Bronze Bunny

Today  my daughter Abby is completing her senior year at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota.  She is a double major, Art and English.  

Recently Abby had as a part of one of her art projects made a bronze cast of a rabbit.  She has always loved this little creature even to the point of having one as a pet.  This little hopper would be let out of her cage at times in Abby's bedroom and the rabbit, (Collette) would hop around and she would play with our Tuxedo cat, (Toby).  Toby didn't quite know what to think of this strange looking cat at first.  Over a period of time though, Toby would reach through the wire mesh and play with Collette with her paws.  Collette would respond in bunny fashion by sniffing Toby's paws and jumping and running back and forth in her cage with bunny excitement.  When Abby let Collette out of her cage, she would right away look for Toby to play with.  At times though, being a cat, Toby thought her highest priority was that of sleep over play.  Seeing Toby curled up on Abby's bed, Collette would jump over Toby, forcing Toby to wake from her slumber in which Toby would then quickly retreat to a window sill in a desperate attempt to resume her sleep.  Looking down at Collette from above, I could see that their love for each other was going to be at a distance only, at least for this time and place.

Today Abby still has a fondness for rabbits.  When going for a walk she would spot a rabbit in the bush and I could see her heart and mind return to her days with her furry roommate.   Having taken with great passion into making a bronze rabbit, Abby would forever be reminded of this love she held in her heart for Collette.  

Abby recently entered into a Tri-College art presentation at a local art gallery with her bronze bunny.  She informed our family that a lady looking at the art gallery was so taken by its image that she halted plans to trap bunnies in her garden, and now is building a fence around her precious garden to protect her vegetables, and the rabbits as well.   

Art has the ability to draw us into experiencing what the artist sees and  to feel what they feel as well.  Each person can look at a piece of art and experience something totally different than the individual standing next to them.  Visions of a future seen in a piece of art can lead us to see endless possibilities for our own lives.  They strengthen our beliefs, change our hearts and minds to see what we might have missed.  They bring to our attention the love for someone or something that touched our lives in the past.  Art reignites those passions long forgotten by some, while in others, it opens one's eyes to endless possibilities of a future waiting to be born. 

I believe when God created our Earth and all its inhabitants, he also put within our hearts the passion to create as well.  In the Garden of Eden God let Adam name each creature that he saw that God had just created.  God wanted to share with Adam, and for mankind, that desire to create as he had done for us.  It is in our nature to do the same because it brings joy not only for our Heavenly Father, but for each of us as well.