Lancaster artist Eric Tonzola designs guitar for Kellogg corporate meeting at Rock Lititz | Entertainment

To impress some Kellogg bigwigs, Chris Kurtz needed a piece of artwork that was more than fantastic.

He required anything g-r-r-reat.

Kurtz, CEO of Rock Lititz-centered internet marketing business Mediatwist, hosted a getaway weekend on the initial weekend in June for the leadership group at the Kellogg Co. The party, dubbed by Kurtz as “The Rock Stars of Cereal,” took benefit of Rock Lititz’s singular position as a location the place mass enjoyment is developed from the floor up.

“When you create a clearly show, you have to assume about a million distinctive optics — what they are likely to come to feel when they occur in there, the velvet stanchions, the velvet ropes, all that stuff,” Kurtz states from at the rear of a meeting desk in Pod 2 at Rock Lititz.

The gig came by way of buddy Shayne Beecher, whom Forbes Journal called the selection one prosperity adviser in the point out of Pennsylvania. Beecher, who has connections with a member of the Kellogg C-suite, prompt that they reach out to Kurtz to make Rock Lititz a destination for the once-a-year enterprise getaway.

Even though we just can’t be sure of what was talked over all through their Rock Lititz stop by, Kellogg’s was in the information in a massive way this 7 days. The 116-yr-previous maker of residence staple cereals introduced Tuesday that it will break up into 3 businesses targeted on cereals, treats and plant-primarily based foods.

“(Kellogg) gave us a really small spending plan to get the job done with, and we possibly expended double that budget, just mainly because it is Shayne, and they ended up blown out of the water,” Kurtz suggests.

Though Kurtz had mapped out most of the accouterments for the weekend, there was continue to some thing lacking.

Even though feeding on meal with his spouse and Mediatwist co-founder, Aimee, in mid-May possibly at Double C in Lancaster metropolis, Kurtz seemed up at a piece of art hanging on the wall and right away became enamored with it.

Enter the remaining piece of this sugary, crunchy puzzle — Columbia artist Eric Tonzola.

“Imagine having the finest tortillas ever, and then you glance about at some remarkable art,” Kurtz clarifies, animated. “I in fact got up from the table to see the title in the base ideal. I get on Instagram appropriate absent and the waitress is making an attempt to get my purchase when I’m searching at Eric’s page. By the time I had concluded the tortillas, I had designed the link with Eric.”

If you have not nonetheless heard of Tonzola, you have in all probability observed him or his get the job done out in and about Lancaster, substantially like Kurtz did. He is a veteran of Tunes for Everyone’s avenue piano plan, and also labored with the nonprofit to make a substantial mural proper outdoors of Spring Household Brewing Enterprise. For the month of June, Tonzola’s operate is on display at York’s Parliament Arts Firm, a solo demonstrate titled “Chromostereopsis.” Nevertheless Tonzola’s function may differ from piece to piece, it can be typically described as otherworldly and psychedelic.

Fantastic, in Kurtz’ brain, for a corporate cereal crossover.

Roughly a week immediately after 1st building acquaintances, Kurtz contacted Tonzola.

“He despatched me a textual content that said, ‘I know this is previous moment … ’ — and as an artist and a craft designer, everything is form of final minute, so I’m utilized to that — ‘But I want you to paint this guitar, and it is going to be noticed by Kellogg, so I want you to do, like, a psychedelic Tony the Tiger,’” Tonzola states about the mobile phone.

It wasn’t the to start with guitar Tonzola experienced built — that honor goes to Ian Rawhauser of The Sharks — but it wasn’t even the first time he experienced established his possess variations of basic mascots. All over 2015, Tonzola developed a series that integrated cameos from these kinds of Saturday morning industrial stars as The Kool-Help Person and, fittingly, Cornelius the Kellogg Corn Flake Rooster.

“If he experienced just questioned me to paint Tony the Tiger, I would have been like, ‘Eh, I really do not know,’” Tonzola claims. “But he claimed, ‘Make it psychedelic and strange and trippy, like rock ’n’ roll!’ I said, ‘Oh, I can do that.’”

In the span of a several several hours in excess of two days, Tonzola developed and designed the guitar, total with the visage of a psyched-out Tony, eyes bulging and repeating out as if someone has spiked his cereal. Even the Tony’s trademark “thumbs up” is represented, albeit twisting and winding away from his seemingly melting entire body.

The guitar was auctioned off to a member of the Kellogg crew for $600, the funds of which will go to a but-to-be-decided area food stuff bank, alongside with the dozens of containers of cereal that Kellogg brought as presents for the Kurtzes.

“I like to problem myself and department out from my have personal type,” Tonzola suggests. “So, I’m performing a little something entirely different. A great deal of occasions, I’ll be sitting down with pen and ink, at times I’m at the computer system, often I paint a wall, sometimes I paint a canvas. It is good to cycle through.”

However the partnership is in its infancy, Kurtz hopes to convey Tonzola back again to Rock Lititz to paint a mural, while aspects are continue to staying mentioned. Tonzola, meanwhile, is prepared for whichever the foreseeable future holds. He is currently portray a mural in the Columbia Market place House.

“I hope to preserve performing with him,” Tonzola claims of Kurtz. “He’s explained to me a couple occasions that he’s likely to be my ‘marketing daddy,’ essentially and assistance advertise me. Whichever he wants to do, I’m all for it. It is awesome to have anyone who has faith in you, you know?”