Sandra Santos/Daily Journal Marifel Verlohr, Liz Curry and Hannah Klein Connolly, a Burlingame resident diagnosed with breast cancer, work on decorating plaster busts made from impressions of their own bodies in Burlingame Sunday morning. The busts will join more than 22 others for an art exhibition in celebration of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which will be held Oct. 28 at the Burlingame Lion’s Club from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Holding up two pieces of spiraled copper-looking wire, Hannah Klein Connolly asked her friend a question that may seem out of the ordinary: “Do you like my nipples?”

The spirals were yet to be attached to a plaster of Klein Connolly’s bust. Her bust, which featured beautiful gold flecks and pretty ribbon laced around the breasts, is one of over 25 that will be featured in an art exhibit called HER2 Friends Wednesday to raise awareness about breast cancer and funds for Breast Cancer Action, a group that advocates for education of breast cancer and changes needed to end it. For the event, women affected by breast cancer in a variety of ways will showcase plaster busts that each woman then decorated.

Burlingame resident Klein Connolly, a breast cancer survivor who was diagnosed with a form known as HER2, came up with the idea after going through a double mastectomy in March.

“A woman is all about her body,” she said. “We are a sum of our parts. I went from having a large, voluptuous chest to having nothing but saline in a matter of months.”

Klein Connolly had a friend take pictures during the transformation, which allowed a visual of the physical and emotional changes through which she was going. However, Klein Connolly was interested in creating something that was 3-D, basically more representative of who she is now. On. Sept. 10, Klein Connolly had her breasts reconstructed, which means they are now silicone.

The photos, while a wonderful depiction of the time, were not who she is now nor did it have the multi-dimensional aspect Klein Connolly was looking for. She met many women touched by breast cancer in some way during her own journey. Working with these women was a therapeutic idea of dealing with the challenges that come along with breast cancer, but also with being a woman.

Each woman’s bust was decorated in a strongly personal way.

Klein Connolly’s was pretty on the front. Juxtaposed against the hard white plaster were beautiful gold specs and girlie ribbon woven around the plaster of her breasts. Inside told a different story, one of her fight with cancer. The bust is internally lined with notes from doctors, hospital bracelets, treatment plans and dripped with gold to represent the chemotherapy. The road map to where she is now also includes things she hopes to do.

Marifel Verlohr, a Burlingame resident, has known Klein Connolly for years and lost her own sister to breast cancer prompting her to take part. The mother of two had decorated her bust with a beach theme with the poem “footprints” in the center; the poem had been part of her sister’s memorial. Sea shells her children previously collected at the beach were attached. One starfish was used to cover the right breast, while the left was covered in beads made in the shape of a starfish. Inside, Verlohr had cut one photo of her family at the beach into two feet. Each foot made to match one foot from each of her children.

“I feel like people are aware of getting mammograms and early detection,” she said, but added she really learned a different lesson from her sister’s battle. “To celebrate life and appreciate everyday.”

Ilene Goldberg, of San Francisco, has known Klein Connolly for years and wanted to be a part of the art exhibit with her. On Saturday, Goldberg was experimenting with metallic paint, making her bust look rusted. She described beauty in the fact that our body can be going through issues, but our soul remains intact.

Burlingame-resident Laura Parker took a motherhood approach to decorating her bust. The mother of two young children, Parker said breasts have many functions, one of which is to feed the young. As such, she carefully painted nipples for a baby bottle pink. The nipples, which had yet to be attached on her bust, were part of a vision Parker was working through on Saturday that included using flower petals in a kind of bodice and having photos of her children dangling from a ribbon to be tied through the belly button area.

“I liked the idea of helping and coming together to share experiences,” she said.

Kimberly Burke treats Klein Connolly at Peninsula Holistic Health Center. True to her work, Burke brought pressed flowers and pieces of art showcasing natural materials often used in holistic or non-traditional treatments. She got involved not only to support her patient, but also to celebrate how wonderful each person is.

“We forget how incredible we are,” she said. “We are beautiful, whatever shape and size and however many wrinkles.”

An exhibition will be held 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28 at the Burlingame Lion’s Club, 990 Burlingame Ave. in Burlingame. The reception will feature the plastered busts, wine and classical guitarists Yuri Liberzon and Theresa Calpoutra. A requested donation of $50 can be made at the exhibit payable to Breast Cancer Action, online at http://bcaction.org or www.her2friends.com. In the dedication, please write on behalf of HER2FRIENDS.

Heather Murtagh can be reached by e-mail: heather@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 105.