Breast in show - I nearly didn't enter

Breast In Show Polymer Clay Bra

In 2018 I entered the Bra Exhibition run by Powertex Australia and Vivid Gallery in Mandurah W.A. This was to exhibit and raise money for Breast Cancer. The idea was to up-cycle a bra into a piece of art. So with Bra in hand, I came up with the idea to create a bra with polymer clay canes. Once I had planned it, I realized what a mammoth task this was and the time I had left to do it.

So what are polymer clay canes? Well these area little pictures that you create within a log of cane. They start off quite large and are then reduced to usable sizes.

Raw Polymer clay canes

Once the canes are made and reduced then I could use slices off of each to create a collage of patterns on the hand shaped bra base. I wanted to give a 3D effect so not only did I place canes within the collage and smooth them out, I also left some pieces of cane sitting proud on the bra......now to make things a little more interesting, this bra needed to be able to be modeled by moving Human Being....Arrhhhhh.... Ok lets think this through. This is where my millinery skills kicked in. The pieces that I created for the strap at the back where hand sewn individually so when the bra strap stretched so did the individual pieces at the back, and when you talk millinery there is always feathers!!!

So to add a bit of fabulous bling I added white, black and red feathers, of course.

So the night arrived. The actual opening of the exhibition at Vivid Gallery in Mandurah. There was champagne and canapes, lots of people from the Exhibitors, Gallery Curators, Judges and People supporting this great cause.

There were over 1000 entries, and this included some from Artists over seas. Bras made from Powertex, bras made from cardboard, fabric and a plethora of materials, so you can only imagine my surprise when my name was announced as the "Breast in Show" and overall winner. I was ecstatic.

Now I was nearly not going to enter this, as time was running short and I had to make at least 15 different canes and the clay I needed, I had to order in, but my gut was telling me just to have a go and look where it got me.

I still have the bra, its in a frame with its certificate, proudly being displayed on my studio wall. We raised thousands of dollars from the exhibition which was just fantastic, and it just goes to show, believe in yourself and you may be quietly surprised.

Dee xx