WINCHESTER A new exhibit at the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley salutes the strength of breast cancer patients.

The Bodice Project features nearly two dozen plaster torsos creatively transformed by artists from West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. In addition to several painted plaster casts, other sculptures are made of wood, yarn, clay and metal.

Each sculpture is accompanied by a statement from the artist about the person who inspired them.

The Bodice Project all began due to the friendship between Cynthia Fraula-Hahn and Lou Ann Thompson, who have been friends since their girlhood in Frederick County.

Fraula-Hahn, an artist, started the Bodice Project in 2014 after she found out Thompson needed treatment for breast cancer. She created and painted a torso as a way to honor her friend as well as to channel her anxiety for her. Ascension is painted with an allegory of birds and feathers to represent the healing process.

Im a painter. I didnt know what I was doing, said Fraula-Hahn, who now lives in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. But I kind of never do anything in a small way.

Other artists found out about Fraula-Hahns new passion project and wanted to participate.

The sculptures have been displayed in art galleries, at special events including the 2018 National Conference of the American Association for Cancer Research in Chicago and at universities.

After the exhibit closes in November at the MSV, The Bodice Project will go to The Huntington Museum of Art in West Virginia and the Visions Art Museum in San Diego, California.

This show could go anywhere, and Im totally proud of it, said Fraula-Hahn, who made several of the pieces in the show.

Every breast cancer patient has a different story to tell, Fraula-Hahn said.

Artist Christian Benefiel created Network out of wooden lattice to honor his mother, a breast cancer survivor. Fraula-Hahns Big Heart plaster sculpture of a male torso with a mastectomy depicts a physicians assistant who cares for hospice patients and has helped other male breast cancer survivors. Hidden Prayer by Anne Rule-Thompson is an earthenware clay shell that contains an illuminated prayer in honor of a dear friend who is a yoga instructor.

If Fraula-Hahn created that first torso for Thompson as a way to cope with her worries, her latest is simply an expression of her love.

When Fraula-Hahns husband died in 2008, Thompson delivered a moving eulogy incorporating the imagery of a golden thread connecting friends and family.

The torso Fraula-Hahn created just this year and called The Golden Thread is adorned with apple blossoms connected with a golden thread to represent Thompson, who was a volunteer for the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival for more than 35 years. She served as president of the festival in 2014, the very year she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent treatment.

Im really proud of it, so proud of it. Lou Ann was the catalyst and the inspiration, said Fraula-Hahn, giving her friend a hug. And now Im going to need to get a tissue.

For you to remember that golden thread, caught me off guard, said Thompson, who had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis before she found out she had breast cancer.

The Bodice Project has drawn the attention of local health-care professionals.

Dr. Laura Dabinette, a gynecologist with the Womens Center of Winchester, had know Fraula-Hahn for years and always admired her work. When she first saw The Bodice Project she knew she wanted to help with fund-raising to make sure it could be seen by as many people as possible.

I thought how wonderful it is was to exalt a body that is not perfect, Dabinette said. I believe firmly in the power of art to heal.

Dabinette said 10 percent of her patients have cancer. Through early detection, new treatment options and DNA testing to determine high-risk individuals, the five-year survival rate for breast cancer patients has improved from 60% to 90%, she said, giving her the opportunity to offer hope to her patients.

I am passionate about all my patients, but my patients who have survived breast cancer are nearest and dearest to my heart, Dabinette said.

The MSV is located at 901 Amherst St.

The Bodice Project will be on display until Nov. 1.

Admission to The Bodice Project which includes admission to the special outdoor exhibition David Rogers Big Bugs is $15, $10 to youth (age 1318) and to seniors (60+), $5 to ages 512, free to ages 4 & under, and free to MSV members. MSV gallery admission is always free to ages 12 & under and free to all on Wednesdays; however, these free admission offers do not include Big Bugs.

Along with Dabinett, the MSV display of The Bodice Project was made possible thanks to the sponsorship of Myriad Genetics; Winchester Obstetrics and Gynecology, PLC; Drs. Anita Minghini and Paul Lambert; Shenandoah Oncology, P.C.; Valley Health System; and Tracy Fitzsimmons and J. Knox Singleton.

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The Bodice Project: Artists salute spirit of breast cancer patients - The Winchester Star