JANE CAMERON

ABILITIES PROFILE 1999
ARTIST

And although Jane was diagnosed with Down syndrome when she was four months old, there is no allusion to her disability in either her accomplishments or her art.

Jane's parents were told their daughter was a "mongoloid" and that they should "put her in an institution and forget about her." Jane has always required the care of others. Yet As her mother, Alma, recalls, "I treated her like any other little girl, right from the start. That's the only thing I could think to do and I'm so glad I did."

So Jane spent the first six years of her life growing up in India, where she was automatically different -- her gleaming blond hair and deep blue eyes were enough for this. But among family and friends, it was never mentioned that Jane had Down syndrome. Jane's parents were not in denial, but they were not looking for an excuse to love their daughter any less. Nor would they accept anything less than normal treatment towards Jane from their friends.

With the transfer of her father to Montreal, the Camerons set out to ensure the education of their children. All seemed to go well until Jane's school changed directors and implemented a pedagogical doctrine which professed that "these children needed no academic training apart from street crossing signs, 'Danger' and 'Men' and 'Women.'"

Alma is still shocked as she recounts, "When I was in school, we learned many things that didn't have direct applicability in life. When I told the director this, he said, 'Yes, but that was to stretch your mind.' And I thought, and why shouldn't this apply to Jane?"

Unwilling to accept that Jane deserved anything less in life, the Camerons looked into the internationally renowned Doctor Franklin Perkins School in Lancaster, Massachusetts.

Jane's enrolment at Perkins School provides an anecdote which explains much of Jane's success in life. Jane was 13, yet the school officials at Perkins wanted children to enter the school prior to age 12. Her parents were not dissuaded. They arranged for the director to meet with Jane, and she was accepted. Likewise, 10 years later, Jane's character brought her admittance to Le Fil d'Ariane in Montreal. And, in 1980, Jane, speaking through her art, would earn herself a place at the In-Definite Arts Society in Calgary -- even though her mother was originally told that admission was restricted to people with physical disabilities.

The principal medium used in Jane's art is textiles. Though she had already learned to do some beautiful needlepoint while at Perkins School, her enrolment at Le Fil d'Ariane meant enrolment in something akin to an art school. Working in the atelier, Jane quickly demonstrated that she was much more than a "stitcher" who followed patterns. Excelling in her chosen craft, Jane became the atelier's chief designer. The result is that huge tapestries were commissioned from such organizations as the office of the Prime Minister, Mirabel Airport and Reader's Digest Canada.

Founded by Louise Cimon Annett, an art teacher from Les Beaux Arts, when she became interested in helping people with intellectual disabilities, Le Fil d'Ariane (literally, "Ariadne's Thread"), envisioned itself as a kind of allegorical savior. Like Ariadne who gave Theseus a spool of golden thread to lead him back out of the dark labyrinth once he had slain the Minotaur, Madame Annett sought to use skeins of bright wool to bring her apprentices into the world at large.

Empowered with the task of creating art, Jane was able to achieve her stated purpose in leaving Perkins School -- to have a job like anyone else her age.

This young woman, dubbed "our sunshine girl" by her parents, stretched her golden thread into society's heart. Her work gained her recognition and numerous commissions and champions. Among the first to promote her accomplishments was her paediatrician, Dr. Granville Nickerson. At a meeting of the Canadian Paediatric Society, he stated that "contrary to the physician's conditioned expectations, [Jane] has brought joy and satisfaction to both herself, her family and the community through the development of her talent."

It was also near the beginning of Jane's career at Le Fil d'Ariane that Dr. Max Klager, a German professor of art and education, discovered her. In the few hours he had at the atelier before returning to Germany, his "trip was made."

Dr. Klager championed Jane's work. He studied her art, wrote books on her, and helped procure a one-woman exhibition of Jane's art at the Heidelberg Textile Museum. But more than bringing her work to the attention of the world, he gave Jane's work credibility. He defended Jane as a "true artist" -- and "an artist doesn't need to explain."

With this statement, Jane grew in the esteem of her own parents -- from a talented daughter to a gifted artist. Dr. Klager makes it clear that Jane's work is far from a bunch of random shapes and stitches. She expresses herself and her vision of life through colours, colours that for her reflect an emotional state rather than the subject of her art. Like the Impressionists, Jane has no desire to reproduce reality -- though her private oils demonstrate that she was capable of doing so. Her representations are interpretations, and they in turn arouse emotions in the viewer.

And so it is that Jane's work has stood on its own without mention of her disability. Pointing to an exhibition poster for Jane's work, Carla Foster (a former instructor of Jane's at In-Definite Arts) begins, "Jane's work doesn't say 'I am a disabled artist'" -- "it says, 'I see life as a bright and beautiful place,'" finishes Gene Neel (the executive director of In-Definite Arts).

She has won juried competitions. Her work has been included in exhibitions that travelled across Canada. It has been showcased in numerous magazines and books on textile art. It hangs in the Esso Resources' Collection. And it hangs in the Museum of Civilization in Ottawa.

While Jane's achievements could be for many the object lessons telling society what can be achieved by people with disabilities, ultimately Jane would stand up and say, "No, I am not a pioneer or a role model." She sees the attention she has received as not owing to her disability but owing to the fact her art deserves it. Jane is not an object lesson for people with disabilities, but rather she is an object lesson for us all. For Jane is the embodiment of life, and she has taken her gift and given her vision of life to us all.

There are those who might say that in all of this, Jane accomplished the unexpected. Should we be surprised that Jane is a great artist because she has Down syndrome? Jane has accomplished all that she has because her parents and friends never gave up on her. As Gene Neel explains, "I doubt Jane was ever told she couldn't do something." Jane was never locked away; she was never locked out of her parents' hearts.

Should we be shocked that a child given opportunities, support and love is able to give back a satisfied life? No, we should be shocked that there are those who believe not all children deserve this.

Sadly, as you read this, the chapter on Jane's life as an artist has closed. With the passing of her father a few years ago, Jane's condition seems to have declined. Her eyesight has deteriorated to the point that she can no longer distinguish figures. She is almost completely unable to communicate anymore; the few words she can muster are always about her father. She can no longer grasp a pencil.

But Jane’s accomplishments deserve attention. At the continuing care facility to which she recently moved, her room is filled with swimming medals and bowling trophies, representative of a once strong and bright Jane Cameron who was an integral part of the Canadian Special Olympics team which competed in New York, in 1979; a Jane Cameron whose work hangs in venues around the world. This is a Jane Cameron who has lived well and accomplished a great deal.

-- Dale Schierbeck

From Abilities Magazine, Issue 39