A SURFBOARD salvaged from hard rubbish and hand-painted by multi-talented Port MacDonnell resident Jeremy Ievins will be up for grabs at Spare Ya Change for Kids’ Change Day.
The bright and colourful masterpiece will be a major draw card for the event when it is raffled off to raise funds for the Mount Gambier based charity.
Mr Ievins said he was approached by charity founder Don Pratt after sharing a mutual passion for recycling and the environment.
“It was just a board I had sitting around for ages which I really wondered what I was going to do with,” Mr Ievins said.
“I found it in hard rubbish in Arrawarra, just north of Coffs Harbour and it ended up being a bit like one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
“I wanted to give it to a charity and preferably a local one so it worked out well when Don spoke to me.”
Mr Pratt said he noticed Mr Ievins used recycled materials for his artwork which tied in well with the not-for-profit organisation’s sustainability message.
Embedded with the charity’s logo, Mr Ievins said he wanted the surfboard design to be bright and inspirational.
“The board itself was designed for somebody to learn to surf on,” he said.
“I have stripped all the foam off the outside of it and have reshaped it to suit anybody from a beginner to somebody who has more experience to have a bit of fun out there.
“There is no design for anybody in particular, it is a general, all-round board for anyone to use now.”
Mr Ievins said the shaping of the board, which is the 115th board he has made, was harder than colouring the board in.
“I think I have the design down pat now,” he said.
“The sanding and fibreglassing is a fairly lengthy process, but it is handy having all the stuff I need out in the shed.
“Basically, once you do one side of the board you can not do anything on it until it has dried.”
Mr Ievins said he was unsure what he wanted to paint on the board, but said it needed to be “bright and inspirational”.
“We wanted something that grabbed people’s attention, so they wanted to buy a ticket and appeal to most people.”
Mr Ievins said he estimated the board to be worth anywhere between $800 to $1000 with the artwork, but hoped it would raise more funds for the charity.
Charity co-founder Sam Johnston said he was amazed by the artist’s work.
“I had no idea there was anything like that being made locally,” he said.
“I told Don I wanted to get a board for myself, even though I can not surf, but it would make a good wall hanger.”
Mr Ievins said the Kombi van’s numberplate on the board had been left blank for the winners’ name to be written on.
“I will also be offering a free surf lesson to the winner and I promise they will be standing up on the board when we are done,” he said.
Raffle tickets are available from Metro Bakery and Cafe for purchase at $20 each.
The winner will be announced at Change Day held at the cafe on December 14 from 9am to 5pm.
