![\"OLYMPUS](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/1-Christopher-Konecki-at-workwebtop.jpg\")
<\/a>Sea Walls is an international program of PangeaSeed Foundation, implemented in strategically located cities, with the goal of \u201cgiving oceans a voice.\u201d<\/p>\nThe San Diego project, a collaboration with Surfrider Foundation, Cohort Collective and Kaaboo Del Mar, echoes calls from around the globe to take better care of the world\u2019s oceans. President Barack Obama has even joined the chorus with his recent expansion of a marine national sanctuary in Hawaii, home base of PangeaSeed, and the message is not a new one. A previous rendition of the Sea Wall project was conducted in 2014, with a smaller focus on San Diego\u2019s downtown neighborhoods.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s effort has a plan for 22 murals throughout the city, five of them in the Uptown area, with one already completed.<\/p>\n
Located at 4404 Park Blvd., the 25-by-25-foot brush and roller mural is titled \u201cLove Your H2O.\u201d It was painted by Gloria Muriel, a local artist originally from Mexico. Like all the artists, Muriel was invited to participate and provided a list of subjects from which to select for her mural.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did a little bit of research,\u201d Muriel explained. \u201cI got inspired by water, our most precious resource, and, oh man, we\u2019re so unconscious of how we use it. I need to step it up and take more care of the water, the oceans. A lot of people just want to look the other way, but they really don\u2019t know how bad it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
In describing her mural, Muriel said, \u201cmy style is very organic. There\u2019s a water nymph. She\u2019s very aware, staring right at you. Her hair turns into water. There\u2019s a lot of waves. Her third eye is a water molecule \u2014 I wanted to make it a little bit more obvious \u2014 and there\u2019s a cascade coming from the top, water flowing and cleansing.\u201d<\/p>\n Muriel said that the building\u2019s owner was so enthused she didn\u2019t even have to provide a sketch to proceed with her mural, and she hopes those who see it will be similarly motivated. \u201cWhat can people do? Little things. Take less minutes for your shower. Water is precious. We just have to be educated.\u201d<\/p>\n To that end, the street artist known as Persue is slated to paint a mural at Nomad Donuts\u2019 future location at 3102 University Ave., pending approval from the building\u2019s owner. The theme is borrowed from the Surfrider Foundation\u2019s Hold Onto Your Butt program, a campaign to rid beaches of cigarette butts. Persue, who has been creating street art for 30 years, is a surfer, which makes him particularly sensitive to the need to encourage active engagement in protecting the ocean from polluted runoff.<\/p>\n Persue described Sea Walls as \u201ca group of ocean lovers that are building awareness for a broader audience. They bring their voices out to urban areas of the world. They use artists to help communicate these issues. The project is a way for us to contribute to building awareness, to play a part.<\/p>\n \u201cI guess I\u2019ve been living that lifestyle for decades now,\u201d Persue continued, \u201cbecause of where I come from as an artist; my roots of being a graffiti artist and turning into a street artist, always trying to raise awareness about things I find important for our community and for me. Our hope is that people would look into and discover what we\u2019re trying to say and, in doing so, be educated and make better decisions about how they conduct their lives, make small changes that together have a bigger effect.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>