We were lucky to catch up with Sharif Carter recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Sharif, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.
I am the youngest of three, so the first thing my parents did right was have me last! I was able to sit back and relax with a bag of popcorn and learn from my two older siblings. My parents embraced my creativity from a very young age. My mother enrolled me in a Montessori school which shaped my creative right-brain. Throughout grade school my parents poured out constant gratification and praise of my art projects, even the ones I knew were awful. My mother still has a failed clay pencil holder project in her office from my high school ceramics class. Every time I see it, it reminds me of her unwavering support.
The most impactful moment in my childhood was watching my older sister go to college to become an engineer. I knew I was good at art and I loved math and science, but I didn’t know how to take advantage of these left and right brained skills. It was obvious to my father that I should follow my sister’s path and become an engineer. I asked him what type of engineering connects art with science? My father encouraged me to go to an open house at the University of Washington in Seattle, our hometown. When I arrived on campus I was drawn to a strangely designed race car on display in front of the mechanical engineering building. I asked the students at the booth, “who designed this crazy thing?”, and they said “we did! and we built it from scratch”. At that moment my father’s words resonated with deafening clarity and I knew I had found what I was looking for.
I enrolled in the department’s Formula S.A.E. (Society of Automotive Engineers) program which fast-tracked my career into the automotive industry right out of college beginning with Honda R&D Americas. Several years later, I now share my journey with middle school students to encourage them to pursue a career in the math and sciences, with a sprinkle of art. Also know as S.T.E.A.M.
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?
My name is Sharif Carter and I’m a mechanical engineer moonlighting as an artist. My professional career spans two decades from automotive, environmental, to information technology. My metamorphosis occurred during the pandemic of 2020 where I shifted my life from sitting in a cubicle trying to achieve the superficial American dream to becoming a global citizen with my art.
The real question is how do you characterize a creative? Some do it for the love of it, some for passion, and others for financial benefit. Well, I’m all of the above but with more emphasis on the financial side since taking a short break from my “regular” career. Although I’ve worked in the trenches of corporate America, I’ve always known I wanted to control my own destiny and not pander to others to move ahead. As an engineer with an artistic side, it’s difficult for me to settle into a daily routine of mouse clicks, spreadsheets, and presentations. I want to break stuff, screw up, do it wrong again and again, learn a hard lesson and then try it my own way. That is generally what most engineers do, but in a structured environment with textbooks and Google.
My art has awarded me many benefits beyond the paintbrush. I use my art to grieve pain, express my emotions, and to earn a dollar or two. But most importantly, I use art to train my mind to think without limitations or boundaries. Since I’m somewhat of an introvert, I also use it socially to interact with others and study human behavior. My new passion is painting live at bars and nightclubs or wherever music fills the night air and the atmosphere is electric.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
I’m in constant pursuit of something more. I try not to settle into a rhythm because I bore easily. I’m constantly asking the question, “why” and “how”. If you keep asking those two questions, you’ll keep evolving and learning no matter what your career or passion is. However, I must strongly emphasize that every journey is different. We as humans are are different. That’s why we all don’t drive the same car or wear the same clothes. For some, a struggle may be deciding what to eat for breakfast, while others may be how many miles to run before breakfast. I fit right in the middle, I run too many miles but eat the same thing for breakfast.
My journey actually requires constant struggle. But let’s be honest, being successful at anything requires struggle unless you’re just extremely lucky and perfect. I’m unlucky and imperfect. I have a bad habit of learning the hard way. I make mistakes, break things, and then learn and grow from it. I apply that same concept to everything in my life. I’m obviously more successful at some aspects than others. For example, I’m single with no children but a pretty decent artist. So, dropping everything and moving across the country to live as an artist is no biggie for me.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Resilience implies success. In other words, you must overcome a struggle to achieve something. But what is that something and how do you measure the degree of success? I question these things because what I may view as success may seem like every day life for others. In my eyes, every day life is a journey of resiliency. Being blessed with a gift as an artist and to be able to share this gift with others without judgement does require some resilience. There is no pre-defined path in life, but whatever direction you choose and how you traverse it, you must do so with faith. As I approach middle age, my path has been a long one with many twists and turns, but I keep walking at a steady pace with faith. My middle name, Iman, means “to have faith” so I must honor that.
I have recently taken a leap of faith by moving to Lisbon, Portugal. The journey began over a year ago with just a thought, a trial run in Istanbul Tukey, obsessing over YouTube videos, and bragging to friends about it. My trip to Istanbul was a blueprint for Lisbon. If I could survive in Istanbul, then Lisbon should be a breeze. Only this time it would be permanent. The one thing I enjoyed most about Istanbul was exploring the history and beauty of the city by foot. I do my best thinking when I walk. So, to prepare for Lisbon, I began to walk and methodically charter my path. The primary objective was, and will always be, to use my art as a global passport to experience other cultures. But first I had to overcome the hard part, selling my house, disposing of unnecessary baggage, storing a house full of art, and succumbing to a much simpler life.
Fast forward to present day, I’m now living in Lisbon and I’m ready to start my next chapter on whoever the hell I am.
Contact Info:
- Website: sharifcarterart.com
- Instagram: @sharifcarter
- Facebook: @sharifcarterart