This Page is Dedicated

to the memory of Jay Godding

Scroll over the photos to see other images!

Jay was a wonderful artist, friend and happy sharing guy! We will miss him very much.

 

Jay created happy art truely in his various art cars!

He was a welcome active member of the ART CAR community, sharing smiles and laughter wherever he drove!

His Happy Face Bugs were a poplular addition at the local 'Funky ART CAR Festival' for the past 2 years.

Who could forget his smile? And the many smiles he shared with the world on his Happy Face Bugs! Pictured here at Granville Island the day we had the interview with VTV ch 9... *grin Jay was caught on air flirting like the smiley guy he was with Tamara Taggart!

Listed below is the article featured recently in the North Shore Outlook

04/12/2002 North Shore artist dies in sleep

By Don Fiorvento

The man who put smiles on the faces of thousands of North Shore commuters is probably bearing a grin up in heaven right now. Jason Godding passed away in his sleep unexpectedly on March 28, leaving behind an old Volkswagen Beetle covered in happy faces, colourful art work hanging on the walls of Raglan’s Bistro, and a loving family including his father Norm, mother Leslie and brothers Tyler and Ryan. In a feature that ran in The Outlook on October 25, 2001, the 33-year-old revealed that his future prospects looked positive and he was the happiest he had ever been. A high school dropout, Godding was in his late 20s when he earned his Grade 12 diploma and enrolled at Emily Carr Institute of Art in Vancouver. Desperate for transportation, Godding accepted a rusted out 1973 Beetle from his brother Tyler and proceeded to unleash his artistic talent on it. “It was such a sad little car, I figured happy faces would cheer it up,” Godding explained in The Outlook article. His art work captured the attention of restaurant goers, his animation short The Continuing Misadventures Of Immortal Bob appeared occasionally on The Comedy Network, and his skills were enlisted for the YTV animation program Stickin’ Around, as well as films such as Stories From The Seventh Fire, Joseph King Of Dreams, Spirit and The Witness. And if travelers look hard enough, they can sense Godding’s talents as they depart from Vancouver International Airport. The young man who had long since lost the long curly locks on his head as a child at Carisbrooke elementary, spent six months with artist Connie Watts in Port Alberni creating a birdlike sculpture out of aluminum and Baltic Birch that hangs in the airport. But ultimately, it was Godding’s happy faces that left the greatest impact on the North Shore and caused him the greatest pride. “One time I pulled up next to this grumpy old man. He looked over at my car and sort of smiled. He didn’t want to and he started shaking his head,” Godding shared in The Outlook article. Arrangements for a tribute to his life are in the works. t

Jay we will miss you!

Deepest sympathies to your family

Sincerely and the ART CAR Community