Vibe Boost

Written by Nicole Wloszek-Therens

Guice Mann shares the story of his journey as an artist, and his mission to spread positivity through all that he creates.

Cleveland’s art culture thrives in the hidden nooks of the city where innovators and creators transform unassuming warehouse spaces into vibrant studios. Artists pour their souls into their work and their creativity spills onto the streets with murals and installations that breathe life into the industrial landscape.

In a city where art is both a refuge and a rally cry meant to ignite conversations and inspire positive change, passionate individuals like Charlie Malta, also known as Guice Mann, shape Cleveland’s culture, showing that creativity is a crucial thread sewn into the fabric of our city.  

Malta is a 33-year-old multifaceted artist from Euclid and he is one of many creatives in Cleveland looking to make a positive impact with his work. Guice calls it a “vibe boost,” and with his positive energy, infectious smile and songs filled with funky beats and lyrics that are both humorous and meaningful, his mission to boost the general vibe seems to be succeeding. 

Guice lives and works in his studio on the outskirts of downtown Cleveland, a space that overflows with art and expression in every corner.

“A vibe boost is what I hope you feel while experiencing my art,” Guice said. “All the rainbows and colorful vibes I blast these canvases and clothes with are very intentional and intended to brighten somebody’s spirits and boost their vibes.” 

Guice's journey as a visual artist started when he was in grade school, doodling with his pen and paper in class. The black-and-white ballpoint pen drawings he lined the margins of his notebooks evolved into the distinct style he is known for today, full of colors, bold lines and geometric imagery. 

“Legit, it was pen and paper, notebooks in class in middle school that started it all. I was drawing when I was supposed to be listening to the teacher,” Guice said. “I got sidetracked with wanting to doodle during social studies or whatever math class that I wasn’t good at.”

“That is how my drawing started,” Guice said. “I mean I wouldn’t draw something that cool, but it was always kind of geometric.”

This carried over into high school, and he used whatever materials he had on hand to create in ways that were accessible for him. 

“It really started with whatever pen I had in my pencil case and just classic notebook paper,” Guice said. 

Much of his early inspiration stemmed from his older brother and the culture of his childhood years in the 90s, taking elements of color schemes, cartoons, fashion and hiphop music from the decade and integrating them into his work. 

“My older brother, John, was probably one of the first people to inspire me,” Guice said. “I was in seventh grade, he was in high school, and he was just this amazing painter and made all kinds of zines. He was in a punk band and he skateboarded. So he tapped me on the forehead and introduced me to all these different cultures that I otherwise didn’t know.”

Guice attributes much of his success to his brother and his parents, who encouraged him in every route he chose to take while pursuing his goals as an artist. 

“John was super encouraging to me, and my parents too,” Guice said. “They were always like, ‘Oh, you’re doing this now? You don’t want to play basketball anymore or you just want to do art stuff? Alright, cool.’ My parents are incredible, they’ve given me so much.”

He also draws inspiration from artists like Keith Haring, Wassily Kandinsky, Joan Miró and Daniel Johnston, who was a prolific indie musician and artist. Johnston’s work featured simple black pen drawings on paper with lots of eyes, a common aspect of Guice’s work. 

Starting as early as eighth grade and continuing into his early college years, Guice painted shoes and sold them to friends and family. Over time he painted over 1,200 pairs. He still sells wearable art, but now mostly sticks to one-of-one hand screen-printed clothing and manufactured clothing featuring his designs.

Guice displays his rows of wearable art on clothing racks in his studio, sometimes inviting the public into his space to check out what’s for sale.

“Once I was in eighth grade, I started drawing on shoes and I was just making them for myself originally,” Guice said. “Then I started making them for friends and family members, and started selling them to classmates. I called them ‘Guice Shoes’ or ‘Guice’s Shoes.’”

His persona “Guice Mann” started in his early career as an artist. The nickname came from his interest in the basketball team N1 Mixtape Tour, a traveling team of alternative players who all had names such as “Headache,” “Hot Sauce” and “White Chocolate.” “Guice Mann” also came from his love for juice, an affinity for the color orange and as a nod to his ginger hair. 

“I looked up to all these players because they had all these weird names,” Guice said. “At a certain point, I was like, ‘Okay, I want my own unique name.’”

After high school, Guice attended college at the Columbus College of Art and Design. As a teenager trying to balance running a small business painting and selling his shoes, starting college and being an adult in the real world for the first time, Guice decided that it would be best if he left school. 

“I was pulled in way too many different directions at once, and I decided I was just going to do the crazy shoe thing,” Guice said. “I was obsessed with it and I kind of just made an impulse decision, but then it worked out because I became more of a self-taught artist.”

In the years since he decided to un-enroll from college, Guice has created endless pieces of art and music, with his work being featured in over 10 installations that can be seen right here in Cleveland. They cover the walls of the inside of the underground music venue The Bird’s Nest, are displayed on a utility box in Willoughby and line an alleyway in Slavic Village.

Guice worked on his “Guice Room” at Bird’s Nest in Cleveland for 9 months, completing it in February 2025. (credit: Guice Mann).

Besides his installations, Guice partakes in a variety of shows around Cleveland. Most recently, he displayed his art while vending at Ingenuity Fest at the end of September. He also celebrated the release of his new album “Recliner” at Dunlap’s Corner Bar on Oct. 10, 2025.

The album cover for Guice’s new release, “Recliner,” was shot by his friend and collaborator Callum Sharkey.

“I wasn’t writing for a long time, but then I just found that voice in my head again, it started coming to me again,” Guice said. “I had been making beats for a long time, since high school, and I was rapping back then. It's hard to just say like, ‘Oh I’m a painter.’”

Guice currently has 21 albums of beats called “Sounds From My Head” available for streaming dating back to 2012.  

Whether he is painting on canvas or making music, he said that he is a general creative spirit with ideas constantly flowing through his mind.

“I just have ideas flowing infinitely and I’m always trying to get back to one of the avenues that I work on. Like today, I was painting a lot,” Guice said. “That felt great. I’m working on some new ideas and got a bunch of new canvases whether I’m diving into a new pattern, new color scheme or trying something I haven’t done yet. It’s just so much fun.”

His creative process for painting often stems off of one central image or a decided color scheme, but he often doesn’t know exactly how a piece will wind up in the end.

“Most of what we’re looking at is pretty much just going on a feeling,” Guice said. “It’s kind of just leaning into playfulness and improvisation and having a set color scheme but not knowing what the end goal is.”

For Guice, art is a source of income and his passion, but it is also integral to his mental health. Ever since he was a child, he struggled with anxiety and ADHD. Now, he uses art as a form of therapy. 

“Once I found art, especially as a kid, it just started helping me in ways I couldn’t even really understand at the time,” Guice said. “Being an anxious kid and struggling with that, not even knowing what anxiety was at the time because they didn’t teach us about it. Being obsessive with drawing used to help me then, and it’s never stopped helping me.”

His artistic endeavors are more than just self-serving. Guice believes that the clothes and art he puts out into the world positively influence their audience and foster an opening for connection. 

“It’s an infinite vibe boost between two people. Someone might wear a shirt I made, and then they get a compliment on it,” Guice said. “Right there – that’s an interaction they wouldn’t have had otherwise. I think the things I create help people express themselves and put themselves out there, making this opportunity for connection and expression.”

He often finds himself consumed by the desire to keep creating, persistently turning out new designs and upping the quality of his wearable art pieces. 

“I was putting all of my energy into a mural for three weeks and doing dishes, laundry, and the basic self-care things can become much harder,” Guice said. “I’m getting better at it, and trying to prioritize stretching and yoga and meditating and breathing more.”

Despite constantly trying to find a balance between burnout and self-care, Guice believes that his work is his life’s purpose, bringing him the same happiness that he tries to radiate through his art.

“It is literally my purpose in life. I need to do all of this. Even if I wasn’t selling all of this stuff, I would still be making it,” Guice said. “It brings me so much joy and fulfillment and gives me a sense of purpose here on this planet to try to help with my art in some capacity.”

The walls of Guice’s studio are lined with finished pieces and works-in-progress.

To learn more about the imaginative mind of Charlie Malta and where his work can be seen, visit his website. His music is available for streaming and purchase on his bandcamp, and his next public show is the Vibe Boost Holiday Market planned for November 29, 2025, from 3 to 9 p.m. at Negative Space.