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.

Kellee Klinock | Cosmetic Tattoo Artist

Growing up I was a creative. I naturally have spacial reasoning. So I liked craft, and fine arts and I played music. But I also grew up in a community that didn’t not, as a group, value creative or technical careers as valid. Art and craft was considered a decent hobby and it was valued to be well rounded—but it was not a serious pursuit to dedicate your life to. The group valued MBAs, Drs, lawyers, engineers… you get the picture. At the very least every person should have a college degree. Minimum standard. Read more>>

Minister Blessed | Gospel Recording Artiste

I started doing music as a hobby in my early teenage years performing cover songs at local churches, schools and concerts. As time progressed and my relationship with God grew deeper, I began writing, performing and recording my own original songs, realizing that my talents were a powerful tool for ministry. Read more>>

Molly Lyons | Theatre Artist: Actor, Director, Teacher

I was exposed to the arts at an early age. Due to my father’s work, we traveled the world and I was constantly soaking in museums, galleries, concerts, live performances. We were at an outdoor venue once, watching A Midsummer Night’s Dream when I wandered away from my parents toward the front. Puck, the mischievous fairy, was in the audience performing a monologue and, nimbly, incorporated chasing me giggling with delight, back to my seat with the poetry of the Bard. I started dance at an early age, some music lessons, then my dance teacher recommended me to a holiday musical that needed a kid, and I was enamored. Then classes, a touring reader’s theatre company, scholarship to university then graduate school, and onward. Read more>>

Gina Soranno McCann | Vocalist

I wouldn’t say I chose an artistic career, but rather it chose me. Growing up listening to Top 40 radio at home and in the car with my family, and singing in school choirs and musicals, I thought I wanted to be a pop singer, but I also wanted to be a well-trained and skilled musician and not just a decent sound with a marketable look. I attended the University of Illinois and earned a Bachelor’s in Music – Vocal Performance. It was a difficult course of study having had zero exposure to classical music beforehand other than some voice lessons in high school and the occasional Handel’s Messiah piece. To launch my pop music career while still at Illinois, I sang in a few Top 40 cover bands while trying to keep my voice healthy for upcoming classical music recitals.  Read more>>