Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sydney Truuue. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Sydney , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s jump back to the first dollar you earned as a creative? What can you share with us about how it happened?

This wasn’t technically my first dollar but more so the one I remember.

I was asked to design the logo for the football team when I was in High School. They were looking for a new design and a lot of my friends played for the team and they asked me. I made the new logo that night. Coach asked me how much and I said “ahh you can give me $20” lol who knew?! That’s still one of the logos for the school to this day.

Recently I went to Target and they were selling school apparel and there on the racks was my logo. It brought a tear to my eye, like wow I did that. I’m in target! I have a lot of school spirit so that logo is one of the things I’ll always be proud of.

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?

Hello my name is Sydney Carter and I go by Truuue. I’m from Philadelphia, born and raised. Before I was old enough for school I would sit at home with my grandparents and draw and I would turn the cd rack into my gallery wall, propping my work up for the day. My parents put me in every camp, club, and program they could including the Mural Arts Program. Which I had the honor and privilege of being apart of from 5th grade all the way up through college and even now being apart of the alumni association.

I attended the University of the Arts and upon graduation, I took a break from being in the studio, married my soulmate and had two children. During that break I spent time enlightening myself on emotional intelligence and got to know as many people as I could. I’ve slowly worked my way back into my art practice. But that time spent in exploration has worked its way into my art.

Through my art, I aspire to inspire others to embrace kindness, foster connections, and celebrate the inherent beauty that lies within each and every one of us. My dedication to my craft is a testament to my commitment to spreading love and appreciation for people and their stories. My struggles, achievements, shortcomings and triumphs all come out when I’m creating and that’s what you’ll see when looking at my work. Sometimes simple and fun, and other times more layered and chaotic.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I want people to feel seen and I think that there are many different ways that can be achieved. Maybe someone looks at my work and sees their story in my piece. Maybe theres a shared moment of laughter. The laugh can last 5 seconds but for that 5 seconds someone was right there with you. Or maybe it sparks a deeper conversation, that leads to another deeper conversation, that leads to a friendship. I just want to connect people. In a world where it’s so easy to be connected but it’s even easier to become completely disconnected. There are so many people out there that feel invisible and alone and they don’t have to be. That’s what I’m fighting against. I’m blessed to have the God I serve, a huge family and support system. But I know there are people that do not. So how can I change that? That’s the goal.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One thing I had to unlearn was the idea of comfort. I always equated comfort to complacency, if I got too comfortable I would stop striving for more. I had this conversation with my best friend who owns a business that is very rooted in comfort. I understand that your view on comfort depends on personality and the life that you’ve lived. It can be different depending upon the person and everybody’s idea of comfort is correct and it’s so interesting to see so many views of comfort. But the way in which she views comfort is in such a positive light. It’s so beautiful and so encouraging. She said, “Comfort is finding the belonging within yourself. And when you discover that belonging, you’re unstoppable.” It’s such an empowering way of looking at it and it’s changed me and my view of it. Being stagnant and not striving for more is still a thing but I had to unlearn that, that is not the only thing that comfort brings. You should definitely check her out at Nooked.us and read her comfort blog – it’s amazing.

Contact Info:

• Website: Trueoutlooks.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truuue_story?igsh=aDZ1b2JzeWM1NzR4&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/DJRf48UJ9yKQxsJr/?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Image Credits
Brandon Holiday – Holiday House Productions