Art is for Everyone" ArtWalk

20+ people showed up for a descriptive mural tour in April 2022. Duarte Designs joined this walk to discuss each wall and provide a new perspective.

Advocates Offer Descriptive Walking Art Tours for the Blind. This is an ongoing collaboration between ArtWalks Charlotte, Disability Rights & Resources, and Metrolina Association for the Blind to create the "Art is for Everyone" ArtWalk. Audio description written and recorded by Disability Rights & Resources www.disability-rights.org is paired with nine works of art in the Uptown area. You can start this ArtWalk at the 7th Street Station. For more information on community resources for the visually impaired, check out www.mabnc.org

IGNITE - Voyage Denver Mag - Shoutout Colorado

Grateful for this loving article in @voyagedenvermag 🎨💫🙏🏽 Covering the topics of transforming blank spaces, secrets to success, risk taking and connecting with others.

Excerpt from the interview:
I live my life as if every aspect is a new artwork. Connecting with others to make sure they feel seen, heard, and appreciated. Too often we underestimate the power of touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring. All of which have the potential to turn a life around. When you create a difference in someone’s life, you not only impact their life, you impact everyone influenced by them throughout their lifetime. Whether it be a friend, a client, a stranger, I treat everyone the same.

NASCAR Yoga

Sydney Duarte loves leading the @chipganassiracing team through weekly yoga classes as they deepen into their practice connecting to their minds and bodies. Grateful to @nascar for capturing these moments in class and teaching the world about the beauty of work life balance in The Brotherhood, Chapter 2: The Road Ahead | A new three-part docuseries from NASCAR - YouTube

Unlearning Series - Tuning in to Happiness and Mindfulness

If you are interested in learning more about how to be more intentional with your communication and actions, value your small victories as much as your big ones, and see there is more to your "happiness" than your next raise/bonus/praise from the boss, this Public House Unlearning session is just for you! We are pleased to welcome Sydney Duarte! Sydney transitioned out of the corporate world and completely immersed herself in her love for art, yoga, and travel. She has traveled to over 35 countries, volunteering, and adventuring, and is forever inspired by the idea that it is never too late to learn something new. She leads you to life-changing places and inspires you to live a life you love and settle for nothing less than extraordinary. The Purpose Behind The Unlearning Series and hosting these conversations, is to bridge the gap between those who do not look like, work in the same industry, come from the same socio-economic background, etc., and to bring awareness to the different experiences people endure in hopes of bringing the community together. We believe power and potential are derived through the collective strength of the community.

Stay Pawsitive

Community and art are two very large elements of my life and @skiptown.clt is embracing/embodying them both 💜 @duarte_designs and I are so very grateful to bring some color and pawsitivity to the Skiptown experience 🐾

I am so honored for the beautiful write up that they just posted, as part of their ongoing Skiptown mural series. “Stay Pawstive” is about my journey discovering art and my passion to spread positivity and healing. So many great questions were asked, but these are some of my favorites from the article:

*What has surprised you the most about painting murals?

*What's the hardest part of painting for you?

*What's something people don't know about artists/the art community in CLT?

* What's something people don't know about you?

* How can we support artists in Charlotte?

The Role of the creative

Since her first day on Planet Earth, Sydney Duarte (AKA The Traveling Gypsy) has been a bright bolt of creative energy and positivity. And in the 18 years she’s been in Charlotte since moving here from Kentucky, she has shared her energy and smile with everyone around her — including as a yoga teacher, a community connector, and the embodiment of Queen City wanderlust (not to mention, a steadfast member of the CreativeMornings/Charlotte volunteer team). Spend a few minutes getting “Biscuit Blitzed” with Sydney and Matt Olin as they discuss her commitment to wellness, one-ness and adventure. You just might find yourself inspired to get out of your head, reach out and speak up.

IT’S NICE TO BE NICE - SUCCEEDLINGS PODCAST

This week we sat down with Sydney Duarte aka The Traveling Gypsy and discuss how she followed her heart, left corporate America, and created her own future. 

SYDNEY DUARTE GIVES US SOMETHING TO SHOUT ABOUT

Sydney Duarte has “ART” in her name, creativity in her mind, and positivity in her soul. And, she wants to pass that positivity on to the people of Charlotte. With each of her projects, Sydney aims to inspire and uplift others, especially now that our world has been turned upside down over the past few months. She’s been busier than ever in 2020, creating art and spreading her message but her creative journey isn’t a new one. For most of her life,  Sydney’s been creating. Whether it was jewelry, pottery, woodworking, canvas painting or painting murals. She has flexed her creative muscles for nearly 18 years.

ADVENTURE, WELLNESS, & ONENESS

Those artistic ventures sound like a full plate, right? Well, they are only one side of Sydney’s creative coin. When she’s not creating for Duarte Designs, Sydney is known by a different moniker… the Traveling Gypsy.

Under her Traveling Gypsy brand, Sydney promotes “adventure, wellness, and oneness” through guided retreats, yoga instruction, motivational speaking, artwork and an unyielding positive attitude. 

“I guide others to step out of their comfort zones to embrace new experiences and live a life they love and settle for nothing less than extraordinary.”

A major part of the Traveling Gypsy lifestyle is yoga. For the past 6 years, Sydney has created specialty yoga classes, ranging from Vinyasa and Restorative to Acro Yoga to yoga for kids.

“My passion for yoga is all about healing others and giving them loving encouragement and power to connect with their minds and bodies. Getting them out of their comfort zone to try something new, whether that be in a studio or in the comfort of their own living room or on one of my international adventure and yoga retreats.”

and, as Sydney sees it, her work with art and yoga go hand in hand. “The aspects of art and yoga intertwine by bringing the community together and sparking inspiration and healing within everyone that comes in contact with it all.”

Sydney Duarte is the embodiment of the power that art and creativity has to transform, heal, and connect our community.

How Charlotte artists are staying creative during this time of stillness

The art community is feeling the effects of the COVID-19 crisis. Shows have been canceled. Commissions have been postponed. Festivals will not take place, given the social distancing rules. It’s easy to think of these happening on a large scale, but they’re directly impacting creators in our community.

Sydney Duarte — one-half of the mother-daughter muralist team behind the new “Do the things that light you up” mural at Two Scoops Creamery — said the crisis has pushed her to think further outside of the box. She has pivoted to focus on the positive and creating new masterpieces like coloring book pages, teaching online classes and creating collaborative art projects and videos.

Charlotte coloring book

Queen City Nerve has published a coloring book, allowing you to put the finishing touches on sketches contributed by local #CLT artists, as a fundraising effort to support both local journalism and participating artists.

Keep yourself entertained with over 50 pages of coloring fun, and support local arts and journalism. Many local artists have contributed an amazing mix of illustrations including;

Cynthia Allison, Ben Verner, Matt Moore, Sydney Duarte, Andrew Winkenwerder, Alexandra Schoen, Arko, Owl, Carlynn Ferguson, CLT Development, Stephen Wilson, Corrie Liotta, Lo’Vonia Parks, Jordan McLaughlin, Rosalia Torres-Weiner, Bree Stallings, MyLoan Dinh, Sam Guzzie, Emily Andress, Andrew Knotts, Stencil Spray, Lauren Lowe, Josh Henderson and more.

You can have a copy of the book shipped straight to your home or purchase as a gift for a loved one. Each order comes with a complimentary PDF version that you can download and print out at home. This project will be part of a new annual special publication series from us at Queen City Nerve. Each year we will release a new volume of the coloring book for sale to support local artists.

Earth day 2020

@Duarte_Designs is creating a new mural on the side of what will soon be the Innovation Barn in the Belmont neighborhood, a collaborative project with Envision Charlotte, the city of Charlotte, and UNC Charlotte that will be used as a lab for recycling technology.  The mural is about honoring Mother Earth. With everything that has been going on in the world, we wanted to paint a message of hope and positivity. It will also include an image of a rainbow for healing with the science of the 7 rays, the quote "A rainbow is a promise of sunshine after rain, of calm after storms, of joy after sadness, of peace after pain, of love after loss" to give hope that everything is going to be OK and we're all in this together, and an image of Colleen Sperati (@plantspiritmedicineclt) holding the earth and “blowing a wish over the globe.”  Specific flowers and plants were incorporated to represent healing/new beginnings. 

All flowers and plants help support us in specific ways such as Elderberry, for example.  Her berries are most commonly offered in syrup form to help stimulate the immune system and aid us during cold and flu season so we can feel like new sooner than later.  Or Mugwort, who if taken before bed can result in lucid dreaming, improved dream recall and/or enhanced dream creativity.  She helps lift the veil between this realm and the dream realm. There are also some fun pollinator flowers for all of the butterflies and bees. 

NEW ART AT DEVIL’S LOGIC BREWING

Queen City artists Sydney Duarte and Nick Napoletano have been flexing their creative muscles at Devil’s Logic Brewing recently.

Devil’s Logic is keeping up momentum and offering curbside pick up for their beer and food while supporting the creation of new artwork to brighten their customer’s days when they stop by.

Nick is painting the mural above and Sydney is working on a cosmic piece in the same space. They hope that the pieces help lift the spirits of the brewery’s patrons. “We’re working on an inspirational project that shows the brighter side of this time in isolation,” said Sydney. “We are creating artwork during this window so everybody that’s stopping by can get a little pick me up and jolt of joy.”

We guess you could say it’s a pick me up for your pick up! Props to Devil’s Logic for spreading a little joy and showing their support for the CLT creative community at the same time. And props to Sydney and Nick for their neverending creative spirits!

Charlotte Magazine - renew and recharge in 2020

Grateful to start the year off sharing my love of making #SelfCare a priority and shedding light on the importance of tapping back into your mind and body in the February Issue of @charlottemag. The feature was entitled, “RELAX - 15 ways to renew and recharge in 2020.” I try to express and encourage this daily through my adventures on here. I’m grateful for each and every one of you and so very proud of the way you have all been diving into yourselves. Always put yourself and your health (mental and physical) at the top of your priority list.

Charlotte’s top Instagramable spots in 2020

Over the moon excited to have several pieces featured in @cltfive today. So honored to be a part of the fabric of this city and grateful for my beautiful tribe that I am creating with 🎨  @duarte_designs, @napoletanoart have been having a ton of fun creating new masterpieces around #CLT and always love seeing how the community connects/interacts with each piece. Thank yu for the support Charlotte, we love you 😘✌🏽

Wellness, Oneness and Adventure with the Traveling Gypsy - Work it Girl Podcast

In today’s episode we chat with Sydney Duarte, The Traveling Gypsy and half of the creative team behind Duarte Designs. Sydney’s mission in life is to educate and empower all people through her three core values of wellness, oneness and adventure. We dive into topics such as overcoming hardships to live your authentic truth, feeling empowered to chase big dreams despite the opinions and objections of others, how travel and experiencing other cultures and people will change your life for the better, and how to seek out and create connection and community wherever you are located. Sydney has committed to living her life through joy and purposeful alignment quitting a corporate job to focus on creating art, spreading wellness through yoga and other spiritual practices, and traveling and creating adventures retreats around the world to connect people through exploration and community. Catch Sydney’s murals around Charlotte and soon to be internationally, take a yoga class with Sydney, join her on an international adventure retreat, or just reach out to connect and experience something new.

Candidly Speaking podcast with Sydney Duarte

Every experience that you’ve been through has turned you into who you are today. The good, the bad, the ugly. Not every moment is fun or beautiful, but without those moments... we wouldn’t be us. And for every grateful moment, honoring where you are right now, you have to honor the road brought you here.⁣ Every risk, every obstacle you’ve conquered, every plot twist, every time your world was crashing down and your heart felt like it had been ripped out of your chest, every disappointment, tough decision, leap of faith, challenge faced and lesson learned... these are all vital parts of your journey.⁣ ⁣
Give love to the version of yourself that is standing here today, all of your past selves that have brought you to where you are, to everything that has contributed to your evolution. You are always on the right path, even when it doesn’t feel like it. Every misstep, every wrong turn, every ending, is leading you in the direction you’re meant to go, making space for new beginnings, bringing you home to you. Grateful to be interviewed by @carrie.gillaspie on the @candidlyspeakingpodcast, speaking on “Adventure, Wellness, Oneness” covering a wide range of topics⁣ from my curiosity as a child, understudying to be a vet, quitting my corporate job of 17 years to take a leap of faith and follow my heart,  my yoga journey (shout out to @nodayoga), some travel adventures, and several things that are on the horizon for me.

Charlotte Real Estate Talk: Sydney Duarte

Art, inspiration, perspective & more! #CharlotteRealEstate Talk #Podcast
So grateful to be brought in the @pridemoreproperties studio for making #Charlotte more colorful 🎨🥳
.
In a city full of bankers, you often hear that Charlotte needs more of a funky, artsy vibe to attract young people. We're getting there... with ‪@nodaclt being popular place to live, and murals popping up all around town the appreciation for them is growing. Murals make #CLT a more colorful place to call home, amid all of the glass and steel 🏙

5 questions with muralist, yogi and arts activist Sydney Duarte

Sydney Duarte, is well known around Charlotte, whether it be for her arts activism, her yoga classes at NoDa Yoga or her new mural at Two Scoops Creamery.

Duarte started painting murals with her mother at a young age. Her mom had always been an artist, and she loved to help out with projects. Eventually, they both moved into the corporate world and fell away from doing art together. After a while, though, Duarte said she insisted they start painting as a team again.

What started off with in-home custom pieces eventually led to the Two Scoops mural, which features Duarte licking an ice cream cone and the saying: “Do the things that light you up. Everything else will fall into place.”

Eat Work Play CLT
The Traveling Gypsy: New CLT Mural Artist

Okay, we HAVE to know more. You painted a mural, right?  
Yay! YES! So excited and have received lots of love and positive feedback so far!

This mural is special because of your co-artist. Can you tell us more about Duarte Designs?

We are Ann (the mother) and Sydney (the daughter) Duarte. Together, we are @duarte_designs, a dynamic mother-daughter duo, spreading positive messages through our original pieces and bringing your custom commissioned visions to life through hand-crafted original art. We are painters, muralists, sketch artists, working with a wide array of mediums.

Our pieces are meant to spark thought and help you stop, stand here, and breathe in all the things that make you feel grateful for this life. We created @duarte_designs to bring love, laughter and hope back to the community. We create custom pieces to accommodate you and your needs (murals, logos, architectural renderings, portrait drawings, and so much more) All styles and sizes! We are open to new ideas and are happy to make suggestions if you’re not sure where to begin.

What’s the process to make it happen?

Our inspiration process started with the quote we used on the wall. It is one of Sydney’s favorites, “You can’t make everyone happy, you’re not ice cream. Do the things that light you up. Everything else will fall into place”. I say this often and am fueled by Two Scoop Creamery’s Yabba Dabba Do Fruity Pebbles ice cream. We thought it’d be fun to do a self-portrait of me with my signature heart glasses and take it from there.

Level Up CLT

Most of the people we asked about Sydney have one common praise for her. She orchestrates community and love and connection. She makes everyone feel seen and loved. Isn’t it funny how the parts of our stories that kinda suck while we are in them are the stepping stones to the change and the mission that we are called to pursue. It’s in the seemingly small details that we saw where Sydney’s craving for connection came from. Sydney has become this incredible change agent in our city and we are so grateful to call her our friend.

Talking Walls

https://www.charlottefive.com/talking-walls-mural-festival/
“This celebratory event captured the powerful impact of public art in our community by revitalizing neglected spaces, inspiring cross community dialogue and raising the arts tourism profile of our city by cultivating new voices of creative expression,” said artist liaison and Talking Walls ambassador Sydney Duarte. “ Charlotte’s creative community is blossoming.” Art is magic. It spreads joy, transforms sorrow, changes minds, and heals hearts.

Sweat Net

Fitness classes in Charlotte no longer need to be scary! SweatNET exists to make healthy lifestyles more affordable and accessible for our local communities. SweatNET exists to break down the barriers to find healthy options. If all you want to do is Yoga in Charlotte, or find the best crossfit gym in Charlotte, SweatNET can help with that and save you money at the same time. Charlotte fitness is for everyone. Connect to fitness Sweat Net Ambassador - Sydney Duarte. Charlotte is full of amazing people doing some truly inspirational things. SweatNET shares the stories of instructors, personal trainers, entrepreneurs, and others living the healthy (sweaty) lifestyle so you can connect directly with these individuals. You should never have to go to a fitness class with the fear of not knowing anyone or what to expect. SweatNET wants you to connect directly or indirectly with these fitness ambassadors. Let their stories inspire you, motivate you, and encourage you to experience the many healthy balanced lifestyle options in Charlotte.

The HEARTest Yard Yoga 

Sydney Duarte will lead you through a heart opening sequence on
Monday, September 24th. Class will be held at the @panthers practice field for this heartfelt event to benefit @the_HEARTest_Yard (The first and only family relief program for pediatric cardiovascular patients) 👶🏻👶🏾👶🏼👶🏽 Visit www.receptionsforresearch.org to learn more.


 

Lake Norman Currents

Lake Norman Currents is the magazine for and about the people who call Lake Norman home. 

FEETURES

Feetures is an incredible athletic sock company that enhances the performance of athletes. Sydney partnered with Feetures because their love of giving back is as big as hers ♥️

 
Local woman shares egg freezing journey

WBTV's Morning Break Team speaks with Sydney Duarte about her egg freezing journey

http://www.wbtv.com/clip/13787290/local-woman-shares-egg-freezing-journey?autostart=true

Cat Yoga with fox 46 charlotte

FOX 46 Charlotte's Diana Alvear attended my Thursday night yoga class at Mac Tabby Cat Café and lived to tell the...TAIL. Haha, ok ok, I'll lighten up on the cheeziness, I just get giddy when folks experience class for the first time 🐾

If you're wondering "what the heck is cat yoga?" take a listen, I promise you'll enjoy it. It's a great way to relax AND support the café 's efforts to find forever homes for these adorable, adoptable kitties.

Good day with Sydney and vida

A fun, humorous lifestyle talk show, filled with laughter, cooking tips, life tips on side hustle, every day struggles, inspirational/motivational magic. Pretty much ALL of things that you want to hear and learn about ✨

https://www.facebook.com/VidaJForward/videos/10103731114977837/ 

Be sure to follow @vidaforward and catch future episodes at Gooddaywithvida.com 

Who inspires me - Post by DANI NICOLE PHOTOGRAPHY

Meet Sydney, a Charlotte local whose account I have been following for a while, after discovering her through a guy I used to date. She’s a die hard yogi, adventure inspiring guru, and passionate filled person whose desire is to spread positivity, creativity, and artistic expression everywhere she goes. I’m a sucker for yoga pose images, since my own practice is far from photo-worthy, so I get a bit giddy seeing her fill up a square in my feed with an intricate, beautiful pose. Her happiness, contentment, and sheer beauty is contagious, and her feed is an eclectic mix of yoga, nature, quotes, and adventures. 

Fun Fact: I actually got to meet her in person not too long ago, when I unknowingly attended a creatives retreat she was hosting. I didn’t even know she was hostess until I pulled up to her house - say wha! - to leave for the retreat, saw her face, and put her real name and her IG name (which I had only known her by) together in a lightbulb, fan-girl moment. https://www.daninicolephotography.com/single-post/2017/09/24/My-Top-8-Favorite-Instagram-Accounts-Trending-Now

Article by Charlotte five and QC Playground

Charlotte yogi and travel adventure guide Sydney Duarte is not one to post personal stories and private information for her more than 21,000 Instagram followers. So it was a surprise when Sydney, who has the Instagram account name @traveling_gypsy, chose to share her journey of freezing her eggs on social media.

She chose to share because she wants other women to know about this procedure– and to know it’s not as scary as it may seem.

http://www.charlottefive.com/one-charlotte-woman-chose-freeze-eggs-postpone-pregnancy/

15 to follow - Article by charlotte agenda

For these 15 yogis, filling their time with yoga isn’t just a resolution for the New Year –
it’s a lifestyle.

Want more in your feed? Check out local yoga photographer Wanda Koch’s Instagram.

And just for good measure, get the rundown on the scene in Charlotte – here are the studios, new student specials, teachers, poses and pro tips to know.

 https://www.charlotteagenda.com/84524/charlotte-yoga-instagram/

cat yoga - Article by charlotte agenda

Mac Tabby Kickstarter - The café is looking for some help before it opens. The cafés Kickstarter is nearly half funded with about 22 days remaining. The funds will go toward opening opening expenses, like permits and the lease.

Mac Tabby is hosting an hour long yoga class with cats as part of its campaign. Pledges of $150 or more are required to participate. Sydney Duarte with NoDa Yoga will teach the 20-person class at 7 p.m. Sept. 21.

http://www.charlottefive.com/mac-tabby-cat-cafe-opening/