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.

Sophie Adams | Artist & Photographer

A career fueled by creativity was not a question, but rather a series of events that culminated in the embodiment of the lifestyle I learned is necessary to my joyful fulfillment. Read more>>

Erin Weaver | Owner + Founder of Studio451Jewelry/ Metalsmith + Jewelry Designer

From a very young age, I had an innate ability to create. Through many art classes and back and forth on what college degree to pursue, I decided that following my artistic talent was the right path. I moved to Durango, CO to finish school at Fort Lewis College with a BA in Art with a focus in Silversmithing and a minor in Southwest Studies. At that time, I fell into southwestern archaeology as an intern at Mesa Verde National Park mapping prehistoric architectural sites. They needed an artist to create hand drawn maps of prehistoric structures in the park. This led me to an 8 year career in archaeology. I occasionally still had my hand in making jewelry, inspired by the southwest and the cultural remains that I discovered in the field as an archaeologist, left behind by the ancestral puebloan people. Read more>>

Jeff Terrell | Tattoo artist

It was always something I had in my mind since I was a little kid, I just feel like I need to be drawing or painting , tattooing it’s just in my blood I guess Read more>>