Oxford, NY - Chenango Piecemakers Quilt Guild

The Brazieres were up in Oxford, NY over the 3-day weekend of Oct 10-12. It was a beautiful show sponsored by the Chanango Piecemakers, held at the Oxford High School.

Corning, NY - The Arts Council of the Finger Lakes

Our first store front! My aunt Lydia Lynn set this up with the Arts Council. We had a great time putting up the exhibit - the passersby walking past were very amused to see the Brazieres - several stopped for a giggle.

Quilters Corner - Ithaca, NY

Here we are in Ithaca, at Quilters Corner - in their new shop located at 518 W. State Street. Common Threads guild member Gloria Maione help set up the display.

Quilters Consortium of NYS & BCQG

On September 16, Common Threads, Stepping Stones, Triangle Guild and Sew Many Quilts hosted the membership meeting of the Quilters Consortium of New York State. Over 100 quilters from all around the state met at the Hawleyton United Methodist Church in Binghamton for the meeting and see the Brazieres. The theme was carousels - since our area is known at the Carousel Capital. Common Threads made a carousel quilt several years ago called Reaching For the Brass Ring, and it was on display.

Later at that evening, the Brazieres went to the Broome County Quilters Guild meeting, held at the Endwell Fire Station.

Delhi, NY & Athens, PA

It was a busy weekend - the exhibit was on display at two different venues - both quilt shows. Half of the brazieres were in Delhi, NY at the Delaware County Historical Society Museum. The Town and Country Quilters sponsored the exhibit at their quilt show.

The other half of the exhibit was in Athens, PA at the quilt show sponsored by the Endless Mountains Quilt Guild. My son Isaac helped me set up the display in the Lynch-Bustin school gymnasium.

Owego News Article

Local Artists Contribute Humor and Beauty In The Fight Against Breast Cancer

By Laura Rodd

Originally published in the Tioga County Courier, used with permission.

“2009 Brazieres For A Cure: A Breast Cancer Awareness Project” is an extremely humorous traveling exhibit of “re-imagined” bras. Sponsored by the Common Threads Quilters Guild (CTQG) of Vestal, over 100 donated plain white Maidenform bras were placed in the hands of quilters and artists throughout the Southern Tier. These gifted individuals were asked to paint, quilt, embroider or embellish their “blank canvas” into a work of art that conveyed an effective breast cancer prevention message in an innovative way. These dazzling creations not only aim to educate the public on breast cancer awareness but will also be up for auction at 6pm on Friday, November 6th at the Binghamton YWCA, located at 80 Hawley Street. The proceeds from this auction will benefit the American Cancer Society and Encore Plus in their local mission to provide free mammograms and cervical screenings to lower income and uninsured women throughout our region.

The unique designs and artistic techniques used to create these “Brazieres” are diverse and far ranging in nature. Take for example the “Barak O’Brama” braziere that features a pink silky pink background on which yellow stars and the 2008 Democratic Party Campaign slogan “Yes, We Can!” has been stitched. The message being that women can fight this disease successfully and that our nation can find a cure. Or get a good laugh from “The Watermelons” braziere that is visually lovely, having been constructed from varying shades of green fabric with small black “seeds” applied to the straps and neckline which point downward to showcase a miniature red gingham picnic blanket and basket. Other bras in this collection feature birds & bees (including the wonderful “Blue Footed Booby”), the Garden of Eden, abstract flowers, seashells, pompoms, cow print fabric, and black vinyl with zippers.

Three local women from Tioga County (Renee Gaylord of Newark Valley, Estie Mowry and Ruth Manzer of Owego) took up the challenge of using this unconventional canvas to create a piece of art with a purpose. The results of their labor inspire, comfort, encourage and inform the public.

Renee Gaylord has worked in the health care field for nearly 30 years. Years ago when she was transiting between learning in the environment of a college campus to practicing her knowledge in a hospital setting she was placed on a student residency. She found herself assigned to a surgical rotation. Her first experience in an operating room involved the removal of a female breast during a radical mastectomy. Witnessing this procedure had a lasting impact on Gaylord and strengthened her resolve to help in finding cures for diseases while helping those in medical need receive the best care possible. By covering her bra with a star fabric on a blue background she hoped to convey the message that a woman fighting to survive breast cancer has heroine or “star-like” qualities. “Women facing breast cancer find the courage inside themselves to fight…they seem to shine with hope”.

Estie Mowry’s quilted bra has sass and verve. Estie considered the importance of the message and just how hard living with breast cancer can be for women. Being an accomplished quilter, she decided to cover the undergarment with camouflage fleece and stitch a vivid pink boa along the straps and neckline seams. In place of the traditional soldier’s name tag (usually featured over the left breast of military issued fatigues) Estie placed a pink tag with the following written message “Fight Like A Girl!”. As a professional Long Arm Quilter who works from home and instructs quilting classes at the Churn Dash in Owego and Sew Many Quilts in Johnson City, Mowry was determined to quilt something unique. Though she considers herself unusually fortunate to never have breast cancer threaten a family member or friend, she recognizes how devastating such a disease could be to others. “Why not take part and do this project? This was something that I could contribute to the fight against cancer by using knowledge I already had.”

Ruth Manzer sits on the opposite spectrum of experience with those diagnosed with cancer. Having been a nurse for eighteen years (10 years being spent in the oncology department) Ruth Manzer is very familiar with breast cancer awareness campaigns and the realities a cancer patient faces; the shock and despair experienced by the patient and her family when the diagnosis is first made, the challenge of becoming educated quickly on treatment options and success rates of procedures, the discomfort and pain that can occur as side effects of chemotherapy, the shock when a patient losses her hair and eyelashes, and the emotional support that can sustain and help a patient through the medical and emotional journey of cancer treatment.

Currently Manzer is a Cancer Nurse Coordinator for the United Health Services (UHS), which she finds to be a “very fulfilling” job. Her main duties is to provide both information and inspiration to patients during “high stress, critical times” in their treatment program and recovery process. It was this very work that gave her the idea for her bra design.

Focusing heavily on symbolic tools of her trade, Ruth Manzer has created the “Eyes On You” Braziere. Using a stethoscope, she fashioned a hanger on which to display her creative piece. The Maidenform bra is “padded” on the inside of each cup with surgical bowls and on the outside with clean, strikingly white soft material. On each cup she appliquéd brilliant blue eyes featuring the insignia of the medical profession as pupils and long, false eyelashes. A pair of surgical scissors for bandage cutting is tacked to the stethoscope and a “United Against Cancer” pin rests on the left breast cup.

The “United Against Cancer” pin holds much significance for Manzer as that was the cancer awareness and prevention campaign that UHS sponsored last year in partnership with Senator Libous. This effort provided free screenings for skin and prostrate cancer (as well as vouchers for free mammograms to eligible women) to Broome and Tioga County residents at 4 conveniently located medical facilities. Hundreds of people were screened.

“There is a certain amount of irony in the fact that Senator Libous, who was so instrumental in helping men receive free prostrate screening and so passionate about this campaign of early detection of cancer, was himself recently diagnosed with prostrate cancer. However, because detection of his disease occurred very early the success of his future treatment has been greatly improved”, said Manzer.

With her “Eyes On You” creation, Ruth Manzer wishes to convey her belief that professionals in the medical field are striving everyday to help improve treatments for cancer patients, and that the health care community is dedicated to top quality patient care.

The Tioga County Historical Society and Museum, located at 110 Front Street in the Village of Owego, will be hosting this traveling exhibit from September 17th to September 24th. The bras will be a featured stop on Owego’s 3rd Friday Art Walk on September 19, 2009. For more information please call the museum at (607) 687-2460.

Young Illustrator Shines in Owego by Laura Rudd

This article appeared in the Tioga County Courier, used with permission.

Katie Campbell of Owego, an undergraduate student enrolled in the fine arts program of Marywood University in Scranton Pennsylvania, decided to apply her talents as an artist to the Tioga County Historical Society & Museum by creating unique posters and advertisements for the upcoming Brazieres 4 A Cure exhibit.

The Brazieres 4 A Cure exhibit is a traveling show of “re-imagined” bras that were painted, quilted or otherwise embellished by crafters in the Southern Tier to be a humorous way to bring the message of breast cancer awareness to the public and help raise funds for the American Cancer Society and Encore Plus to continue their effort of providing free mammograms to financially eligible women.

Ms. Campbell was interested in furthering the museum’s goal of promoting this humorous exhibit that addresses a very serious issue affecting the health of many Americans today. Using colored pencils, ink and pen Katie drew whimsical bras suspended from a clothesline. These fanciful undergarments featured seashells, ruffles, pearls, patches, and a slinky boa. Another larger illustration is of an unclasped light pink bra soaring on wings with a darker pink breast cancer awareness ribbon on the left cup. This image is infused with hope and actually appears to be moving forward off the page.

Katie Campbell was raised knowing the beauty and value of artistic expression and was encouraged to draw from a young age. All of her work is drawn by hand, using the computer only to send scanned pictures of her work to others.

She gathers inspiration from many places including nature, early-illustrated children’s books and by studying the works of other artists. Fortunately for Ms. Campbell the Marywood University Arboretum encompasses 115 acres located across from the university’s campus. Hosting over 105 varieties of trees (with a comparable collection of shrubs), this arboretum’s beauty begs to be studied as one walks its extensive plantings of ornamental grasses, annual flowers and long established perennial beds that provide splashes of deep, vivid color and a richness of textures. Straying further afield in the near future, Campbell plans on leaving for Florence, Italy in the spring for a study abroad. “I love traveling, especially to outdoor parks where I can walk, look, study things closely, take pictures for later reference and think about the beauty around me”, says Campbell.

Though very busy during the academic year, Ms. Campbell would like to help more non-profit and charitable groups in the future through her illustrative designs.

Ms. Campbell’s Poster is being circulated to merchants and organizations throughout Tioga County and can be seen on display at the museum. The Tioga County Historical Society & Museum will be hosting this traveling exhibit from September 17th-September 24th at 110 Front Street. The museum’s hours are Tuesday-Saturday from 10am-4pm. The museum will have extended hours on September 18th to accommodate visitors attending Owego’s 3rd Friday Art Walk. For more exhibit information call the museum at 687-2460.

The Brazieres on exhibit will be placed up for auction on November 6th from 6-9pm at the exhibit’s closing reception at the Binghamton YMCA on 80 Hawley Street.