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.

Kirstin Protsman | Brand strategist, designer, + resident weirdo behind Rae Design

My creative career started with my Myspace page in middle school. You know, the days where we could customize and update backgrounds as needed, play around with code and including favorite songs on my profil. For me, it was the backgrounds and customizing them. I loved to mess around with the code and didn’t realize that this would be the start of everything. Read more>>

Delaney Watkins | Artist

There are many reasons as to why I have decided to pursue a career in art. Creating art has been the greatest passion of mine for as long as I can remember. It has been the backbone of much of my confidence. I have worked plenty of penny jobs, but in 2018, I began working as a Paraprofessional with special needs children. I will always have a genuine love and dedication to those kids, but the money is simply not there. Read more>>

Nick Dillman | Photographer & Lucchese Bootmaker salesman

I was watching a video on YouTube one day and I went to the suggested videos that show up on the right side of the screen for my next video to watch. As I scrolled through I saw the title: “The Mountains Won’t Remember Me”, a film by Peter McKinnon. Living in Colorado and loving the mountains, the title piqued my interest, so I clicked. The next 15 minutes and 25 seconds changed my life. The short film brought emotions out of me that I hadn’t felt in years, and changed my life. Read more>>

Rebecca Lopez | Business Owner & Designer

I get to create art daily, teach people it’s not that hard to start a business and it provides a good living for my family. Read more>>

Mary Beth Osburn | Tie Dye Artist and Owner/Creator of Marybgoround

I started my small business right before the pandemic in 2019.. After having tons of different jobs over my work career, I wanted something more meaningful for myself. I was tired of working 9-5 jobs that left me feeling empty at the end of the day. At that point, I had been tie-dyeing on and off for a few years and really started enjoying my craft and excelling pretty quickly at it. I had started getting recognition on social media and from friends and family and I thought I should start selling my dyes online. Read more>>

Terrell Lamont | Multihyphenate Artist

I think that every human being has the potential and the ability to be creative. Some people have a stronger pull to express themselves creatively and I feel like my pull to be creative is extremely strong. I don’t think that I would find much fulfilment or satisfaction in pursuing a non-creative career, Read more>>

Suzanne Sharkey | Foodie & Creator

Truth is, I started to explore cooking more in January 2019 after the still birth of our son, Aidan. It was a terribly dark time, I was using cooking as a sort of therapy to be able to create and bring things into this world that brought happiness. And let’s be honest, food makes everyone happy! Read more>>

Aliyah Wallace | Multi-Media Creator & Fashion Designer

I’ve been a very creative person my entire life. My creativity has been expressed in a multitude of ways and forms of media – constantly trying out new art skills and picking up hobbies keeps my creations innovative and new. It all started when buying second hand and thrifting was seemingly the only option for me to get new clothing and dress how I wanted to. Read more>>

Fernando Medina | Drummer & Percussionist

Really I had no choice when it came down to it. As my academic study (and then geologic career) progressed it became obvious, by my mid-20s, that the passion just wasn’t there. But there was no shortage of passion in the drumming activities (live performance, recording, etc) I was doing in my spare time. After all, I’d been playing ever since age 11 or 12. So anyway, after my first European tour, I decided that it was time to take the risk, make the move, and go all in. Read more>>

Jared Alexander Masters | Producer Songwriter

I was juggling a lot before I decided to focus full time on my production and songwriting. I was cmo of a multi million dollar business, I was a creative advisor for companies as well, we had a new baby, traveling, but I was writing and producing daily. Read more>>

Sonya Shannon | Visionary Artist, Author & Teacher

I’m one of those right-brain/left-brain people who are good at both arts/languages AND sciences/math. I was very fortunate to find a career that combined just about everything I love. I studied classical (hand-drawn) animation, which quickly became 3-D CG (computer-generated imagery). To enter this field, I leaned towards art over science, because I realized I would probably not have time for art if I didn’t make it my profession and missing out on creativity felt painful to my soul. Read more>>

Jennifer Banzaca | Abstract Painter

Like many artists will tell you, I have been creating for as long as I can remember. Being an artist is a big part of my identity. I spent many years trying out other paths, but ultimately it just led me back to painting. There is also the fact that it was the one thing I excelled at in school. I was fortunate to have wonderful opportunities early on and art teachers in high school that gave me inspiration to live a creative life. Read more>>