe that we allow ourselves to be categorized too easily as a business person or a creative without realizing how much these things co-mingle, so to speak. I have a client who likes to tell me that I’m using both my left and right brain because of what I do, but doing well in the business world requires creativity, and being successful as a creative, requires much more business sense than most people realize. Read more>>