My world is filled with interesting, inspirational folks. Each of these people represent a small part of the whole sum of me. By sharing their stories, I reveal bits and pieces of myself to you. Meet Hyancinth.

Hyacinth displays her pieces at the Beaux-Arts Brampton Members Anniversary Show

Beauty stylist, decorator and fashionista, Hyacinth Bell is blessed with a sharp eye for design. But it wasn’t until the fall of 2015 that she applied her artistic gifts to the canvas. At just 39 years young and in peak physical, emotional and financial health, she was struck by a life-changing spinal injury, forcing her to endure several months of testing and ineffective treatments in hospital care. Losing functional mobility in nearly half her body caused a chain reaction of disillusionment.

“I lost my home, my business and several friends, as a result,” she says. “I was feeling chronic pain and uncertainty, with no relief from the medications.”

Little did she know her salvation would be found in the art class of Runnymede Rehab Centre. Encouraged to paint inside the lines of sketched images, she discovered an escape from her pain when focusing her energy on creating works of beauty. After institutional care, she continued to hone her skills at home, sketching butterflies—“a symbol of renewed life,” she explains—and gradually working her way to visually expressing conceptualized images.

This Hyacinth original shines brightly on my living room wall; I felt love at the first sight of it (click to enlarge)

Today, some of her most breathtaking works are created when she experiences her most tremendous bouts of pain.

“The vibrant colours in my paintings raise my spirits,” she says. “They reflect the vitality in my soul.”

Though she has lost a great deal of physical mobility, she has gained an extraordinary new gift, one she hopes will bring a renewed sense of vigor to all who experience it.

View and follow Hyacinth’s virtual gallery on Facebook.