Emily D. Cameron

Emily D. Cameron has often been called fearless, but it was her courage in the face of fears that defined her, not their absence. She traveled the world, leaving art behind in museums, restaurants and homes, but carrying countless friendships along with her. The calendar marked thirty three revolutions of our world around the sun, but she plumbed the depths of the human experience with such aplomb, such grace, that her spirit seemed immortal, having gathered a timeless eye. Her rarified art allows fragments of time, the essence of a being, and even the truth to be crystallized and captured in acrylic, or cellophane or clay. She shapes the viewer as much as the subject, carving into us with a subtlety and skill that catches the breath and stills the mind. Emily calls us to attention, quiets our hearts, and opens them that we might look on the world anew.

Her path began in Jackson Mississippi, where she joined two siblings, brother Ben and sister Adine, on a never-ending quest to drive Alan and Mary Cameron to madness. From the tender age of twelve, she strode bravely into the world again and again, from Kenya to Germany, China to Scotland. At the Atlanta College of Art, she discovered her true passion for photography, which she followed to Europe where she captured the energy of live music and discovered the joy of photographing architecture. Her skills redoubled at the prestigious Parsons School of Design in New York, where her obvious genius won her the merit scholarship that took her to the Far East. While many photographers support their more lofty work with the mundane beauties of weddings, Emily's images were so powerful, fueled by her unique ability to press the ephemera of moments into film, that she was flown by clients around the country. To this she added food photography that set jealous mouths to watering, the joy of the dinner and diners alike transmitted by the immutable power of her vision.

Her last great adventure took her to the land of her ancestors, Scotland, where she won hearts with the wonder and passion that fueled her courage. For the honor of her parents, siblings, six nieces and two nephews, she sought out the roots of her family tree in the conflicts betwixt clans that long ago brought her forbearers to America's shores. She stitched together a world's worth of souls with thread of love and clarity from which fear melted like the mists upon the moors, in the sunlight of her art. She believed: "We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time." Emily has gone on ahead, but her work remains as a trail of breadcrumbs through the dark woods of the world, leading to that place at the end of all our exploring; each image a window into that timeless place behind her eyes from which we can return to where we started, and know ourselves for the first time.

Come Springtime, a memorial art show will be held at St. Andrew's, Sewanee, dates to be determined. Donations may be sent to St. Andrew's Sewanee School, Development Office, 290 Quintard Rd., Sewanee, TN, 37375





Funeral Home:
A. S. Turner & Sons
2773 North Decatur Road
Decatur, GA
30033