Bidding on Big Bunny Begins

DEDHAM, MA. – The head-turning, five foot rabbit that found its home in Dedham Square over the past month is now up for auction to raise funds for the Mother Brook Arts and Community Center (MBACC) at 123 High Street in Dedham. The bidding for "Miss Penelope the Bunny" is already underway online at https://tinyurl.com/penelope-the-bunny and will continue during MBACC’s “Ante Up” Casino Night fundraiser this Saturday November 17 starting at 6:30pm. Other auction items include artwork by MBACC resident artists, a round of golf for three at The Country Club, and a vacation getaway.

Penelope the Bunny is technically the 16th big bunny to find its home in Dedham. Back in 2012, the Dedham Public Art Project helped bring fifteen crouching rabbit sculptures to Dedham. Those original fifteen rabbits were painted and placed across Dedham in high visibility locations, including parks, public spaces, and outdoor retail areas. Each sculpture was painted by a juried selection of local artists – and sponsored by local businesses, individuals and organizations. About 50,000 dollars was raised by auctioning off the rabbits to support the arts in Dedham, including the then newly launched Mother Brook Arts & Community Center in 2013.

Dedham Public Arts founder Paul Reynolds explains, “This new giant rabbit was commissioned to help celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Mother Brook Arts & Community Center, as well as bring attention to the power of public art to provide everyone in the community direct and ongoing encounters with art.”

Earlier this year, the Dedham Public Art Project had the giant rabbit shipped in from Chicago where it was created, and a juried selection process chose an artist to paint the sculpture. The judges, who included artists Sue Hoy, Lisa W. B. Walker, Cat Ciccolo Tucker, and Dedham Civic Pride’s Janet Holmes, reviewed and selected the winning design by Everett-based artist Karyn Alzayer. The panel was won over by Alzayer’s “experience with public art, her prolific body of work, demonstrated craftsmanship, and portfolio of award-winning designs.”

Alzayer’s winning design features a solid blue background with bright orange henna-style mandalas stretching out across the rabbit’s body. Fine detail in a deep shade of purple was then applied with a traditional henna cone to overlay the other layers. Alzayer spent about 60 hours of painting, and 10 hours doing the purple henna application over 39 days.

Alzayer’s contribution to the Dedham Public Art Project is not her first foray into public art. In 2016, Alzayer was one of 60 local artists chose for the 2016 Street Pianos of Boston program, which transformed decommissioned pianos with artist-painted designs, then emblazoned with the words “Play me, I’m yours,” and placed all over the city for anyone to play.

Along with being an elementary school music educator, Alzayer is a fully insured henna artist who has been practicing henna throughout the Greater Boston. With music education degrees from Otterbein and Boston University, Alzayer was eventually also drawn to the visual arts with a fascination for henna designs, which is a traditional form of body art using plant-based dye that has been used for thousands of years dating back to the ancient Egyptians.

The rabbit design was chosen as a nod to the historic Dedham Pottery, which was produced in Dedham over 100 years ago. The pottery was characterized by a signature crackle glaze and border designs in thick cobalt blue. The most common and recognizable design is a repeating crouching rabbit officially referred to as "the Dedham rabbit.”

Support for this new rabbit was generously provided by Dedham Savings. To protect Alzayer’s intricate painting design, the Dedham Public Art Project turned to local automotive legend Ernie Boch and his team at Subaru of New England for help. They happily offered a free clear coating at Boch Collision Center in Norwood.

More information about the auction and fundraising event is available at: Information is available at www.MotherbrookArts.org.

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