My Personal Counterpane (Stacy Wills, 2014)
watercolor on paper
The flu has been kicking my butt for two weeks. It's been a long time since I've been this sick and housebound. Today is the first time I've felt like sitting at my computer for more than a few minutes. I've been to the doctor twice and have been taking my prescribed medicines. I am getting better, but my batteries are not fully recharged just yet. Serendipitously, during this time of confinement, I have been taking an online class through Abbey of the Arts called Coming Home to the Body: A Women's Journey toward Contemplative Embodiment. "Aha" moments abound even though my head has been fuzzy from all the meds. I have been particularly blessed during this retreat by the artwork of Mary Southard, CSJ that has been part of our weekly lessons. Mary's work is beautiful, ethereal and mesmerizing. I have been completely enthralled. Her work confirms my belief that art heals.
As a child, when I was sick, my mother would often read to me while I lay in bed. The poems of Robert Louis Stevenson were among my favorites, particularly The Land of Counterpane. With apologies to Stevenson, my own personal "land of counterpane" has looked more like this:
As I've been sick and lain in bed,
With so many pillows 'round my head,
Paints and brushes beside me lay,
To keep me happy all the day...
I've not had the energy to do much else, but this illness has afforded me the opportunity to spend time rekindling my daily mandala practice, and also time to dabble and doodle to my heart's content in the small leather-bound art journal I bought myself before Christmas. Its pages are filling up fast.
