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PEOPLE Art helped her get through mothers death Cameron paints for therapy For Sara Cameron a paint ing is a metaphor for life It begins with a single brush stroke and only a faint vision of what it could become But as she adds more brush strokes and colours she begins to develop a relationship with her canvas Painting can be a lovehate rela tionship but similar to life Ms Cameron keeps working on her paintings until she likes what is in front of her My mom actually forced me into an art class in high school the Newmarket High School graduate said I didnt expect it but I fell in love with art and have continued with it The pain was so intense there were no words Through my painting I was able to communicate the intangible She earned a bachelor of fine arts from the University of Wind sor and is completing her intern ship and thesis at the Toronto Art Therapy Institute She has offered her expertise by teaching oth ers to express themselves through art therapy at the Doane House Hospice Bereaved Families of York Region Bradford Valley Specialty Care and the AIDS Committee of Toronto She lost her mother Joy when she was 18 to brain cancer It was art that became her comfort enabling her to rum her pain into something beautiful for others to admire I used art as a healing tool through university she said The pain was so intense there were no words Through my painting I was able to communicate the intan gible Through her own experience of using art as a coping mechanism for her loss she began on the jour ney of showing others to tap into their creativity and let their emo tions flow through a paint brush Her paintings not only spoke for her in a time when words couldnt but also gave her a great sense of accomplishment It was Sara Camerons mom Joy who forced her to take a high school art class and it was art that helped Ms Cameron deal with her mothers death My mom is with me everyday and shes my greatest inspiration she said Her art is not just a private affair as she has had the opportunity to contribute to the atmosphere of one of her favourite restaurants in town Orleans Being a regular she enjoys the culture from one of the restaurants tables sketching the performers in her notepad during open mic night The wall used to be grey just plain grey she said pointing behind the stage The owner asked me one night if I would like to paint it She had never had the oppor tunity to create a piece of art that would be seen by so many but jumped at the chance to contribute something to the artistic theme of the business that supports so many local talents The vibrant yellows bright oranges and cool blues of a streetscape that seem to flow from a saxophone just flowed from her I got to add a visual to what I feel blues and jazz look like she said with a smile as she sipped her water and looked at the mural I was glad to contribute to the atmo sphere It was a new experience for her to work under the watchful gaze of patrons From there the own ers asked her to paint a banister including a portrait of the original owners of the historic house Ernie and Jane Grassland for their 32nd wedding anniversary It was the first time I had ever worked on scaffolding she laughed was up there hanging on for dear life She is no stranger to the stage at the local music hot spot When the mood strikes her she gets up to sing Janis Jewel or the Cranber ries during open mic night I do write my own songs and play the guitar she said I really started getting into it when I inher ited my mothers guitar She even wrote songs about her mother the greatest inspiration in SARA CAMERON FINISHES OUR SENTENCES My favourite place in Newmarket is Orleans Restaurant because I love the atmosphere rf stranded on an island I couldnt live without paint and a paint brush notebook and pen and my guitar The best flavour of ice cream is peanut butter chocolate chip If I could have lunch with anyone it would be Gwen Stefani because I think of her as a contemporary Mari lyn Monroe with an edge of feminine strength who gives girls and wom en powerful messages with lyrics her life Her grandmother Mona says when she was only three she would approach people and ask if she could sing for them Ken Hallsworth has known Ms Cameron since Grade 9 and says her unrelenting compassion and care for others in need never ceases to inspire him She is compassionate he said I would describe her as a free spirit with a great appreciation for laugh ter One memory that will stick in his mind forever is the day he and she visited a flower shop She was determined to find the loveli est flower among thousands in the shop Some time and a nose full of pollen later she announced she had succeeded Its the joy she gets from the simple things in life that makes a person admire her he said As for her artistic abilities she embodies that which makes artis tic expression amongst the most important elements of communi ty he said Creativity and expression are inspirations on their own Ms Cam eron said Over the years she hasnt lim ited herself to painting and music She has a passion for photogra phy sketching sculpture and print- making as well