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.

Brent Bishop | Artist / Musician

I believe the Artist path chose me. My family is full of very talented artists but most of them never pursued it professionally. It’s interesting how as I get older I realize what initially inspired me to make certain decisions in my life. I remember sitting at my Dad’s drafting table drawing cartoon characters and dirt bikes when I was 7. It was around that time we took a family trip to see my great uncle, Hyatt Foster, who was a working artist living in Santa Fe, NM. Read more>>

Emma Halet | elopement + wedding photographer

Funny story. I actually hated art growing up. Not art itself, but making art. I had no patience for learning painting techniques, sketching, sculpting, etc. I would fly through art projects just to be done with them and usually get a low grade on my projects because my art teacher could see I wasn’t trying. Going into high school, I needed a year of art to graduate and thought, “Better get this over with.” So I signed up for a photography class because, in my mind, photography was a fast form of art. I could take 5 photos and BAM! Read more>>

Joshua and Kari | Take Two Music

We both felt called to the performing arts from a very early age,. I am a self-taught pianist, and always felt a love and innate joy for playing, singing, composing and performing. Kari was drawn to the entire orchestra, and from playing clarinet on the streets of New Orleans as a kid, to obtaining numerous degrees in music and vocal performance, she likewise knew immediately that a creative career was her only option! Read more>>

Jason Brandt Schaefer | Writer/editor and musician

Creativity was less a choice for me and more an acceptance of self. I’ve been a creative person, a GT kid, since as far back as I can remember, and the choice was really how to put that energy to use. My family was influential in that decision. Growing up, the people around me worshipped both music and books, so those were the disciplines I was drawn to. I started playing alto saxophone at 10 because I wanted to play a different instrument than guitar, which all my family played (I did teach myself how to play guitar as an adult), and I took my study of saxophone through college. Read more>>

Zach Rockvam | Co-owner and van builder at Nomadic Rigs

Building vans is surprisingly a very creative process. From start to finish it requires problem solving and there can be a lot of creative freedom. Each van is a blank slate that can be built into an adventure rig that can be completely custom. A van build-out can be as simple or as luxurious as you desire it to be. Each van can essentially be thought of as a home on wheels. Read more>>

Shilpa Raju | Author

Writing fiction gives me the power to create new worlds that don’t exist and makes me feel in control. Blogging is like a sneak peek into my mind. I mean where else can I blabber about my standpoint without getting censured for it? When I’m writing, it’s like an out-of-the-world experience, quite literally. I hope to share it with others through my books. That’s the reason I chose to be an author. It’s the sense of freedom that’s addictive. Read more>>

Audience of Rain | Band

It’s something we all enjoy and something that we feel gives us that creative outlet that a normal 9-5 wouldn’t provide. Read more>>

Joe Hoffman | Social Media Manager & Talent Buyer

I chose a career in the music industry because music and concerts has always been my escape from stress, life, etc. Getting to curate live music events, among other events, is my way of trying to give back by kind of providing a space for others that has been so important to me over the years. Read more>>

Jack Weaver | Owner of a Hot Rod Shop

I pursed the artistic carer of restoration business because of the love for classic cars. I grew up building a driving them, and then started a little business with my brother. My brother and myself both have successful restoration shops. I also started a non profit workshop to teach student out of high school how to build them also. We need to keep the younger generation into trades like this or we will no be able to have these amazing cars in 20 years. Read more>>

Alexandra Smith | Inventive Problem Solver & Devoted Creative Artist Specializing in Graphic Design

Art always been a hobby for me since I was young. I would even say an obsession. Art is so much more than meets the eye. It is an expression of our thoughts, emotions, intuitions, and desires. And on a more personal level, it’s about sharing the way we experience the world. Read more>>

Jordan Dunbar | Professional Photographer

I think for me it started off as an outlet. I loved creating something new and different and it just grew from there. In the beginning I used to just take the photo, family portraits, senior photos, then I saw something and it just clicked for me, literally. My friend and I were in a laundry mat shooting some portraits and we started trying some crazy angles and even getting in the laundry baskets. Read more>>

Alyssa Wamsley | Owner of Astral Vision Designs

As I entered my junior year of high school and really got to thinking about my future. Nothing really came to mind besides making clothing. At the time I had no experience, but thanks to music festivals I had been exposed to some amazing fashion. My 17 year old brain began collecting inspiration from the clothing I would see at festivals and I started trying it myself. At that time I was just cutting and braiding clothing, but as I graduated high school and began a degree in Fashion Design at my community college, the wheels really started turning. Read more>>

Kyle Licocci | Videographer/Photographer

I grew up in a very creative household where everyone in my family played an instrument. So I picked up the trumpet like my dad and my grandpa and played through college where I got a degree in trumpet performance. However, due to a lip injury I was no longer able to continue down that path. After college I worked a 9-5pm job for 6 months, hated every minute of it, and then got into real estate. I was a real estate agent for 5 years in Chicago and although I wasn’t bad at it, I don’t think my heart was fully in it. Read more>>

Rachel Gravens | Ceramic Artist & Conservationist

During my freshman seminar as an art major in collage we had a guest speaker talk to us about making a career in art. She asked us why we choose to make art and then answered for us “Because you have to.” And that feels pretty accurate. Creating art of some kind has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I had a wonderful art teacher in high school, Amy Lapka, and she helped encourage me that pursuing art could be more than just a hobby. Creating is part of who I am. Read more>>

Will Wooten | Multimedia Artist

The best way I can explain is that art has always been here for me, through thick and thin. It made the most sense for me to create a lifestyle from. Read more>>

Weldon E Lister, Jr | Master Engraver and entrepreneur

I grew up around lots of music and art. Before I was born, My dad had been a country music star on the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville and worked with Hank Williams Sr as his opening act. My dad has always been creative and Later after he left music he started using skills he learned from his uncle, working as an engraver at a shop in San Antonio. Having grown up around all that it seemed only natural to want to learn more what he did and how to do it. Read more>>

Mariel Mumm | Maternity, Birth, Newborn + Baby, Family, and Landscape Photographer

I’ve always been a creative person, I have been an artist in various mediums since I was young. I love creating something beautiful, original, and meaningful, and find the process of creating art to be almost meditative. It’s one of the few times when the world around me gets quiet, my mind feels sharp and focused, it lights up my senses in ways that few other activities can. And I love sharing the beauty I create, for others to look upon and hopefully experience joy and a sense of wonder. Read more>>

Chef Lucy Sunflower | Executive Chef specializing in gluten free/ soy free Vegan food.

In my family book smarts are revered the most. Art across the spectrum isn’t something they ever got overly excited about. While art and culture are a part of societal life, becoming an artist is always seen as a fruitless endeavor. My passion and natural gift for food wasn’t encouraged. I was taught the traditional road to success: good grades and college. Read more>>