About a year ago I set out to buy a lawn gnome for a colleague of mine. If that makes you chuckle, it did me too. I really just like the sound of those two words together. Say it with me: “lawn gnome.”

But I guess I was a little snobby about garden sculpture, especially if it was literal or in any way recognizable. If you follow my posts, you know I’m partial to abstraction. The less identifiable the form, the better. But part of an artist’s raison d’etre is to see—and help others look at their surroundings, everyday objects, and life around them. So dismissing any form of art deprives us of connecting, not only with art, but with innovative ideas and each other. Seeing something fresh and new is the best way to enrich our lives.

As an artist, I now know it’s my job to keep a completely open mind. So when I saw the rusty rabbit above, in a Carpenteria Nursery called Seaside Gardens, I had to have him — and share with you. Yes, he’s made from discarded metal trash, but I like his roughness, pastel stripes, and simple lines. And who knows, in a few weeks, we may be celebrating the births of dozens of rusty baby bunnies in our fragrant bushes of lavender.