Artists and creatives face innumerable challenges given that their career path often doesn’t come with a playbook, a steady paycheck or any form of safety net. It’s definitely not easy and so we asked a few of the artists and creatives we admire to talk to us about why they chose to pursue an artistic or creative career.

Michael Lajoie | Historical Fiction Author

I started seriously writing in 2018, following a conversation I had with a good friend. We had been driving along the New Hampshire coast, talking about our lives and our futures and our dreams. My friend asked me what I would do for the rest of my life, if I could do one thing and only one thing. Immediately, writing was the answer that came to mind. I had wanted to be a writer for a while, but I had never pursued it because I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it full-time. Read more>>

Julie Lamb | Julie Lamb, Designer/Owner of Julie Lamb NY

I’ve been an artist all my life. I started creating original jewelry works out of clay and beads back in my Brooklyn elementary school. When I heard about the High School of Art & Design in midtown, I applied and became an Illustration major. After class I’d spend all my free time roaming the different districts of the city gathering materials for jewelry making. By the time I got into Syracuse University to study Metal Smithing I had made pieces out of just about anything other medium, Read more>>

E.d Adegoke | Artist, writer and poet

Making papers in human form and giving them names as representing human characters in complement to man’s everyday life, my interest in Art started long ago since I was a kid, I can’t remember the age precisely; I make Art with papers, I draw characters from comic books and characters from animations. I was so good at drawing, I draw so well all my colleagues at high school knew and loved me for it. Read more>>

Magda Love | Visual Artist

Personally, I believe creating art isn’t really something that you choose. It choses you and when you truly feel that artistic calling , you no other option but to create. It is like chronicle condition, there is not a single day that I go without either creating artwork, or thinking about creating new artwork. I have been thrilled, excited, enamored, inspired, disappointed, heartbroken, and then hopeful all over again. Read more>>

Jamari Wright | Actor

Growing up, I’ve always known that I wanted to be an actor. That was something that has always sparked my interest and it’s something that I’m truly passionate about. I chose an artistic and creative career path because it’s something that has always allowed me to fully express myself in the most authentic way possible, while simultaneously doing something that I love. Read more>> 

MALAYLA FIELDS | Swimwear Designer

I knew all along I would have a career in fashion. I remember being in fourth grade being asked what I wanted to be growing up and I would say “A lawyer AND a fashion designer”. My mom would encourage me by telling me that I could do both. As a child I was always given the freedom to express myself by picking out my own clothes so I had a great sense of style early on. By the time I got to high school, I enrolled into a magnet program where I began studying fashion. I learned how to sew, learned about fashion history, how to put on a fashion show, etc. Read more>>

Lady Tracey | Author, Radio Host & Entrepreneur

It all started one day during Covid, while I was at home feeling bored. I took up the laptop and started to search for Work-at-Home Jobs, then there it was, “Vacancy for Radio Hosting”. I then said why not try something new? With my past experience in the hotel entertainment industry, it felt less like a challenge. Read more>>

Fernando Sucre | Pop Art artist

I started to paint “seriously” at age four when I developed an unusual fascination with comics books, cartoons and superheroes. Growing up in the excessive social scene that was Caracas of the 70’s and early 80’s, I soon translated my taste for comics into a new style of caricature filled with satire, humor and playful parody. I became known for my wild characters, neurotic bar scenes and colorful interpretations of the rich and famous. Read more>>