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.

Samuel O. Dong Saul | Professor and Problem-Based Artist

Ever since I was a young child, my dream has been to be an inventor of some sort. Making and creating “things” was the only path I wanted to take. I started drawing my favorite cartoon characters in the 2nd grade, which led to learning about character design, perspective, color, and other illustration techniques from a young age. Because drawing was not enough, when I reached the age to attend college, I decided to study a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Design, where I learned about design thinking, user-centered design, and systemic design processes. My undergrad opened an entirely new area of thinking about design and how it can be made. After undergrad, I pursued a Master in Educational Technology and Instructional Design and a Master’s of Fine Arts in Graphic Design. School has been a great place to explore my passions as an artist and experiment with new media and art-making processes. This curiosity has been consistent for more than 30 years; even today, I am teaching myself how to write code and use game development software while being a full-time faculty member at the University of Northern Colorado. The passion for learning about art and the various ways of making it is one of the only thoughts that brings meaning to life. Read more>>

Veronica Mata | Managing Director of The Clue Room and Interior Designer

I was very fortunate to be raised in a home that encouraged creativity and trying new things. My parents always had paints, crayons, and chalk for us to draw and color. They would come up with scavenger hunts and games for special occasions and when we traveled. They enrolled my brother and I in almost every activity under the sun. I tried pottery, piano lessons, cheerleading, soccer, tap dance, swimming, drawing classes, and hip-hop. While only a few of those stuck as I got older, mainly music and dance, I was always surrounded by creativity. Read more>>

lening hou | New media artist

I believe that being creative isn’t something that has barriers. As long as one maintains an open mind and accumulates a wealth of experiences, one can certainly become creative. I have a fondness for the concept of serendipity. In my view, creativity is a form of personal serendipity. You need to remain open, possess sagacity, and know how to forge connections. Read more>>

Jason Natzke | Visual Storyteller

One of my earliest memories in life is from speech therapy class. And the memory is more about FEELINGS than anything else:

Frustration, then anger, followed by apathy…not that I had the cognitive development at age 4 to articulate those emotions or use those words. I actually couldn’t really use any words at all. Read more>>

Jessica Jones | Events director + Professional Artist

All my life I have loved making art. I worked a lot of jobs not related to the art field but always found a way to make it creative. Be it by decorating store fronts, hand painting back drops for bar crawls, painting during slow days in gas stations, really any way to sneak creativity in I did it. Once 2020 hit and the bars all closed, my job of 10 years disappeared overnight. It was shell shock. My whole life I was told tending bar was a forever gig, people will drink to celebrate or wallow. Luckily for me, that was truly the catalyst for filling my soul instead of pint glasses. Currently I am the events director at Cottonwood Center for the Arts as well as a professional artist. Being able to be involved with our creative community while working on my skillset is such a fulfilling experience. I’m doing my best to model for my daughters that they can be whatever they dream of being and achieve success while they do it. Read more>>

Mia Mulvey | Artist & Professor

I have always been interested in being an artist. I did take a short detour: one summer in college I took an Anatomy and Physiology class and loved it! When I went back to school in the fall, I changed my major to pre-med, but after a year my love of art drew me back. I have kept my interest in science, but art has allowed me the freedom and ability to think about things from a wider, more creative perspective. Read more>>

Michael Magrin | Fine Artist

Ever since I can remember, art has been a big part of my life, all thanks to my mom. She was the one who first introduced me and my brothers to the art scene, taking us on regular trips in the winter months to the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, NY. It was there, amid the vast collections and exhibitions, that I had my first taste of how art could open up worlds. Summers were no different, filled with art festival after art festival. Each visit, each new piece of art, stirred something in me, a deep-seated fascination that just grew over time. These weren’t just outings; they were my first steps on a path I’d come to follow passionately. Looking back, I see how these experiences shaped me, nurturing my creativity and guiding me towards my artistic endeavors. Read more>>