Bye Bye Henrie Biggins

Our handsome big gentle giant Henrie Biggins is gone...

9 days after his cardiac event he suddenly took a turn for the worse and passed away in my arms.

What a tough, amazing and kind boy this soul was.

Such a strong and sensitive friend to so many...

I am so so glad that we adopted him and his sister Elsie from the shelter all those years ago.

He really felt like one of those easy solid buns that would just be around for always

so I am kind of shocked right now to suddenly find myself without him,

My studios especially are feeling empty and his best friend Flynn is quite lost all of the sudden.

I don't know how much loss the heart can take, it's feeling like mine can't take much more

but I do know one thing for sure, I am so so so beyond lucky that I got to be his Mama.

Hi From Higgy

We thought everyone might need a dose of cuteness today...

and you can't get much cuter than this little guys face, our Higgy-Buttons.

Where's She Going To End Up?

Well this beauty is all cut out but she currently has nowhere to go!

But I do know she'll be in some water surrounded by some water lilies!

Respect For Earth

I was so happy to be asked to join an awesome group of artists for this group exhibition in May.

I am not sure which pieces I will show quite yet but I am really looking forward to it.

(correction:  The exhibition will actually be running until mid-June)

Heart Attack For Henrie

So on Monday night around 9pm our handsome Henrie suffered a small heart attack.

We were sitting watching t.v. and heard a ruckus in Henrie & Flynn's room so we went running

to find that Flynn was sitting off by himself perfectly normal but Henrie was all stretched out

unable to stand or get up, breathing super hard with a super rapid heart beat.

He was perfectly fine and active and hungry all the day and evening, it was super sudden.

He refused to eat, he didn't want to open his eyes

and his body language held all the signs of a bunny about to die...

We rushed him to the vet

(thank goodness our vet is always there for us no matter the time of day or night)

and suddenly at the vet's office he perked up, to the point where

all 3 of us clearly could see it was not a situation of having to help him pass.

The doctor said he didn't seem to be in distress or pain but his heart did sound full of liquid

and the most likely answer was that he did indeed suffer a heart episode/mild heart attack!

So he was given a shot of a heart medicine that helps the body pass the liquid away from the heart.

We brought him home, laid with him all night long, not sure what was going to happen...

and suddenly around 5am, he popped up without falling over and started to eat!

Now it's Thursday, 3 days later, and he looks like nothing has happened at all.

The doctor said that the attack clearly happened on the side of the heart where he can survive.

We are still holding our breath...he is 9 years old and for big bunnies that is considered quite old.

He's on the exact same heart meds now, twice a day, 12 hours apart just like our Jelly Bean Jaks.

That's thrown me for a loop I tell ya! 

(It hasn't even been 6 months since we ended that whole routine with our Jaks)

To be on that 12 hour cycle again with heart meds, well I admit I had a good cry about it.

BUT, if it means that it keeps our Henrie comfortable and with us and Flynn awhile longer, so be it.

We will adjust and adapt for him, like we've done for so many other buns

because he deserves the best and longest life that we can possibly give him.

People gave up on him before...

that's why he ended up in the shelter system at 4 years old with his sister Elsie.

We'll never ever give up on him...no matter how exhausting...no matter what...

he's too precious and too awesome and he's our boy.

So right now everything seems to be okay...

we're on eggshells but today he's with us so it's a good day.

and now our Henrie Biggins officially has joined the Tough Nut group!

Leisel In Lines

Here is the portrait of Leisel a little further along...sometimes these portraits move along slowly.

Ink pens are the perfect thing to use cause I can kind of curl up with them & work still when in pain.

Touched With Kindness

A friend dropped off this amazing treat awhile back to thank us for helping her bun,

vegan french onion soup, apples from her garden, vegan tees, HELLO!

Working With Rabbits Outside

Here is another Micron ink pen portrait I started back in the summer...

Maybe you can't tell from here but this one is of our Leisel...I'll show you the finished piece soon.

When working outside I need to use mediums that I can pick up & drop super easily because

I am usually watching the buns in the yard at the same time, honestly some days I get no work done!

Woman's Day

Happy International Women's Day All...
May you be feeling strong, beautiful, capable & fierce every single day...

May you be surrounded by fellow women who lift you up in love & support & inspiration...
and may you feel at your very most powerful, special & peaceful when your by yourself XO

A New Toy

I got a tabletop easel (with a 50% off coupon)...

I am pretty excited about it!!!

Flynn In Lino

I can't get enough of linos lately, I carve pretty much every morning.

Those who know my little family know right away that Flynn was my model for this one.

Yuuji & Leisel

Hey, did I ever tell you guys that Yuuji and Leisel bonded???
It's been quite awhile now but I don't know if I ever announced it.
When we decided to adopt Leisel, we knew she had behavioral issues to work out
but Yuuji had lost Teela, his best friend and he's such a sturdy steadfast patient guy,
we really felt like if anyone would be a good match for Leisel it would be him...
so we divided the bedroom in half so we could bring Leisel (a special needs adoption) home.
Truthfully, it's far from easy bringing new buns home, it's a pretty intense process
because we are a home for so many other buns but we are used to it by now to know that whiles
things are hectic for a bit (and definitely inconvenient with gates etc!) things always settle down.

It took a year before we were able to start bonding them.
We don't usually start the bonding process until they show certain behavior at the bonding gates.
When they stop trying to bite each other, when they stop getting worked up when the other one moves along the gates, when they start throwing themselves over near one another, it's than time.
We were starting to wonder if Leisel would ever calm down enough for us to see if they wanted to be buddies but sure enough almost right at her 1 year adoption anniversary, they both started to show the signs that they were ready for face to faces and a few weeks after applying all of our bonding tricks with a whole whack of patience, they bonded...
It's always one of the most satisfying things for us, when we get to remove gates separating buns!
They aren't the closest pairing we've ever had but they really like each other
and being near Yuuji has been nothing but good for our poor messed up Leisel.
Aren't they gorgeous together though.

Henrie's Ink Portrait

As many rabbits as I usually draw,

I don't actually draw my buns all that often, not their portraits anyhow

Well I've been craving to draw them more so here is how Henrie's ink portrait turned out.

I will be adding a portraiture page to my new website & I am excited about that.