Check out that bra!

     Well, ladies and gentlemen, tomorrow is October 1, which is the start of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. For the second year in a row, the John R. Marsh Cancer Center partnered with the Washington County Health Department, the Washington County Cancer Coalition, Komen’s “Make a Difference Breast Cancer Screening Program,” and BreastCancerAwareness-CV to bring you the DESIGNER CUP CHALLENGE!

     The Designer Cup Challenge is a bra art competition where people decorate a bra completely, with each design serving as a tribute to women’s wellness and women who have been a source of inspiration and support for breast cancer awareness, screening, and treatment. The bras have to be completely covered- the rules state that no original fabric can be shown.


     I had the pleasure of heading over to the John R. Marsh Cancer Center earlier today to look at all of the designs. Luckily for you, my dear readers, I brought my camera with me! Here are some of my favorite entries and the two first place winners: 

This is my personal favorite, quite possibly because I love quilts. I also love the mix of patterns. It's called "A Stitch in Time Saves 9" and was created by Teresa Matthews. 

This is the People's Choice winner! This design is called "Fish for a Cure" and was designed by the Walnut Street Community Health Center. I love the little fish - I used to have one just like him! 

This one is called "Take Time to Stop and Smell the Roses" and it was designed by Verda Henry. I think this bra shows how incredibly talented and creative the submissions are. If I hadn't told you it was bra, would you think there was a bra under there?

This is another favorite of mine, in part because of the quote that Kathleen Renee got the inspiration from. The quote reads "Women are like tea bags- you don't know how strong they are till you put them in hot water." I think the quote fits perfectly as a tribute to the women who have been affected by breast cancer.

This bra won first place in the Individual category. It's called "Surviving Hearts" and was created by Darlene Elser, who I had the pleasure of chatting with. She recited the poem from memory for me and it was beautiful. Here's the text:
"See our signatures that cover this bra/we are Cancer survivors and that's not all.../We each have a life a name and a face/that this deadly disease cannot replace/and we will fight until the very end/because in our lifetime/Breast Cancer must never never win..."

"Treasure Chest" was created by Potomac Case Management, and won first place in the Group category. I love the fun spirit and the way that all of the different elements work together. 

By Kayla Murphy