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.

Maxine Grosswald | Live Wedding Painter

When I reflect on why I chose an artistic career, it’s clear it wasn’t a single decision but a culmination of life experiences, struggles, and moments of self-discovery. Growing up, I was told that pursuing art meant choosing a life of struggle. This belief pushed me toward more “practical” paths, leading to my AA in Business, BA in Psychology, and MSW in Social Work. I worked hard, thinking these degrees would pave the way to a stable career. But along the way, I realized that stability without passion felt hollow. Read more>>

Cailey Weaver | Figure Skating Coach & Musician

My future career was always a cause for anxiety, as it is for any young person looking to make their mark on the world. It’s the choice between financial stability, benefits, and the potential for stunted creativity, or to take the risk of exploring your true passions. I feel like a lot of people fight this and go the stable route. I, too, tried to go that route. However, after looking deeper, I realized that the path of “stable job and regular income” isn’t always what it seems. You’re still fighting to stay employed, it’s just doing something you don’t actually enjoy. Read more>>

Susan Plummer | Artist

Creativity is the imagination of an idea in the form of an artistic work that shows a person’s deepest imagination to their fear joy, love, and life that pulls out their passion to the layers of their life. In each layer of our life we experience a mix of emotion that leads to a creative experience.
The creative mystery to everyone’s life lies in their journey, whether it’s the path we are on or the hills we climb, we all have that special moment where we do something, or find someone, or something that is given to us that makes our life blossoms to it’s perfection, but the mystery about this is that not everyone see or feel the joy, the love or the effects, we sometimes miss it because of the layers of life that we are facing in that moment, that’s when you have to walk the same road twice or even triple just to find the peace in between the lines, that pull the space to give you comfort rap in the mids of your storms, to remind us that even though the road is rough their is a battle to be fight and joy is at the end, but each of us have our own mystery to unfold, to live, to fullfil. Read more>>