We asked some of the city’s leading artists and creatives to tell us about how they decided to pursue an artistic or creative career. We’ve shared some highlights below.

Kaitlyn Groh | Yoga Instructor

I chose to pursue teaching yoga because of the things it brought to me in life. I found yoga in a time when I needed structure and confidence, but what I wasn’t expecting was the peace and strength it added to my everyday life. For years I wanted to take a yoga teacher training, but was caught up in working to make ends meet. Read more>>

Kita Atabaki | ArtWitch

First, the dreamy answer : Because i had to. Because i am the daughter of an artist and her creative spark lives on in me. Because folklore, mythos and legends are the loom that people weave their cultural narratives on…and i want to engage in the storytelling process or folklore. Read more>>

Brannan Bell & Sabah Khan | Hosts of The Cannabis Hangout Podcast

You know, we both have done 9-5 jobs, and between the two of us ,one or another, we have worked jobs in the retail, food, and fashion business that has really shaped us to who we are today with the different skill sets that having many different jobs growing up provides you with in the future. Read more>>

Katie Miller | Face Painter, Pet Portrait Artist, Paint Party Host, Muralist

Art has been a passion of mine since I was a little girl. As I grew older and wanted to look for ways to make art a career and promised myself I was going to beat the odds of a starving artist. I believe art is a contagion for creativity, and viewers can let their emotions and depictions run wild. It is therapeutic, not only for me, but for the viewer. Read more>>

Graceland London | Female Contemporary artist

From a young age, around 7, I loved drawing and painting. It was a calling and an urge to always create, it might sound cliché but, its the only thing that made sense to my brain. I would focus on other careers and hobbies but always get drawn back to creating, I remember always drawing on napkins in cafes and bars to plan what paintings I wanted to create. Read more>>

Kaela Croft | Licensed Star Wars Artist

From a very early age I was always drawing and as I got closer to graduating high school I started making money doing personal artwork for clients over the internet. I realized that I might have a shot at turning my passion into a career. I found joy in taking clients visions and brining them to life. Some people don’t have the ability or the time to draw, but they have these characters in their head that they want to see come to life. Read more>>

Taylor Husser | Actor/ Writer / Director

When you begin acting they often speak of the acting bug. It’s this condition when you can’t desire anything but to act. I knew I had it when I was 16 after watching the film ‘Call Me By Your Name’. I was completely captivated by the young Timothee Chalamet, his vulnerability, the ease at which he expressed his character and became that character. His performance truly changed me, changed my mind of what my life could be, I could be an actor. Read more>>

Ali Schlichter | Owner Of Chin Dribblin’ Specialty Sauces

I have always preferred the creative career path. Working in the restaurant industry my entire life has allowed a ton of creativity, but it has also come with being completely over worked on a salary pay, stressful decisions about money and chef burnout. So pursuing a career of my own has allowed me to balance out my time and focus on building something of my own! Read more>>