Painting Since She Could Breathe

Let me introduce you to one very talented woman. Her name is Anne Abbott, and if I were still teaching, I'd be inviting her to come and speak to the members of the girls' club I used to mentor. She would be a great role model, someone really worthwhile for them to meet. If I can quote an old cliche here, life has given Anne lemons, by the bucketful, but instead of bemoaning her fate, she has used them to make lemonade.
I met Anne this past weekend at the St. Lawrence Market. I came around the corner and saw her sitting there in her wheelchair, an older version of the young lady I taught several years ago now, with one huge difference. Instead of parents who wrap their daughter in smotheringly protective layers of batting, Anne obviously had parents who sent her out to meet the world head-on and make a place in it for herself.
When I said good morning to her, and commented on her cat-cover note cards, she answered me by using the symbols on a Bliss board, and by giving me a beautiful, big smile. It doesn't matter how we talk or what language we use, a smile is a universal way to break down barriers.
When I asked her how long she has been producing her works of art, she said, "Ever since I could breathe." She's obviously an artist of note since some of her works hang in the halls of the University of Toronto, and she has been featured on Breakfast TV, as well as in Ryerson's McLung's magazine.
If you're in the market for a painting to grace your walls, or just a few notecards to drop a line or two to friends, you should take a minute to visit Anne's site and view her work. Maybe, you'll come away with an original or two. For sure, you'll come away a smile.