Designed by Penny Berg

Materials and Techniques

Materials include polyester satin, cotton-poly fabric, red satin ribbon, black stretch lace from Spain, silver scrapbook embellishments, a pearl spray, assorted colored pearls, bugle beads and crystal beads, all of which were applied by hand with needle and thread. The vintage castanets were applied with Velcro adhesive fasteners.

Artist’s Statement

I created this ArtBra to honor my dear friend Pam who won the fight and to my Mom, who wasn’t so lucky.

The Gitano (Spanish gypsy) hears the strum of the guitarra, the lyrics and tones of the cante, and the rhythms of the baile as she dances. The sounds take her to a place in her mind where the “jondo” style of the Flamenco tells a story about the cry of people oppressed for many centuries where the only release from pain and misery is in their music, song and dance. The many nails in the soles and heels of her shoes create a loud staccato as she interprets the music, stamping and kicking her feet. She manipulates her castanets. The rhythmic clicking stirs emotions deep inside. The black lace fan in her hand hides her face. She whips it away. With a snap of her wrist, she allows herself to face the pain and uncertainty lying in front of her. The toss of her head and her jerky body movements convey her passion and determination to overcome hardship and despair. The sound of her hands clapping provides a tempo to which she moves – moves toward a better time.

"Opposites Attract"

Designed by Barbara Blankenship and Debi Nielsen

Materials and Techniques

The ostrich and flamingo were beaded using the brick stitch and #8 see beads. They are joined together at the head and form the front straps of the bra. The birds were created from an original drawing. Eight tubes of beads were used. A Swarovski crystal necklace hangs from their beads and it holds another large Swarovski crystal.

The front of the bra is crocheted with three different fibers. The crochet is free form and made to cover the cups, sides, and back straps of the bra. The inside is covered with batik fabric.

The roses are made using Hanah silk ribbons. Nine sections of ribbon are cut and burned on the edges. The first section id rolled to form the bud. The other sections are gathered and positioned around the center bud. The grass is silk ribbon cut into strips and stiffened with Allene’s Stiffen Quik.

Oscar was different from his other family members and considered an outcast among the flock. Soon after his birth he was abandoned and left to fend for himself in this big crazy world. The poor flight-less Oscar had only two means of transportation; to walk, or to hitchhike. One day, a he was traveling southward; he noticed the most beautiful bird he had ever seen. She was nestled among the grass and flowers in a lovely garden. He decided to stop and introduce himself.

Francesca, the flamboyant flamingo, accepted Oscar with open arms. She had experienced the difficulties associated with being “different” and understood Oscar’s loneliness. It  wasn’t long before the two fell in love.

Denise, the owner of the beautiful garden, loved Francesca and all her flamingo family. She invited Oscar to make her beautiful garden his home and live happily ever after with Francesca. As a symbol of their gratitude, Oscar and Francesca began collecting their feathers. Each feather that fell was carefully picked up and gently put away.

The months and years passed until one day the two decided they had saved enough feathers. The fashioned them into a bra – Francesca on the right and Oscar on the left. With their heads curved to meet in the middle, they formed a heart to express their love for each other. Hanging from their beads was the most beautiful crystal necklace. They presented this bra and necklace to Denise who dared to love and accept them despite the dictates of society.

Designed by Mary Anne Griffin

There once was a girl

With young, perky breasts,

She swore that they never would fall.

She turned lots of heads

With the sight of her chest

From all sorts of men, short and tall.

But time took its toll

And she aged and had kids,

Her breasts were for more than just flirting.

They nourished her babes,

But they started to sag.

The increase in cup size was hurting.

Now in her old age

Sprightly bosoms no more,

Like the domino effect they fell.

To her middle they droop

Sometimes get in her soup,

On her breasts she will no longer dwell.

She’s learned that her breasts

Are just parts of her being;

True beauty lies inside her soul

Through her lessons in life

She has learned to accept

And rejoice that her cups overflowed.

My bra is dedicated to my Great Aunt Erma Green, who before her death at age 93 found a new use for her “fallen pair”: she used them to hold up her elastically-challenged pajama bottoms.