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.

Craig Bushman | Lighting designer for dance and technical director for the Dairy Arts Center in Boulder, CO

While there were a few career choices that I considered, the most appealing ones to me were in the arts. The first “job” that I wanted to do (when I was about 6 years old) was stand up comedian. I acted in every show I could get into from 5th grade through high school. I played bassoon and upright bass in the school orchestra when I wasn’t acting. I moved into creative writing when I “retired” from acting at 17. Read more>>

Ricky Feria | Musician

I have always been very much interested in music and never saw it as a realistic option for me until I was around 22 years of age. After going to College for Architecture, I realized that I didn’t have to motivation needed to succeed in that industry. Around the same time I had a couple of friends starting to do well in the music industry and this motivated me to give it a shot. Read more>>

Brandi Ashman | Photographer/Creative Director & Numerologist

Diving into creative pursuits is the only thing that has ever made me feel happy and so I always knew from a young age that I needed work in a field that allowed me to have creative freedom. There were a few times in my life where I worked in the corporate office type of envirnment and I was really unhappy. As I began studying Numerology, I learned that my destiny number was a 3 and this is someone who is destined to express themself. And it really resonated and since then, more creative opportunities have continued to unfold for me. Read more>>

Not applicable Radeaux | Artist, art dealer and art collector

I took art history courses in college that exposed me to a whole new world and I decided I wanted to do art as a career. I moved back to Pueblo in 1973. Pueblo had a brand new Arts Center and I had many friends in the art scene at the time. I started drawing and painting and showing my art. Read more>>

Jesse McCann | Photo guy and local weirdo

I’m here to do interesting things until I die, and so I do what interests me. I’ve always loved the artist/creative world, and I really love experimenting with new techniques and some of the trial and error that’s involved that has lead to some pretty neat shots. Read more>>

Abby Pellien | Cinematographer & Documentary Filmmaker

From a very young age, I have always been surrounded by imaginative souls. The realization that my path would be anything but conventional had always lingered within me, yet it didn’t manifest itself until my senior year of high school. I diligently tended to my academic pursuits because I had my sights set on a career in biochemistry. Read more>>

Kimberly Garcia | Custom cake artist

I can’t remember a time when art and creating wasn’t part of my life. My mother has always been incredibly creative, her rough sketches were things of beauty, her stories unsurpassed. She taught me that to take something whether it is a pencil & paper, an old piece of furniture, a camera, skin, or food; Read more>>