Art

VALLEY ART Strawberries and apples are highlighted in this mural at the Ramsay Park Family Center.

The bounty of art

New murals around Watsonville celebrate the strawberry

The final touches on various new strawberry-themed murals in Watsonville have recently wrapped up.

Jessica Carrasco, Mateo Gonzalez (aka Primo) and Paul De Worken have been working over the past few weeks on a massive three-panel wall at Laundry Day near the corner of East Lake Avenue and Brennan Street.

De Worken said the mural design not only celebrates one of Watsonville’s cash crops—strawberries—but also the culture of the farming that revolves around the colorful berries.

Further down Main Street, the Movable Murals project has made its way to the Ramsay Park Family Center.

Three large panels facing Main Street feature the artwork created by students from Cesar Chavez Middle and Watsonville High schools alongside artists Patricia Sotarello and Sara Webb. The panels are located near Jaime Sanchez’s glass-on-glass mosaic “The Heart is the Community,” which was installed in 2020.

Movable Murals is a project of the Pajaro Valley Arts Council, the City of Watsonville Parks and Community Services Department and Community Arts and Empowerment, funded by the California Arts Council.

Grown with care by generations of Central Coast farmers