THE BREAST PROJECT

Several local artists, including myself, were invited to participate in a fund raising project to aid in the fight against breast cancer. The artists were to "decorate" plaster casts taken from women who had lost a friend or relative to breast cancer.

Although it was a natural for me to collage the plaster cast with paper and fabric, I chose, instead to make fairly realistic breasts to celebrate the breast "au naturale" and breast health. I covered the cast on the outside with cotton quilt batting to soften them and then covered them with cotton/spandex in a flesh tone. I then made hands with the cotton/spandex and stuffed them with polyfil. Using oil pastels, I added some color contrast on the breasts and fingers. There was a lot of hand sewing involved in modeling the breasts and hands and attaching the hands. I found that a curved upholstery needle helped tremendously.

The breasts will be auctioned at a gala event in October.