bunnies, considering

image permission of & copyrighted by Karina Kalvaitis of The Secret Nest

Mysteries: what is the neat, dark hole in the ground? Why are these bunnies looking it over with such care rather than bolting down into it, as normally they might do? What exactly is it about this drawing that makes you feel such empathy for their concern?

I can answer that last one, a bit. I feel protective of their babylike little heads and bodies, their tiny ears, even as I also notice those ears laid back just enough to signal wariness. (I get a lot of practice via Elizabeth's ears -- different species but same principle.) I look at their faces and see their mouths curving down, along with the occasional brow. Last but not least, the very softness of the lines creating them, the absence of any other detail, makes me look for anywhere they might go, or any explanation, but this takes place in what's essentially a dreamstate. Still, I can't honestly believe they'll come to harm; their space is too pure for that.

This sensitive work comes from the hand of Victoria, BC artist Karina Kalvaitis. Here's something she says about her art, and see how perfectly she works to its purpose: "I make things that reflect my two obsessions – animals & all things tiny and mysterious. I love creating enigmatic little habitats in 3 dimensions and I love painting, drawing and sculpting animals. I spend a lot of time looking at animals and trying to guess what they are thinking." And she added in a note to me, "I have always loved animals and I use them in my artwork as stand-ins for human beings. They so often show the feelings and emotions that we humans try to hide."

She creates that sure soft line with specially sharpened mechanical pencils - which I've never come across before, so that delights me - and lots of selective erasing. Again a use of mystery in the line that used to be there.

You're going to really enjoy her work - go to her Etsy shop, The Secret Nest, and find out just how much.