We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sunny Castro a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Sunny, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

A friend first introduced me to art with graffiti. I was about 11. My graffiti obsession was cut short when my mom seen my name “tagged” on the inside of our building, apparently my “art” was against the law. While my mother yelled at me about my vandalism, out of anger she said “draw on your walls because that’s where you’’ll be spending all your time!”, With just a pencil I began to draw a jungle on my wall. I sketched anything to pass time on the train or out of boredom then I got to high school and my art teacher seen me sketching during lunch. Ms Luba handed me a photo and told me “draw it”. It was a portrait off a man, no shirt on he was laying across a table that sat low to the floor. She would be the one to encourage my art world.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I grew up in the Bronx in the 80’s. On a daily I passed memorials of people from the neighborhoods that may have passed, road the train that was covered in graffiti or played in the playground painted by Keith Haring. I guess my love for graffiti and contemporary art blended when I got my first tattoo. The idea of a tattoo became therapeutic, you come up with this image that supports where or what you may be going through. Temporary pain for permanent pleasure. My dad brought me my first tattoo machine for Christmas. The agreement was tatt whatever but no face. I was on maternity leave and learning to tattoo made perfect since. 59 tattoos later, my tattoos are a reminder of my journey. Now living in Charlotte, and covered in tats a few I even did on myself finding clients to trust me with there skin wasn’t a challenge. Unfortunately I broke my wrist. My wrist healed, self doubt set in. Art is my life but I was to afraid to tattoo again. Now a single mom of three the idea of just pursuing tattoo full time wasn’t in my cards. Most People would see me and love my tattoos most asking for creative advice. They just wanted something original something different so I started drawing tattoo ideas for other people, In 2020 a friend of mine started a nonprofit in Charlotte, I just started as a volunteer. Being from New York we wasn’t raised to help, what we referred to as the homeless, but now, the girl from the Bronx is giving back to the city. Helping the community, back to school drives, relocated the misplaced to hotels in my personal vehicle, teaming up with cmpd, sheriffs department and other great organizations. I would pull up and be greeted by my name, and I returned the love. I met some amazing ppl out there, book writers, artist, boxers, moms. Most who wanted more to be seen, have a convo to not be judged. Some was out there by choice not wanting to conform to the human idea of what life is and for those they were genuinely happy. I am a New Yorker, with a accent, mixed, covered with tattoos in the south. I know how it feels to be judged, just like them. Those people showed me what courage looks like. Of course, following the status quo is easy but being yourself is way more satisfying. I am the owner of The Prototype LLC, (normalize originality), the misplaced people of tent city inspired it. The prototype is about breaking the prejudgment, about not subscribing to everything on the internet. It’s about marching to the beat of your own orchestra . The prototype is about encouraging others to be themselves, the first, and with being yourself encouraging others to be a better version of you. One of the prototypes slogan reads “to talented to punch a clock”, a t shirt I wear in the office of my 9 to 5. I started printing the t-shirts to use the profits to support the misplaced with personal needs, food, and or money for a hotel etc. I recently teamed up with another creator to expand the clothing to more then tshirts, I look forward to putting that merchandise out, proceeds will still help with the support of the misplaced. I have been working on more art, looking forward to having my art displayed locally really soon. The prototype goal is to eventually have an art studio for kids. A place where they can learn the basic skills of drawing and painting, photography and pottery for free.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Getting my art studio for the kids. To have kids put their cell phones or tablets down and participate in what they may see on social media. To interact and socialize. To bring what they may imagine to life. I want them to feel inspired, so that the can inspire. Producing more prototypes.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I love sharing my art with different people, it’s satisfying when I could’ve drawn an image, and I captured that image in my perception, yet someone else can come along and see or feel something completely different. I appreciate how someone’s past, present or future can sway what they may or may not see

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Jus_sunnycastro theprototypes1