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.

Will McNeil | Artist & Architectural Designer

Art has been a hobby for me since I was a kid. I loved anime and video games and was heavily inspired by those early on. Although, eventually I moved away from those, not wanting my work to be thought of as “anime-style”. Read more>>

Megan Urmann | Makeup Artist + Aesthetician

It’s a funny story, I actually tried my best to avoid it! Not to say that being an artist and living in creative flow isn’t deeply rooted in my existence, I just fell victim to the trope that there is very little success in being an artist. Read more>> 

Bri Dimit | Artist | Singer | Songwriter | Speaker | Storytelling Musician | Dreamer | Doer

I pursued an artistic career because it was and is my calling. It is why I was put here on this earth and the older I get, the more clear that becomes. Read more>>

More Than Physics | Band

Clint began drumming in 1990 at the age of 11. Starting with snare drum, he played in high school marching band and then went on to become a professional drummer. He has toured across the United states and shared the stage with many top musicians. Read more>>  

Kiara | Rapper, singer, songwriter

This is something that I love, I’ve loved it ever since I learned how to make things rhyme, it’s a passion, and there can be times where it feels overwhelming and I feel like it makes no sense but I always come back to it at the end of the day, I have never seen myself doing anything else in life; Read more>> 

Shane Bumgarner | Retired Adventuring Musician Photographer Hippy Hiker

I had no choice. Although it turned out to not be my full time career, music and art were things that I just could not live without having an outlet for in my life. It is very much the thing that drives me day to day. I was shocked at some point in life to discover that there are people who don’t really like anything in particular, have no hobbies, and nothing to be passionate about. Read more>>

Sarah Green | Preschool Teacher, Cosplayer, & Content Creator

I enjoy the process of creating something with my hands. I also enjoy collaborating with others and being part of something bigger than myself, such as with cosplay groups. The ability to make something from nothing is an ability I cherish, and the process itself is cathartic as I work through the feelings of the normal workday (I also work as a preschool teacher) and create my next big piece. Read more>>

Joe Bello | Professional drinker (sommelier) and voiceover actor

For most of my life people would tell me that I had the “voice for radio”. I always thought it would be a fascinating thing to eventually hear my voice on the radio and that lead me to peruse my voiceover career at www.savedbythebello.com. Read more>> 

Rhianna Cranston | Dancer & Teaching Artist

My pursuit of a meaningful career in dance has been shaped by a drive and natural gravitation towards human expression and connection. Dance truly is the language of the soul (Martha Graham), and I feel like I have done the most “speaking” through movement. Read more>> 

Adam Hinkelman | Artist

I have been artistically inclined from a very young age. However, pursuing a career in art is delicate process. Personally, I paint to convey deep ecological and naturalistic processing through painting. Some of this processes are based on geologic processes like geomorphic movements over time and others highlight trees as singular agents in a larger ecological network. Read more>>