New mural welcomed at Ramsay Park

A large mural recently painted on the exterior wall of the Family Center at Ramsay Park was celebrated Friday.

City officials, student artists and others were on hand for the ribbon cutting for the 65-by-15-foot work, titled “The Bigger Picture.” It was created by 11 students from Pajaro Valley, Watsonville and Aptos high schools under the guidance of Watsonville artists Jaime Sanchez and Josefina Rocha. 

“We need to continue moving on with the arts in our community,” said Watsonville City Councilman Jimmy Dutra. “Thank you Jaime and PV Arts for guiding the youth. Let’s hope we can continue to offer opportunities like this for our youth.”

The students are part of the Teen Artes program, under the umbrella of Pajaro Valley Arts and in collaboration with the Watsonville Parks Department. For 10 weeks the students explored their creative desires, learned new artistic methods and skills, designed the mural, and got it approved by Watsonville’s Parks and Recreation. Commission.  

“The goal of this new program is not only to give teens an opportunity for self expression, but also that it’s important for teens to explore careers,” Pajaro Valley Arts Executive Director Valéria Miranda said. “So they can learn more about the inner workings of an artist and art organizations like Pajaro Valley Arts. Soon they will visit the art departments at Cabrillo (College) and UC Santa Cruz.”

The colorful art piece includes a large portrait of a woman (symbolizing Mother Earth), fish, the night sky dotted with stars, flowers, a cat and dog.

“I was so excited to work on this mural,” said student artist Ana Hudson. “When we all met we just clicked; it was really interesting. We came up with this idea all together. We all had such a good time.”

Sanchez said he was impressed with the array of talent in the group. He said the mural reflects a wealth of their ideas, including daily challenges, hope and of finding the right path to navigate through life, both individually and together.