Waiting to Exhale: Building The Rabbit hOle’s Zen Shorts Exhibit
- Jul 15
- 4 min read
Updated: Jul 16
On the first floor of The Rabbit hOle, sandwiched between our super-sized Nicholas Bunny and a wall of bookshelves, there is a small and unassuming yellow tent. Since the museum opened in 2024, visitors have curiously passed the tent unable to go inside – until now.
Our newest exhibit celebrates Zen Shorts, written and illustrated by Jon J Muth. In the book, a giant panda named Stillwater mysteriously appears in a family’s backyard, sets up camp and shares several Zen stories with three siblings, inspiring them to look at their problems and the world in different ways.
In his author’s note, Muth explains that “‘Zen shorts’ are short mediations –– ideas to puzzle over –– tools which hone our ability to act with intuition. They have no goal, but they often challenge us to reexamine our habits, desires, concepts, and fears.”
Rabbit hOle director Pete Cowdin began working on the idea for this exhibit nearly a decade ago, before The Rabbit hOle even had a building.
“From the beginning we knew we wanted visitors to rest on a massive version of Stillwater as he sleeps beneath his tree, while the Zen stories from the book are animated on the walls,” Cowdin said. “Sleeping seemed like the most effective Zen posture for Stillwater, a sort of ultimate state of calm and detachment, allowing the visitor to really relax and focus on the stories. The thing that totally elevates the exhibit is the simple condition of Stillwater actually breathing – his chest expanding and contracting slowly while visitors arrange themselves on his belly. It’s truly magical. Though for as simple as the effect is, it was a bear to fabricate!”
Much like the meditative lessons Stillwater shares, the creation of this exhibit was an exercise in patience and enlightenment for everyone involved.
Since initial conversations for the giant snoozing panda began sometime in 2018, Exhibit Design and Fabrication Lead Leigh Rosser has created several iterations of a mechanism that would make Stillwater’s belly slowly rise and fall.
“We were initially considering using forced air and a bladder to replicate the breathing cycle,” Rosser said. “This would also have worked – we made a small prototype – but were worried about punctures of the bladder, and the air leaks in the valves and pipes from wear and tear over time.”
Ultimately, Rosser constructed a unique armature out of flexible material with a series of bowing ribs that are compressed by a sliding carriage. In addition to durability, this approach allows the speed of his breathing to be adjusted.
“Stillwater exhales through his nose with each breath,” Rosser said. “Good thing pandas don't have bad breath…”
Once the mechanics for the belly were finalized, The Rabbit hOle’s sculpture team began building the panda’s arms, legs, and head out of foam.
“The most challenging and rewarding part was figuring out how to engineer the upholstery foam layer to expand and contract perfectly while also being removable for maintenance and cleaning,” said Sculpture Team Lead, Jordan Dean.
“Let’s just say there were a lot of ups and downs that transpired,” Sculptor and General Fabricator Eric Carver added. “I’m glad it worked out.”
Furring a panda is no small task, and one of the first hurdles was to find a fabric that could stretch with the stomach and not get saggy when Stillwater exhales. After purchasing many samples and multiple mock-ups, Stillwater was covered with 60 yards of luxurious black and white 4-way stretch faux fur.
Soft Goods fabricator Nathan Ford’s process included draping, pinning, sewing, gluing, making a massive butcher paper pattern, and some velcro.
“I am most proud of the face. The eyes are sewn into the white fur, which means I had to cut the fur perfectly, in the exact spots,” Ford said. “I had one shot at aligning everything perfectly, or else I'd have to start over. I was on edge the entire time! Thankfully, everything turned out perfect the first time and the results are stunning.”
While Stillwater was being constructed in the lower level of The Rabbit hOle’s fabrication shop, Rabbit hOle Generalist Bill Honan was upstairs bringing motion to each of Muth’s Zen stories. In addition to matching them to the pacing Muth’s narration, his animations had to compliment the illustrations' minimal and contemplative style.
“It was harder to animate because I kind of have to fill in the blanks to cover the narration without adding my own content,” Honan said. “I really like the stories and have taken them to heart. I often quote them in my daily life… especially the one that says, ‘I put her down hours ago, why are you still carrying her?’”
Because of the intimate and quiet nature of the exhibit, it is ticketed and has several special requirements including wearing socks and a limit of 5 people for each 10 minute session.
Every exhibit at The Rabbit hOle is unique and given careful consideration, but Cowdin says Zen Shorts is well worth the wait.
“We never like to force things through, just to get a quick result. All of our exhibits are not just thoughtful, they’re accountable to the spirit of the source material,” Cowdin said. “That almost always means things take longer than they might in other shops, and we’re okay with that. At least that’s the way I work. Nothing rushed. Deb and I want whatever we’re making to be just right.”
