Nineteen-year-old Camryn Berry of Livermore is studying to be a biomedical engineer at a Massachusetts institute. On the side, she is an artist currently enjoying using charcoal to draw portraits and pets. She uses money she makes from her commissioned artwork to help pay for her studies at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where she is a member of the Class of 2021.
The 2017 graduate of Spruce Mountain High School in Jay has always been self-motivated and takes on each challenge she faces with enthusiasm. She was diagnosed at a young age with fibrous dysplasia, a progressive disease that causes bony tumors to take over normal bone. She has persevered through each treatment and surgery with humor and uses the time in the hospital to draw.
One of her artistic talents is to draw portraits and pets from a photo.
What are you studying in college? Why? I currently exist in the tenuous third space between underclassman and upper; I am a rising junior at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts, which we, the hip kiddos of my nerd school, affectionately refer to as “The Woo.” I’m halfway to my bachelor’s in biomedical engineering, which I was inclined to acquire because my cells aren’t very good at being cells. Let me explain: I have McCune-Albright syndrome/fibrous dysplasia, which is just a fancy label for the baseball-sized bone tumor in my skull. Since diagnosis at 6, I’ve met myriad medical treatments, none of which worked until one did. That one’s called denosumab and it’s why I’m currently writing this from a hospital bed at the National Institutes of Health; I am volunteering as the very first patient in the experimental trial of the medication. But have no fear! I actually LIKE being here, at the NIH, because it’s where I want to work someday, engineering treatments and cures (and making art on the side)!
What type of art do you do? Charcoal is currently my favorite medium and portraiture my favorite subject.
Are you self-taught or natural in your ability? A little bit of both and a little bit of neither. Though my mom brags about the scribbles from my infancy (that look almost like people if you close one eye . . . and then the other), I wasn’t a prodigious Picasso or anything. I mostly credit my ability to Kevin Rice, my art therapist at Mass General Hospital while I was undergoing one of those aforementioned unsuccessful treatments at age 9, who showed me less of HOW to paint and more that I just COULD. It was that newfound confidence that led to years and years of watching hours and hours of art tutorials underneath my bed sheets at night on my iPod Touch.
Do you have any special pieces that you have done? My favorite piece I’ve created was a recreation of a photo of my grandparents when they were just dating. We gave them the piece for their 61st wedding anniversary this year. It’s now hanging on their wall, which is a bit of an upgrade from those scribbles from my infancy that were hung on the fridge.
Do you do commissioned artwork? What type? I do! I do commission portraits of pets and of people. I have plenty of time to draw, being in the hospital, and the money helps pay for my college expenses. Anyone who would like to inquire about commissioning a piece can email me at camryndberry@gmail.com.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.