Franklin County Arts Alliance costume jewelry fundraiser

What to do with a pile of donated costume jewelry? Creative minds think they have an answer.

MOUNT VERNON — The Franklin County Arts Alliance held a Mad Hatter Tea and Fashion Show in May. The organization asked that attendees bring any unwanted jewelry as a donation for entrance and then turned the gold and silver that they received into into cash to help fund the alliance.

But they found that they also received some great costume jewelry that, unfortunately, had little value. What to do with these donations?

Being a group of artists, and knowing that the Mount Vernon area is the home to many creative minds, they reasoned that a good use of the material would be to turn it into art.

And so a project was born.

Artists interested, who do not have to be members of the FCAA, have been invited to come to the Cultural Arts Center on Friday, July 27, 2012, between 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. to look through the costume jewelry. They may select items to be used in one or more pieces of original artwork.

The catch, in exchange for getting free materials and being challenged to work in a perhaps unfamiliar medium? The artwork must be donated to the FCAA for sale at a fundraising auction.

On September 7, 2012, a Wine and Cheese Reception with both a Silent Auction and a Live Auction of this artwork will be held as a continuation of the FCAA's Mad Hatter Tea fundraising efforts.

Questions should be addressed to Christian Galloway at (903) 434-9130 or to Jean Pamplin at (903) 537-4292.