When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is wrought

in our life, or in the life of another (Helen Keller, 1880-1968).

Helen Keller, a deaf-blind American woman who became a profuse author and inspirational speaker, revealed her indomitable spirit by poignantly describing a sunset. Without the benefit of sight and hearing, she opened a door for the rest of us to appreciate our ability to perceive.

Helen had come a long way from being an unruly child frustrated by her situation. With caring parents and her beloved teacher Anne Sullivan, Helen was soon described as a “miracle child” filled with curiosity, enthusiasm, and boundless energy. Amazingly, the 7-year-old Helen learned 100 words the day she connected the word “water” to the hand signals Anne Sullivan was signing in her palm. A breakthrough!

In spirit we should all try to emulate Helen. To achieve in today’s world, we as disabled individuals need the vigour exhibited by that remarkable lady. We have a duty to take advantage of talents we possess and to apply them with energy.

The paintings by Lorna Wreford in this calendar are fine-line India ink drawings tinted with watercolours. They aim to interpret the seasonal bounty of Southern and Central Ontario’s farms, forests, lakes, and streams. Several record the disappearance of characteristic features due to the passage of time and the effects of urban development.

For over fifty years Lorna’s family spent summers in Muskoka and Haliburton. As a child Lorna passed many quiet hours in a rowboat on the Moon River near Bala, deep in a marshy bay where glints of shiners and chub flashed in the magical brown water. Lorna’s patience and ability to sit absolutely still proved a tremendous advantage. Great blue herons, beavers, muskrats, turtles, frogs, redwing blackbirds, dragonflies and a myriad of other creatures soon accepted the boat and its solitary figure as part of the marsh. And in the deep woods, pale Indian pipes, lacking chlorophyll, rose ghost-like out of the forest floor, tucked beside fallen logs where sweet salamanders played. For Lorna, the cool, silky texture of a bullfrog tadpole belly still thrills. Childhood excursions into the marsh and forest, backed by nurturing high school and university instructors, taught Lorna, not only to appreciate Nature, but also to express the experiences creatively.

Committed to memory, data captured by the rhythms of the drawing pen are meant to imbue each painting with spirit, energy, and enthusiasm. The paintings themselves represent a degree of freedom, in that there are no braces, crutches or wheelchairs to be seen.

According to Helen Keller, “Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.” May God grant us all the strength to do with cheerfulness our utmost each day. Heartfelt thanks go to all who help, encourage, and inspire us.

Explore and enjoy the paintings!  Inquiries concerning purchase of the 18” x 24” artworks may be made by contacting the artist at 905-270-2612 or by e-mail at lornawreford@rogers.com.