Felt Up! by Debbie Gilbert

The bra is covered in handmade felt.

I have a collection of bras, given to me by friends, for a project I haven’t started yet. When the ArtBra New Haven fundraiser came along, it was the perfect opportunity to turn one of them into a piece of art to raise money.

My piece, called Felt Up, was at first inspired by the medium—felt. Although it was named tongue in cheek, another meaning revealed itself to me. Women have many kinds of relationships with their breasts. Some are positive, such as sources of pleasure, intimacy, and nursing. For some, however, there are associations with bad experiences.

The expression “felt up” has been used to describe the manhandling of a woman’s breasts, often in early sexual experiences; sometimes welcome,sometimes not. So, take this title as it fits your own experience: playful or fearful, but with the recognition that by buying this piece of art, you are supporting a victim of breast cancer.