Thank you for taking the time to read and view my page. This is my project. This is me. This is who I am.
My name is Camille Bonterre and I am reaching out for assistance in publishing my book of inspirational poems and sketches of Survival, Surviving an Acid Attack. A physical, emotional and spiritual journey.
I have written a narrative ekphrasis in a story format, where the Artist and Poet are the same. These poems are not connotations or interpretations about someone else’s work of art. I am writing and drawing about my own.
Sketch 19 Title: Anime
Date Completed: August 8 2019
Anime
I stood,
Looking around.
Everything new.
A wind so fierce.
The pace seems so shrewd.
The view looks clear.
Yet the path Looks unconventional.
New territory
I try to blend in
Life dysfunctional.
Yet I try to assimilate.
I trend.
By: Camille Bonterre
(Excerpts from my book)
“…I watched my straps drop before me. It was swift, quick and clean, like a surgical knife cutting through skin. “Not My Face”, I yelled. As the acid…”
I am an artist by many means, a burn survivor and a survivor of domestic abuse. On July 22 2000 my life changed forever. I was brutally assaulted with acid. I sustained scars to 80% of my body. I have produced a book that contains 26 inspirational poems varying in length and content accompanied by sketches. These I have used as my tools, in which I reflect on the journeys that I have travelled through my mind and reality. Numerous surgeries, acceptance and isolation. Surreal moments and times. It was hard to write 19 years later. These poems and sketches are emotional reflections of journeys in my mind and physical world. Being doused with acid and burning for over a week in the hospital. I was heavily sedated. Leaving my mind in a constant dream state. So many surgeries. I never saw myself again. I have been living as a stranger to myself for 19 years. Never really getting used to this new me. As time went by I learnt to love myself again. Struggling in this new world of whispers and stares. I am trying to find my way. Travelling to distant parts trying to find love. Trying to find me. No longer seeing myself as a victim but as a Survivor. Journeys as I slept. “Induced Coma”, and when I woke up in the hospital. My new life. A surreal look. I drew a series of images of women with beautiful forms not usually showing their faces. Everyone looking different. An expression of solidarity. “I am you, you are me.”This body of work I have produced has been divided into 2 parts. A small window into the mind of a burn survivor, a woman that was violated. A tragedy. An awakening to a stranger. Still falling back into dysfunctional relationships. Insecurities; breed bad choices. Waking up. The pain of the great losses, physically and mentally.
This is my first book. I have already started working on my next edition. I would like to have a deeper connection with the reader in real time. A survival story. With the obvious apparent grit. A way of combining original art and poetry. My own ekphrasis in a story format. Giving the reader a surreal story behind each drawing that I have sketched. Images that are tastefully drawn. The beauty of the human form. Geared to an adult audience. I look to engage with my readers, like numerous poets over the years.
Poets have been inspired by art pieces of various proportions for centuries. Poets like John Keat and Pascal Petit. John Keat’s Ode to Grecian with his imaginative act of narration and reflection of two lovers depicted on an ancient urn. Word count 636. It was produced between 1795-1818. Sold approximately 200 copies. Another poet Pascale Petit wrote a collection of ekphrastic poems inspired by Freda Kahlo, a Mexican artist who suffered a near death experience in a bus accident. One of her poems is called “What the Water Gave Me,” with a word count of 1997. Intimate view point. She went on to sell thousands of copies and won numerous awards and prizes. Her poems were based on her own interpretation of someone else’s craft. As seen before ekphrastic poems have been passed on and produced to compliment many paintings and other art forms over the ages.
My work is in fact similar in nature. The difference is the illustrator and the poet are one and the same. I have produced a series of sketches and poems that entwine to tell a story. A tragic story. The power of faith and perseverance. Moving forward.
Something for the audience as well as myself to draw strength, consolidation and comradeship. I am hoping this will be my first installment of many more poem/sketchbook compilations. My life journey is still ongoing. This book is a window to where I was, where I am today and where I am headed tomorrow. I am still here surviving. Forging my own way.
The Sketches compiled are originals from a series that I call “Not My Face”. I have
started making paintings of these sketches and new drawings to add to my portfolio of ekphrastic poetry.
I am an artist with over 30 years of experience in producing various art pieces, business owner and mother. I draw my ideas and inspirations from my own life. Born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. My last school attended was York University. I am currently the Owner and Creative Director at Glassstone Inc. I am asking if you would consider helping me publish my book, “Induced Coma” Burn Survivor, Surviving Domestic Violence. It is a piece of modern expressionism. As a visual artist and poet, I have used my negative experiences and turned it into positive energy. A form of art therapy, I am a single, disabled, mother of 3. I have tried to make positive strides against very difficult odds. Be a role model to my children and humbly an inspiration to others. “Induced Coma” is a very heartfelt book. It is dedicated to my Mom that passed away on April 10, 2019. She was my best friend and my biggest supporter. She died of bone cancer and stage 4 bedsores of which she acquired in the hospital where she passed.
I would like my book to be a motivational force for those individuals that have been through or going through domestic abuse. To know they are not alone and their current circumstances doesn’t define their final outcome. Helping those find strength within oneself.
“I am you, you are me”
I am also in the process of developing a non-profit organization for Survivors of Domestic Violence called ”Hear My Call Foundation” to reach women and individuals in need of assistance in rebuilding their lives. A 24/7 support services that will span globally collaborating with various businesses and non-profits to help those in need of our assistance.
As a single mother of obvious disability, the costs of living has taken a toll on my ability to fund my project effectively. With funding, I will be able to publish, print, ship and promote my book. Being new to the publishing world I am without an agent; with that being said, it can be a difficult field to dive into without support and financial backing.