At HuffPost, we're kicking off an exciting new project and we'd love you to participate! It's called "The Moment I Knew," and is a user-submitted video series where readers tell the stories of life-changing moments they have experienced. Each section of HuffPost has chosen a different theme -- whether it was the moment you knew you wanted to marry your spouse, the moment you knew your marriage was over, the moment you knew you loved college, or the moment you knew you were broke. You can also tell us about any other life-defining moment you'd like to share. The possibilities are endless!
Here on HuffPost Arts we've suggested that you tell us about "The Moment I Knew I Wanted To Become An Artist". You don't have to be a professional artist to contribute, however. We're looking for anyone who has ever done something creative and put it out in the world for other people to see and enjoy. You could be a Photoshop artist, a photographer, a dancer, a librettist, a secret doodler, a shower singer, or anyone else who feels they have an artistic side.
It's really easy to contribute! You can create your video using YouTube or Vimeo and send the link/URL of the video to themomentiknew@huffingtonpost.com. If you create your video using your laptop or mobile phone and have a video file, please attach the file in an email to themomentiknew@huffingtonpost.com. Your video submission is subject to our User Terms. Please make sure to include your full name with your video submission. Each video should be 30-60 seconds long, and should feature only you, speaking right into the camera telling your story. Please start your story with the words "The moment I knew I wanted to become an artist..." and go from there. You can see examples here.
We can't wait to hear from you! And if you have any questions, please email themomentiknew@huffingtonpost.com.
Our first submission is by Kalup Linzy, our amazing blogger and incredible performance artist who tells us about his own "a ha" moment. Check out his video above and let us know what you think in the comments section.
We also received Brian James Spies video, where he talks about Mike Kelley's Sonic Youth album cover for "Dirty" below:
Another video was taken by North Carolina resident Linda West, who enjoys watercolors. She writes, "My Daddy was my art teacher and he taught me all about depth, perception, shadowing and 'straight' lines."
See her video below:
Robert Hargrave weighs in below:
We have another video by Morgan Johnson Norwood from Reston, Virginia:
Gina Marie Dunn, an artist at Utopia Pkwy Art Studio
and the Texas Art Director of Origin Magazine, tells us why she became an artist:
Russ McIntosh tells us how he became an artist below:
In our latest video, Raheem Nelson, a cartoonist from New Haven, CT, tells us his story: