A new mural inside the Centralia Middle School gym is nearing completion just in time for the school year, courtesy of Alex Cook and his fellow artists at Lucky No. 3 Tattoo Company.
The painting, a roughly 40-by-80-foot orange and black tiger located at the far end of the gym, represents the middle school’s transition from the Yellow Jackets mascot to the Tigers.
The school’s Associated Student Body voted on the change in 2024.
Cook said it’s the biggest painting he’s ever done.
The owner of Lucky No. 3 was first approached by Kelli MacLeod about the idea. MacLeod is an art teacher at the middle school — and a loyal client of the tattoo shop.
During an appointment, MacLeod asked Cook if he and his artists were interested in painting some tiger-related things at the school.
MacLeod called the mural a “wild idea.” Cook and his team were immediately onboard, free of charge.
“Alex jumped right on it,” MacLeod said. “He was all about it. He was super generous and willing to be a part of it.”
Before painting commenced in July, MacLeod showed Cook basic ideas of what the mural might look like, which included a tiger in profile and the words “tigers bite back.”
“And I just kind of honestly put a little of our flavor on it, like a little bit of American traditional tattoo with a taste of Japanese tattooing to it as well,” Cook said.
Cook also subtly worked the letters “CMS” into the tiger’s black stripes.
“They just took it and ran with it,” MacLeod said.
According to MacLeod, Ant's Paint, based out of Longview, supplied the paint “at cost,” which provided for not only the mural, but the entire gym, as well as painters. A private donor covered about two-thirds of the funds.
“I started crying when I came in and saw how they had finished the gym, because it was so dark and dingy and dirty beforehand, and it just looked like a million dollars,” MacLeod said. “It looked like a whole new school.”
The art teacher credited Ana Summers, the middle school’s physical education and leadership teacher, with getting the “ball rolling” on the school’s rebranding process. The change effectively unifies the Centralia School District’s schools under one Tiger mascot, with Edison Elementary School and Futurus High School as the lone exceptions.
MacLeod said she is “beyond excited” to see the students’ reactions when they come back to school. She’s also begun adding student-designed, tiger-themed murals in the hallways.
MacLeod hopes the new paintings will help students feel a greater sense of pride in their school.
Cook and his mural team, including artists Tyler Blumenthal and Jared Aerni, plan to add more tiger-themed elements inside the gym, as time allows.
“It’s just exciting to be able to be a part of it,” Cook said.
Cook opened Lucky No. 3 Tattoo Company in Centralia in 2010. The longtime resident and Virginia native said he started with three artists and now has eight.
“We feel at home in town and I’m proud of my team,” Cook said. “I feel like I have the best team of artists I've ever worked with.”
MacLeod said Cook and his crew are providing the school a “tremendous service.”
“It’s everything and more I could have imagined for the students,” MacLeod said.
To learn more about Lucky No. 3 Tattoo Company, visit www.luckyno3tattoocompany.com.
