The Bunny Project: In March of 2019 sculptor Amber Aguirre’s daughter Kailei was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Less than a week later (right after everything shut down for Covid), Kailei had a craniotomy. Although most of the tumor was removed, a year later it was found to be growing back. She couldn’t have another craniotomy because it had grown into her speech and vision center. She wasn’t a candidate for chemo or radiation because she carries a gene (POT1) that indicates chemo would create a secondary cancer. Kailei’s only hope of survival rests in an experimental drug that keeps the tumor from growing. Because the tumor adapts to these drugs, research to trigger the tumor to respond to these drugs is her only hope.
Amber was feeling helpless and useless to help her daughter. In an effort to do something to help her daughter, Amber created “The Bunny Project.” Kailei has a pet rabbit and since 2023 was the Chinese “Year of the Rabbit,” it seemed an appropriate way of raising some money for brain cancer research. Dr. Albert Lai of Lai Labs at UCLA is researching the exact kind of tumor that Kailei has. Amber made 365 rabbits, one for each day in 2023. The proceeds from the sale of each rabbit are being donated to Lai Labs where Kailei is being treated.
The rabbit project culminated with a solo exhibition at the John Natsoulas Center for Arts in Davis, California, where all the bunnies were displayed together. Many sold, but Amber will continue to display and sell the rabbits until they are all sold and all of the profits can be donated to brain cancer research. Please help Kailei and other people who are plagued by brain cancer by purchasing a rabbit or a whole “fluffle” of rabbits.
Artist Bio: In kindergarten, Amber made her first ceramic piece. It was a blue ashtray with her palm-print in it. From the moment she saw that a malleable piece of dirt could be turned into a rock hard waterproof item, she was hooked on clay. She thought it was magic!
Many years later, Amber received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the University of Southern California, and then continued her education with a master’s degree in art education at San Francisco State University. At that time, she also received her California teaching credential and went on to teach ceramics in the public-school system. When Amber moved to Hawaii with her husband 19 years ago, she left teaching so she could focus on her own art in earnest with the goal of being the professional artist that she had envisioned since second grade. Her art speaks of her feelings about war, racism, and other forms of social injustice, yet she often uses whimsey to get her message across. Using art, Amber hopes to be able to make people consider different viewpoints. 50 years after making that fateful ashtray Amber is represented by top galleries in the field of ceramics and her work is exhibited and collected internationally.