Seventeen-year-old Hattiesburg artist Aubri Sparkman is already quite familiar with making her own art installations around the Hub City, including the “Soar and Score” mural at the University of Southern Mississippi and the “All That Jazz” utility box project.
Now, Sparkman is trying to become “Stuck at Prom” for the chance to win a $10,000 scholarship, having designed her own prom dress made entirely of duct tape for the Stuck at Prom Scholarship Contest from Duck Brand duct tape. Sparkman is one of five finalists from around the United States and Canada who are competing in the contest’s Dress Category.
“It’s pretty awesome,” Sparkman said. “It’s a little random to make a prom dress out of duct tape, but it’s really exciting to get somewhere with that.”
As part of the contest, high-school level participants can enter either the Dress Category or Tux Category, and must construct the garment completely out of duct tape. A judging period took place last month to whittle all the contestants down to the five finalists in each category.
Community voting is open until July 12. To cast a vote, visit www.duckbrand.com/stuck-at-prom.
Participants can vote once every 24 hours for one dress and once every 24 hours for one tux. Winners will be announced on or about July 19.
Sparkman was inspired to enter the contest after her sister became aware of it and thought it would be something right up Sparkman’s alley. Her dress features musical themes such as piano keys, music notes and f-holes such as those found on guitars or violins.
“I play a lot of instruments, so I kind of incorporated that into the dress design, and then I submitted it,” Sparkman said. “(It took me) about 66 hours – it was all day, every day I was working on it.
“I bought a plastic cable box from Dollar Tree, and I just taped the duct tape out on that until I got a whole sheet of fabric out of duct tape. Then I cut it and glued it together. It is (wearable) – it’s got a zipper on it and everything.”
Before the finalists were chosen, entries were judged on the following five criteria at 20 percent each:
- Workmanship: quality, neatness and attention to detail given in creating the outfits and accessories.
- Originality: the uniqueness, inventiveness, creativity and original thought of the outfits and accessories.
- Use of colors: the combination, integration and harmony of colors used to create the outfits and accessories.
- Accessories: the creativity and use in accentuating and completing the outfits.
- Use of Duck Brand duct tape: the specific tapes and other materials used to construct the pieces of the outfits and accessories.
Based on the results of the community voting, one $10,000 scholarship will be awarded to the winning finalist in the Dress Category, along with another $10,000 scholarship to the winning finalist in the Tux Category. The eight runners-up will receive a $500 scholarship and Duck Brand Prize Packs.
“I hope (I have a good shot at winning); I’ve been trying to get the word out as much as I can,” Sparkman said. “I think Hattiesburg is a really great community to be a part of that.
“But I’m very excited to be a finalist – I think that’s a pretty big deal.”
If Sparkman were to win, she would likely plan to use the scholarship money to attend Mississippi State University.
“But I still have another year to figure all that out,” she said. “I would like to major in architecture, but that could all change.”
