One year ago this month we lost our loving friend Jack Munday. On Saturday, June 26, family, friends and the community will come together to paint a mural, share memories and celebrate the life of Jack. Painting will begin at 10am.
The mural design was developed by Bryan Snyder and inspired by Jack’s life growing up in Carlsbad, his love for skateboarding, surfing, baseball and family. In addition to the stories Snyder learned through many conversations with the Munday family, inspiration was also found in dozens of pieces of art created by Jack while he attended middle and high school.
“I arranged all of his artwork across the floor and visually explored his creativity,” Snyder said. There was one piece that I found myself gravitating toward, which was the three-dimensional illustration of Jack’s name—I knew that would be the centerpiece of the mural.”
All supplies including paint, brushes and mural design reference will be provided. Participants will be invited to fill in the color.
On Saturday, April 24, 2021, A Pinch Different painted the newly established Snyder Studio Wall located at Snyder’s Carlsbad Village based studio.
Originally envisioned for the south entrance to the Carlsbad Village Rail Trail, this mural celebrates the fairy magic that has recently taken up the nooks and crannies of our Village trees.
Do you think this design should be painted at the entrance to the trail? Or would you like this painted at your business? Leave a message in the comments!
Would you like to paint the Snyder Studio Wall?
This large scale urban sketch pad is available to anyone looking to paint. It is open to artists of all skill levels and is the perfect opportunity to experiment with new styles, explore new ideas and/or create content.
On Saturday, April 3, 2021, Luis Quezada painted the newly established Snyder Studio Wall located Snyder’s Carlsbad Village based studio.
Quezada incorporated 15+ names of people who passed in 2020. Each name was submitted to the artist after he put out a call on social media for names of loved ones lost last year.
Would you like to paint the Snyder Studio Wall?
This large scale urban sketch pad is available to anyone looking to paint. It is open to artists of all skill levels and is the perfect opportunity to experiment with new styles, explore new ideas and/or create content.
Starting Friday March 19, Carlsbad Village based artist Taylor Gallegos began painting the Carlsbad Art Wall’s 28th mural located on the east-facing wall of Señor Grubby’s in the Carlsbad Village.
Taylor’s mural titled Flow State, includes recognizable figures, as well as lesser known people, who all share the ability to enter an intense moment of concentration and focus.
“Flow state is that state of being when times stands still,” Gallegos said. “It’s you and whatever you are doing. You totally zone in, focus and relax; everything just start to go in the direction you want it.”
The focuses eyes of Kobe Bryant stare out from the center composition above a nameless figure deep in meditation. Carlos Santana is depicted in mid solo, eyes closed and transcended to a place only he and his music occupies. Women’s surfing world champion Stephanie Gilmore is shown locked in with the ocean below her and an artist sees nothing but colors on a canvas.
“I only had room for a few flow-state examples in this design,” Gallegos said, “We all have our ways of getting in the zone; this mural represents all passions. From knitting to science, we all have our activity that enables a flow state; this mural represents each and every one of them.”
As we ascend from the depths of the pandemic, focus is a theme that we can all benefit from. Whether it is for your business, your health or your newfound passion, it is time to get back on track—it’s time to find your flow state.
Rest In Peace my friend ‘The Pit’. When we wanted to skate, we built ramps in you; when we wanted to runaway, you were our Neverland; and when I wanted to learn to paint murals, you were my classroom.
I snuck in one last Doodle before The Pit was demolished.
I began teaching myself how to paint large scale on The Pit’s steep embankments circa 2010. They City would buff them, which provided a new blank canvas for me to continue practicing.
A year later, my first public facing murals began to pop up in the Carlsbad Village. To this day, I still meet City workers who reluctantly buffed my early murals. It’s just a memory until they pull out their phones and show me photos of their favorites!
Tap my bio link to see some of my early murals at The Pit.
On January 2 and 3, Kids for Peace and the Carlsbad Art Wall began 2021 with a new mural on the local rotating art wall. This is the 27th mural painted on the east facing wall of Señor Grubby’s in the Carlsbad Village.
As we all know, 2020 was a difficult year. We don’t need to be reminded of the details. As the 2021 kicks into gear, we look forward to a new beginning, a new year and many days of kindness, positivity and unity.
These are the wishes that fueled the creative development of the Village’s newest mural. The theme of the colorful art is a long-standing message that Kids for Peace, a local Carlsbad nonprofit, has been teaching our community for 14 years led by Jill McManigal, Co-Founder & Executive Director.
A swirling sky of animated energy encircles the earth. Upon the colorfully panted globe are silhouettes of children bound by a positive-thought chain which reaches as fas as the eye can see.
Through McManigal’s passion and drive, Kids for Peace has also brought the non-profit’s annual Great Kindness Challenge to the streets of our community.
Although the non-profit’s headquarters is in Carlsbad, there are chapters in all 50 U.S. States and 121 countries. Kids from around the world participated in the 2021 challenge by sending paper links of kindness with their personalized message to Carlsbad. The entire collection of messages will be strung together with the goal of breaking a world record for the longest linked message.
Carlsbad artist Andrea Team led the creative bringing McManigal’s vision to life. In addition to designing and painting the mural, Team facilitated a weekend of community participation.
Local kids safely added their wishes to the wall as a way to share their desires for a better world. Messages included being healthy, kind and keeping the ocean clean.
While maintaining social distancing, families associated with Kids for Peace showed up all throughout each day excited to add their message to wall and participate in another Great Kindness Challenge.
Smiles and positivity spread quickly and laughter echoed though the streets as the sun shined bright within the cloudless blue sky.
Passersby marveled at the colorful mural and became inspired as they watched each kid interact share their thoughts.
2020 has come and gone; the new year is upon us. We can’t control everything, but we can control how we treat others. The next time you are at a crossroads, we hope you remember the message of this mural; we hope you embrace kindness, positivity and unity—the path we choose will shape the new year.
WHAT: Kids for Peace to paint a new KINDNESS UNITES mural WHEN: Saturday & Sunday, January 2 & 3, 2021 WHERE: Carlsbad Art Wall at Senor Grubby’s
2020 has been a year like no other. The pandemic, presidential election, racial justice uprising, economic hardships and social isolation have challenged our community, country and world like never before. With the year now coming to a close, Kids for Peace will welcome the New Year with kindness, unity and love.
In partnership with the Carlsbad Art Wall and under the leadership of artist Andrea Team, Kids for Peace will paint an uplifting mural titled, “Kindness Unites.” This public masterpiece will illustrate the power of kindness to lift us up and unite us all.
The mural will feature a “Linked By Love” paperchain with messages of love and hope encircling the globe. The paperchain project was created to not only connect our world through kindness, but to also commemorate the ten year anniversary of The Great Kindness Challenge, the global kindness movement which started in Carlsbad in 2012. During the 2021 Great Kindness Challenge, over 15 million students in 115 countries will join together to create a kinder and more compassionate world for everyone. The “Kindness Unites” mural will not only bring joy to the Carlsbad community, it will spark kindness and love worldwide.
About Kids for Peace Kids for Peace, home to The Great Kindness Challenge, is a Carlsbad-based global nonprofit that provides a platform for youth to actively engage in socially-conscious leadership, community service, global friendships, and thoughtful acts of kindness. Over 15 million youth in 121 countries actively create a culture of peace and kindness through their three programs: The Great Kindness Challenge, The Peace Pledge Program and Kind, Creative & Connected in the Age of COVID-19.
A peaceful feeling can be felt in the comfort of a recognizable locale among a familiar community. Wether a tree, a building or a power plant, this project explores the concept of finding peace through the presence of iconic local landmarks—and attempting to reestablish that peaceful feeling when the iconic landmark is removed.
The bond many Carlsbad locals have with the Carlsbad Power Plant exceeds the visual; it is found in the emotional and historical qualities which the iconic landmark represents.
The iconic Carlsbad Power Plant landmark is currently being demolished. It has been providing energy on the coast of Carlsbad, CA for nearly 70 years.
What happens when the monument that represents this bond is removed? What happens to your peaceful feeling? Do your memories fade as well? Does the void it leaves result in sadness, anger or unrest?
In the Japanese culture, a crane represents “peace.” My installation at the site of the power aims to facilitate a personal investigation of how the Carlsbad Power Plant currently makes each passerby feel, and what feelings will result once the iconic landmark is removed—piece by peace.
The Carlsbad Village Power Plant Art Resin Sculpture Starting at $40 plus tax
The demolition of this iconic landmark will be complete in the near future. Preserve its memory with a unique hand crafted resin art sculpture. Each sculpted resin art reproduction is hand crafted by Bryan Snyder in his Carlsbad Village based studio.
• Resin cast based on the hand sculpted clay original • Produced entirely in the Snyder Art studio, Carlsbad Village • 3.5 in. wide x 2.5 in. deep x 3.5 in. tall • Spray painted in beige / clear coated in a semi gloss • Signed on sculpture • Include a Certificate of Authenticity
On November 7 and 8, Aspen, Colorado based artist Matty Davis painted the 26th mural on the Carlsbad Art Wall (CAW) located at Señor Grubby’s in the Carlsbad Village.
Rain and wind are words seldom used in the same sentence as Carlsbad. The sun above our Village is blocked more often by towering development than clouds, but on a weekend that saw the return of a local artist, the sky went dark; the ground went soggy.
The forecast for Matty’s Carlsbad return may have been extreme, at least for Southern California standards, but it did not deter his excitement, nor did it break his determination. Matty’s desire to gift art to his favorite community was unflappable, although it was not easy.
Matty began his short residency in the Village with a creative announcement. Upon his arrival, he placed 20+ pink birdhouses throughout the Village. Each birdhouse was branded with his signature and welcomed lucky finders to untie and take home the found prize.
The birdhouses swayed in the wind for days, but the mural painting started early Saturday morning. Matty arrived at the wall at 4am and began outlining his character as dark clouds loomed. As predicted, and at the most undesirable moment, the sky came down in a drenching downpour. Matty, barefoot and wet, watched many hours drip down the wall and into a muddy puddle.
Some may have cancelled and found a stool at the Señor Grubby’s bar, but Matty, only momentarily directionless, refocused and developed a plan. He raced to the local hardware store and returned with multiple tarps. This was a challenge he would not lose. He constructed a tent apparatus, a masterpiece in itself, and secured it with bricks, rope and jumper cables. In a raw moment of laughable anger, he could me seen atop the Carlsbad Art Wall cursing the sky, “it never rains in Carlsbad!”
The tarp provided much needed protection, although the occasional gust nearly sent Señor Grubby’s on voyage high above the wet streets. With the protection secure, Matty bounced around the wall while his bare feet slid atop the muddy ground, passersby who braved the storm snapped early photos and a steady stream of artists arrived to lend their help.
Bright colors built the early shape of Matty’s character while pen marks rendered form. The long-bearded character can be seen holding brightly painted birdhouses connecting the mural to the creativity scattered throughout the Village. As the sun sank behind the dark horizon, Matty tucked away the unfinished mural for a night’s sleep behind the weathered tarp. Matty retreated wet, tired and barefoot back his motel room.
The weather improved Sunday and allowed Matty focus on the painting while interacting with his many visitors. Friends from near and far visited the Village to see Matty, learn of his adventures and share artistic ideas. Matty’s smile translated to a desire to be back home in Carlsbad, but only when it is time. Until that time comes, Aspen is his current canvas—and who knows what’s next.
A bird may adventure in search of new experiences; it may explore foreign lands and meet new flocks. After these journeys, a bird always finds his way to where it started. Matty’s wings aren’t done flapping, but luckily they temporarily guided him back to Carlsbad where his creative energy was once again felt.
On behalf of the Carlsbad Art Wall and the Carlsbad Village community, thank you Matty for bringing your talents back to Carlsbad…hopefully the currents bring you this way again soon!
The goal of the Carlsbad Art Wall is to bring new art to the Carlsbad Village every two months, provide an educational opportunity for aspiring muralists and stimulate local economic growth through urban art. Each year is funded by community donations and a long-time partnership with Señor Grubby’s.
November marks the opening of the Carlsbad Art Wall 2020 fundraising campaign. This project is not possible without the donations from us, the Carlsbad community. Please consider making a donation today. Make a donation today!
Thanks you,
Bryan Snyder Carlsbad Art Wall Founder and Director
WHAT: Matty Davis to paint the Carlsbad Art Wall WHEN: Saturday and Sunday, November 7,8 (all day) WHERE: Carlsbad Art Wall at Señor Grubby’s in the Carlsbad Village
It’s that time again! The colors of our seasons might not change that dramatically but thankfully the Carlsbad Art Wall does. The iconic east facing wall at Senor Grubby’s will be transformed by artist Matty Davis who will create the 26th mural since March 2015. Join Matty Davis and watch his vision come to life on Saturday and Sunday, November 7 and 8. He will be painting both days; a live audience is encouraged.
Currently living and working out of Aspen, Colorado, Matty Davis was once a prominent figure in the Carlsbad Village art scene. He was one of the first resident artists at the New Village Arts Foundry and organized many local art shows around town.
Matty returns to the Carlsbad Village with his iconic illustrative characters. Word is that he plans on extending his mural theme throughout the Village. Keep your eyes open for hidden surprises in the local streets.
The Carlsbad Art Wall (CAW) was founded by Bryan Snyder in 2015 with the first mural painted by Los Angeles-based Bumblebeelovesyou. The goal of the Carlsbad Art Wall is bring new art to the Carlsbad Village every two months, provide an educational opportunity for aspiring muralists and stimulate local economic growth through urban art.
Carlsbad Unified School District will celebrate Red Ribbon Week October 26 –30, 2020. This district wide program was designed to create an awareness concerning the problems related to the use of tobacco, vapes, alcohol and other drugs.
In Carlsbad Unified we will focus on the many aspects of health, safety, making healthy choices, being mindful and taking care of our environment. You can take advantage of this time to open dialogue at home and in school to discuss issues like peer pressure, social media, integrity and character as well as making the right choices for a healthy future. We encourage you to virtually support the special activities that each school will offer during this week as well as in your community. Please decorate your driveway or neighborhood, make some chalk art on the ground, paint some rocks with kind words and leave them for someone else to find, take family walks or have family dinners and be sure to send us your photos.
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