Artists and creatives face innumerable challenges given that their career path often doesn’t come with a playbook, a steady paycheck or any form of safety net. It’s definitely not easy and so we asked a few of the artists and creatives we admire to talk to us about why they chose to pursue an artistic or creative career.

Dimitra Kationi | Poet, musician, former lawyer

Art, in my opinion, is more a way of living rather than a career status. In most cases it is not a choice but the only viable scenario for an artistic being. My journey through art started from the early ages, my commitment, though, took its time. It was not until I had been working as a lawyer for some time, that I realised I could not exist outside of an artistic environment. Read more>>

Juliana Pincus | 2D Animator and Storyboard Artist

Growing up, I was surrounded by artists, from singers, painters, writers, actors…the list goes on. They all provided me with creative outlets, it was just a matter of finding which medium worked best for my self-expression. Read more>>

Sparshita Das | Multidisciplinary Designer and Illustrator

I have been inclined towards a creative career for as long as I can remember. I started drawing and painting at a very young age, and it was the only thing I did that I not only enjoyed but could also hold my attention for longer periods. However, it wasn’t something I could pursue as a career for a while. Read more>>

Lada Egorova | Writer, Director & Photographer

It all came from a desire to express myself. As a shy kid I would never open up to adults or even my friends about what was really going on inside my mind or how I was really feeling. I had all these emotions and thoughts that kept bottling inside of me and art has always been a way to express them, let them go, understand them. Read more>>

Yibo Xu | Storyboard Artist & Director

It all started with that delightful feeling of “Yeah! My brain is working while doing this!” As I explored animation, I realized that designing and the visual storytelling aspect of animation, in particular, kept my brain active. The solid feeling that I’m building my own philosophy and developing my creative vision brings me immense satisfaction—it’s a gift from committing to an artistic journey. Read more>>

Claire Blanc | Artist and Healing practitioner

I’ve pursue an artistic career because creativity is something that I need to live my life properly. It took me a long time to realize that I needed to create as much as I need to sleep, eat or drink! This is one of the things that I need in my life to be in balance. To get to that creative space regularly to be able to find harmony in my day to day life. Read more>>

Fatima M Ali | Mixed Media Artist & Baker

In my case , I didn’t wake up one day and said I’m going to become an artist , it came naturally, back when I was in second grade , I had a special connection to cursive writing and loved holding a pen , writing on paper even when I didn’t have any homework. Later on , in 2008 I bought my first gouache paint set and started painting , merging both calligraphy with color , exploring with different materials, paints and surfaces. Read more>>

Daun Jeong | Artist

I’ve always wanted to create art to help people. The first thing you should know is that I’m a passionate advocate for humanity. I’ve loved humans and the events that surround them more than anything in my life. This stems from the many wonderful people I’ve met who have supported and helped me through various phases of my life. Read more>>

Yuntong Dai | Filmmaker & Editor

I came from an educational system that focuses more on general education, which means that I worked very hard for 18 years without really considering what I would do in the future. It is more like everyone studies the same curriculum and everyone wants to be a lawyer/doctor or an analyst. Read more>>

EPMG.fiji

I started this project in the summer of 2021 as a distraction from my day-to-day life and as a creative outlet. After graduating from Stanford University with my BS and MS in computer science, I wanted an escape from engineering and found this project to be the perfect way to express my interests beyond tech. Read more>>

Breya Barber | Artist & Designer

Ever since I was little, I’ve had a passion for creating, whether through drawing or building. I would constantly beg my mom for new Lego sets, and as soon as my little brother was old enough, I would try to build his Legos before he could. Any old cereal box or toilet paper roll around the house would become a key component in my next cardboard creation. Read more>>

Sumin Ha | Character Animator

That’s because I was a child who made an incredible number of mistakes. When I was young, I often lost things, did things I wasn’t supposed to do, and missed deadlines. I was also a gloomy kid who spent a lot of time regretting my actions and imagining how things would be if I hadn’t made those mistakes. Read more>>

Andres Luz | Composer & Music Professor

A frequent comparison I make with some jest in describing my defection from my 17+ years working in biotechnology followed by my pursuit of music composition and teaching in midlife is the idea of relocating from a nice, well-kept home in the suburbs and moving into a sinking ship. I always share a chuckle whenever I repeat this to someone I just nearly met. Read more>>

Quinn Vasileva | Actor, Writer, Producer

I pursued an artistic career because it’s something that allows me to do everything that I love without confining me. By that I mean that I am someone that always wants to do different things, and I always explore new horizons. Being an artist means that I can wear different hats. Working in the creative field means that I am always learning new things, which is something important to me. Read more>>

Kahai Owens | Producer/DJ

Music has always intrigued me, even since I was a kid. I knew that I wanted it to be an integral part of my life. While still in school, I tried other ventures, thinking of careers as many that age do, but nothing really grabbed my attention, or made me want to pursue it. It wasn’t until college that I really started focusing on music.  Read more>>

Anna Shipulina | Ceramic artist and sculptor

That’s a great question! An artistic career found me in my pursuit of self-discovery after immigration, motherhood, and working with my partner in a family business. I was ready to ask myself what I wanted instead of just fulfilling someone else’s expectations. Read more>>

MICHAEL KITANO | Chef/Owner/Mentor/Instructor

I pursued a creative career as I have always been interested in food. I used to help my mother cook when I was younger, picking up techniques and ideas from her along the way. I also helped my grandfather bbq whenever we’d visit him in Kailua, HI. He used to smoke Hawaiian style meats using old (but cleaned and sanitized) oil drums. This taught me how to tend a fire; even if it was raining like crazy… Read more>>

Yifeng Ma | Illustrator, entertainment artist

I have been passionate about art since I was very young. As an introverted child, I found more happiness in staying home and sketching than in hanging out with other kids. My early works often revolved around storytelling, creating imaginative worlds that I wanted to live in. I drew my dream house, farms, and everything I longed to have. Read more>>

freangeltheartist

since i am known to overextend my point, my practice today is doing my best to keep my answers as short as possible. to answer your question, i love expression in every form and shape. i’ve always felt a very strong pull towards the arts. when i was three years old i wanted to play cuatro. Read more>>

Jingkun Huang | Cinematographer

As a cinematographer, I have been passionate about visual arts since childhood. I remember the feeling of looking through a camera for the first time when I was nine years old. It captivated me deeply. Before entering university, photography was one of my major hobbies. Read more>>

Ayaz Hussain | Actor & Producer

Since I was a kid I used to watch a lot of movies and I used to get really exited about the art of acting. so I decided to pursue acting , I loved how movies and TV shows impacted people’s life and I always wanted to be that person who can change someone’s life through my art and it was just a thought , I did not knew how much work I have to put in to achieve that. Read more>>

Adam Spaulding | Artist

My father wrote alot of electronic music back in the early 2000’s and would play it to us while driving us to school. He didnt really take it anywhere though. He also played guitar and would jam alot when i was younger and sometimes he went to open mics and played songs. Read more>>

Paul Mardy | Portrait & Fashion Photographer

From a young age, being creative came naturally to me. My imagination has always been the cornerstone of my creativity, driving me to think abstractly and see the world in unique, vibrant ways. This ability to envision the extraordinary within the ordinary has been instrumental in shaping my artistic journey. Read more>>

Alex Beck | Ceramic Artist & Instructor

I think it was always meant to happen? Growing up art was my favorite class and I took every art class that I could. In high school I was fortunate enough to have ceramics as an art option and ended up taking 3 classes along with making AP Art Studio ceramics focused. Read more>>

Arianna Han | 3D Artist

Before I was six, I lived with my grandparents while my mom was busy. It was pretty challenging, dealing with a 50-year age gap. They loved me a lot, but there were times when I just had to rely on my imagination to keep myself entertained throughout the day. Looking back, that’s really where my journey as an artist began. Read more>>

GONEBYMORNING

Throughout my whole life, I’ve always been enamored by the arts and more particularly, music. From a young age, I’ve been involved, whether recognizing it or not, in the creative field. It started with little things like wanting to take singing lessons, wanting to learn how to DJ, even though at the time my first DJ board was connected to my iPod (we’ve come a long way since then) or becoming enthralled by video games like Guitar Hero, which inevitably led me to playing acoustic and electric guitar for 3+ years. Read more>>

Nichole Kreglow | Fashion & Costume Designer, Wardrobe & Prop Stylist, Set Tailor, Musician, Crazy Cat Lady

I have pursued a creative career because I literally couldn’t not do so. I feel like this has been a struggle my entire life, balancing the what I “should” be doing with what I, at my core, want and need to do. In undergrad, I was a bio-engineering pre-med major and taking fine art classes that interested me so much more that I ended up switching my major in my final year of college. Read more>>

Maxine YuLing Zhou | Illustrator & 3D animator

For me, being artistic or pursuing a creative career infuses my life with vitality. I believe that our world, the spaces we inhabit, greatly benefit from good aesthetics and art. Elevated aesthetics can enhance life’s joy and quality. For instance, after moving into a small apartment, I found that beautiful furniture and paintings make my living space more exquisite and comfortable. Read more>>