Grace House Silent Art Auction

Our wedding dress before...

Last night in the Cummings Art Gallery (an on-campus art gallery we have), I participated in the second annual Grace House Silent Art auction.  This was a really unique opportunity that was sponsored by the Communications department here at school.  Students purchased a donated wedding or prom dress and were given time to re-work it into a piece of art that would be auctioned off to benefit the Grace House, a program that helps women returning from military service to make a smooth transition into the Erie community.

There were a lot of cool things that people created.  My friend Elissa and I decided to make a mixed media piece on a canvas.  Some of the faculty members and students from the Fashion Merchandising department also decided to make a variety of pieces, which all fell into their "Real Housewives of Erie County" display which I thought was really unique.  People also made purses, dresses, and one of my personal favorites, a Cinderella chair!

... and after (the lace on the red dress is actual lace from the dress!)

This was the first year I participated in this event and I definitely will do it again next year.  Not only was it for a great cause, but it was also just a really fun event.  It's always nice to have the opportunity to mingle with students and faculty (especially in my case when it was a lot of my professors!) AND they had really good h'orderves!  All in all, I had a really great time and would encourage you all to take advantage of cool opportunities like this that may come up =)