Cold and flu season is still alive and kicking in Vermont, as I learned all too well this past weekend.

Having known for a while that I would be on my own this week, I had been looking forward to delving into a growing list of projects that have been sitting on the sidelines for months. Being laid low by the flu wasn’t part of the equation, but as they say: “The best laid plans…”

Lola Snoozing    ©Elizabeth Fram

However, I can’t complain. Once I felt well enough to get my head up off the pillow, I could get back to work — of a fashion. One of my goals was to devote a solid portion of  time to drawing, &  it has still been possible to follow through, albeit at a slower pace and within a more limited scope. But the bottom line is the work was there, ready and waiting, once I could sit up.

I often think about how art is with us for life. It sticks by our side through thick or thin, no matter the circumstances. You just have to find a way to allow it to come through.

Paw Study    ©Elizabeth Fram

Food for thought: Frida Kahlo began painting while bedridden after a horrendous accident when she was 18. By using an easel that was modified to allow her to paint from a reclining position, she was able to persevere for the rest of her life, even while recovering from countless surgeries and being confined within a body cast.  Henri Matisse, coped with chronic illness the last 14 years of his life, yet at the same time began a brilliant new chapter in his career with his “Cut-Outs”. And Chuck Close has stated that the learning disabilities of dyslexia and prosopanosia (the inability to remember faces) drove him to paint portraits. Becoming suddenly paralyzed in 1988 pushed his work to new heights in his quest to adapt to his limited movement.   These are just three examples of artists whose work never faltered despite debilitating illness or disability, and whose genius perhaps became all the more apparent because of it.  The drive to keep working was greater than the obstacles presented to them.

That said, a little stomach bug barely merits mentioning, but my point is — regardless of your stature, the work is there for all of us — waiting to adapt in whatever way needed. You just have to give it the go-ahead.

Nap #2    ©Elizabeth Fram

– With gratitude to Lola, patient model, who endured several days in a row without a walk.