We were fortunate to catch up with some brilliant artists, creatives and entrepreneurs from throughout the Houston area and they share the wisdom with us below.

Anne Nichelson | Jewelry Designer + Owner

“As you start to walk on the way, the way appears.” – Rumi I like this quote and think it applies in a variety of ways in life. To me, it means that it’s ok to take risks and not have everything figured out in life. Sometimes things seems like they will be hard, but often the hardest part is deciding to take the first step. I’ve found that once you start taking steps – even if they’re baby steps – that the seemingly hard task never is as hard as it initially seemed. Read more>>

Suyeu Kuo | Executive Clinical Director & Licensed Psychologist

As a licensed psychologist, I view risk every day in a very particular way. I think about suicidality, homicidality, grave disability, and abuse every time I speak with a patient, because it is both my ethical and legal responsibility to assess for these risk factors whenever I treat someone. This level of assessment and analysis is something I apply to my daily life as well. I thoroughly explore every aspect of possible risk, then make a determination based on the facts, my experience, and the resources in place to mitigate the risk. In life, I believe there are a number of choices (e.g. college, jobs, partners) we are faced with that carry inherent risk, because nothing is certain; thus, every choice has some level of risk. Read more>>

Greg Gutierrez | Artist and writer

I’m the hardest working artist I know. The caveat is I enjoy it. I go 7 days a week. I’m always creating even at family functions. I’m as social as a rock but I can sit quietly and create for days on end. Read more>>

Lori Bousman | Party Curator & Balloon Stylist

I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit. Both my parents had their own businesses. Even working in corporate positions and companies I always had a side hustle that allowed me to express my creativity and business sense. It was something I hoped to grow into a full time opportunity as my family started to grow. Read more>>

Connor Yang | Artist & freelance illustrator

Born in the 1995 in the Jieyang，in Chaozhou-Shantou region of Guangdong, China. I come from a relatively conservative and traditional Chaozhou family. As a result, I’ve been introverted since childhood, not adept at expressing emotions, and have felt confused about my identity while being filled with curiosity. These experiences provided inspiration for my creative endeavors, initiating a profound exploration of art. Read more>>

Aaron Ossia | Artist

There is an extremely high level of dedication that it takes to be a practicing artist and maintain it as one’s career path. If you asked me this question about 10 years ago, I would have said that I decided to pursue an artistic career, because I wanted to confront the world with my unique way of looking at things, and to change people’s views on things. But nowadays, I would tell you: I do art because I cannot otherwise! I doit because I feel if I don’t, I cease to exist in a meaningful way. I don’t think of it as a career, certainly not a business, but as a way to make sense of the world and my position within it. The idea of doing art for “no reason” has given me a heightened sense of freedom and liberated me from disappointments and perceived ideas of failure. Read more>>

Alex Marks | Tattoo Artist

I chose to pursue an artistic career to follow in my fathers footsteps! Growing up in a Mom and Pop Tattoo Shop it was easy to figure out what I wanted to do. I knew it was a way for me to able to express myself and would give me the ability to help others be able to express themselves. I get to enjoy doing what I love every day and that’s a blessing that I’ll always be grateful for. Read more>>

Emily Laracuente | Creative

Working for yourself requires a lot of personal boundaries! And it definitely took me a long time to strike a balance between offering what I am technically able to accomplish within a time frame and factoring in space for creativity to occur and time within a project to step back and reflect. When I first started I thought the only way to make clients happy was to produce a result as soon as possible without accounting for “clocking out” at a certain time or room to hit a creative wall and come back to a project with a fresh perspective. Read more>>