Erick F.

Inspiration

Ever since a kid I’ve been very good with my hands. My mom always said I could take a computer apart and put it back together with my eyes closed. As I grew my hands on approach turned into a passion for creating. I explored every avenue art had to offer from robotics to drawing, pottery and building which eventually led to my desire to study architecture. In the fall I will be attending Abilene Christian University with a major in architecture. The cost of my school is approximately 50k per year and although I have worked hard throughout the school year and applied for countless scholarship we just don’t have enough to cover all cost. So, when I came across the Stuck At Prom scholarship contest that could assist with my need for financial assistance paired with an art “project” I knew this was right up my alley.
Quarantine threw a monkey wrench in the plans of many seniors across the world. All end of year plans were cancelled including prom which is a big deal to us seniors. We are able to express ourselves by choosing a theme, tux and dress. This contest still allows us to do that in an even more detailed manner. My tux took 105 hours and 25 rolls of duct tape. My Asian heritage was the inspiration behind my tux theme. Dragons and roses are very symbolic to asian culture so I wanted to be sure that I put a lot of detail into that part of my tux. Everything was hand drawn and hand cut but the most tedious part of my tux was the free-hand roses. Each rose took 30 minutes to make just right and there are 10 roses in total. To be sure I would be abiding by the “quarantine rules” I added a face mask with dragon detail. As you can imagine I hit some snags along the way but worked through them diligently and was very pleased with the outcome. To finalize my tux I wrote the word PROM in Chinese with duct tape. This project; at this point in time, helped me bring out my talents, creativity and patience. Also I gain more knowledge about my Asian Heritage. It is so satisfying to see all this come to light in this duct tape tuxedo.