DANVERS — Fresh from walking in the graduation ceremony at Danvers High last month, Cameron Joseph "C.J." Mercier tonight will host an exhibition of his vibrantly colored oil pastels at the Northeast Arc on Southside Road.
Some may say his even being able to walk was a bit of a miracle.
The 19-year-old's path to tonight's art show needs to be seen through the prism of a horrific accident in which he was struck by a car while riding his bicycle without a helmet. As a result, he suffered severe brain damage.
C.J., who has a thing for numbers, will readily tell you the date and time of the accident: "June 30, 2006, 10:23 in the morning."
The accident caused a huge outpouring within the community. C.J., who was 14 at the time, clung to life at Children's Hospital Boston.
"Everybody knows me," said C.J., who earned a certificate of attendance from Danvers High one year after he probably would have graduated had he not been struck.
"He is very unique," said his father, Jay Mercier.
His father does all he can to let his son express himself. That includes allowing C.J.'s habit of dressing in 14 to 16 color-coordinated outfits.
"He did it all on his own," Mercier said.
C.J.'s show is part of the Northeast Arc's ArcWorks program, which highlights the art of those with developmental disabilities who come to the nonprofit organization for its support services.
C.J.'s brightly colored geometric patterns on foam board will be on display at the Gallery @ Southside through Sept. 9, with an artist reception tonight from 5 to 7 p.m. at 6 Southside Road.
One of the works that is not for sale is a picture of what looks like an eye surrounded by a sea of black. It's a picture, C.J. said, that describes a seizure he had.
"That's my favorite picture," Jay Mercier said. "I told him that I don't want him to sell that picture."
Despite the circumstances that gave rise to the picture, it was the first time C.J. began to use color in his work, his father said.
Slow recovery
In the summer of 2006, C.J. was riding his bicycle to meet friends at the Danvers YMCA when he was struck by a car near the intersection of Hobart and Pickering streets. Police did not charge the driver.
The collision sent C.J. headfirst into the windshield and changed the course of this middle school math and science honors student forever. C.J. suffered severe brain damage and spent five months in the hospital, the first month in a medically induced coma.
The trauma to his brain was so severe, doctors had to essentially remove the left side. He underwent six brain surgeries and had to learn to walk, read and speak again.
C.J. has also had to cope with the loss of vision in his right eye and the use of his right arm. He likes to note when people write with their left hand, as he has been forced to do just that because of his injuries.
C.J. also wears a leg brace with the Bruins logo on his right leg, and he is somewhat hunched over when he walks.
The doctor's prognosis was C.J. would be confined to a wheelchair and would have to wear a diaper, Jay Mercier said.
There is not a doctor who can explain his progress, his father said. C.J. can even tie his shoelaces with one hand. His father said the Cotting School in Lexington, which serves children with special needs and where C.J. formerly attended, videotaped C.J. demonstrating his abilities.
"I can tie a tie with one hand," C.J. said. "Nobody can do it."
If you didn't know his backstory, C.J. leaves the impression of a brash young man who likes brightly colored clothing. He wants to be a drummer in a rock band someday.
An injury to the frontal lobe can take away certain types of discretionary thinking, Jay Mercier said. People should not be surprised if his son comes up to them in Danvers Square and asks them about some clothing they are wearing.
"If you see him on the sidewalk, take into consideration this is a very bright person who suffered a traumatic brain injury," said Mercier, who said people can simply say "hello" to him and be on their way.
So, how did C.J. come to draw such colorful art so prolifically? Mercier said someone at the Cotting School taught C.J. isometric drawing techniques to represent three-dimensional objects on paper.
"It is just something that has evolved within him," Mercier said. "It's a way to communicate."
C.J.'s longtime personal care attendant, Rebecca Hartman, 23, of Beverly (who Jay Mercier credits for his son's progress) said C.J. started drawing pictures of his room at Cotting. A structured person who does not like to try new things, C.J. resisted Hartman's attempts to get him to draw with oil pastels because they were messy.
Suzanne Ryan, the director of volunteer services who runs the ArcWorks gallery program, said when Hartman first approached her, she loved C.J.'s colorful pictures, but C.J. did not have many drawings in his portfolio.
"He has a great sense of humor," Ryan said. "He is a good guy. I was ready to go as long as he had the work."
Hartman said C.J. drew so much he wore away the skin on his thumb rubbing the pastels, and so he had to take a break from his art for a week or two.
Asked why he likes to draw, C.J. said simply, "It's a fun activity."
If you go
What: An exhibit of artwork by 19-year-old Danvers resident C.J. Mercier
Where: Northeast Arc's Gallery @ Southside, 6 Southside Road, Danvers
When: Exhibit opens today through Sept. 9, with an artist reception tonight, 5 to 7 p.m.
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