An Art Kayak for the Arts

In the beginning…

My long time friend/teacher/mentor, Miss Erin Ceragioli, commissioned a custom, hand-built kayak for Tacoma Arts Live. Miss Erin is the Executive and Artistic Director for Tacoma City Ballet (my ballet home), a Resident Arts Organization at Tacoma Arts Live. The kayak I built will be auctioned at the Tacoma Arts Live Gala on May 29th.

In the discussions regarding color and type of kayak, we looked at the Tacoma Arts Live logo and decided that the kayak should be a bright red and white NC17 Quest that would match the Tacoma Arts Live logo. Before I got started, I got a message from Miss Erin, saying she wanted me to add a metallic finish to the kayak. Having a love of all things sparkly, I agreed to add a cherry red glitter into the gel coat on the deck.

Always reach for more.

Even though this kayak looked amazing, I realized that we could do better. Yes, we can make a sparkly kayak that is in the same color palette as the logo. But even better would be to put the Tacoma Arts Live logo on it! Having worked with Sandi’s Signs for years, I sent them the logo artwork and had them make a decal using the same reflective white vinyl that we used for the deck decals. The logo decal came out looking great! After measuring multiple times to make sure the decal was centered, we applied the decal aft of the rear hatch. I think it looks stunning, but you can judge for yourself.

The complete auction package includes not only this kayak, but also a lesson or tour, a gift card to REI, and paddling books by Puget Sound paddling expert Ken Campbell. Bidding is open now – add your bid to support the Arts in Tacoma while getting a great kayak for yourself.