The Bunny in the Basement

Stalking
Acrylic, pastel on canvas
44" x 30"
©NanciHersh
photo by Joe Solem Photograph

I've been away from home for a while and when I come back I realize that I left my rabbit in the basement without food or water the whole time. Fearing what I would find, I race down the steps and look all around.  Relieved, I see my rabbit- a little worse for wear, but alive.  It seems my bunny in the basement foraged for food and water and somehow survived- despite my neglect.

I wake up in the middle of the night and realize that it wasn't the first time I had this dream, or a very similar version of it. I decided I better write it down but don't want to turn on the light. So I wrote it in the dark. completely.

and as I am writing I am thinking what could it mean?  I did have a pet bunny (a few) and my most recent, Thunder, did live in my basement, which in this house, is where one of my studios is.

But then I had my aha! moment.  I haven't been down there in a while. My studio. I've been busy teaching, volunteering for this and that, and lots of other family stuff. 

I have been working on some new paintings- upstairs, but downstairs is really my main work space. Where I draw, work on my sculptures out of wire and handmade paper, experiment, and have my etching press. 

It's like my laboratory-away from it all.

and I miss being there.  According to dream interpretation.com- A basement represents your deep unconscious mind and instinct, and rabbits- "To see a rabbit in your dream signifies luck, magical power, and success."

Any dream is open to interpretation, but I think this means I need to "feed" my creativity, no matter how busy I get. Make the time.

We need to pay attention to not only what/who we are responsible for, but what takes care of us; we need to trust our instinct and pay attention to what is important to us, to who we are.

Have you fed your bunny in the basement?