A woman with red hair in a ponytail, wearing a navy shirt and beige pants, sits on a green cushioned bench, looking to the side against a plain light-colored wall.

Tara Cameron

KATI PORTFOLIO | application for FALL 2025

I’m Tara (she/her), a multidisciplinary artist, professional photographer, and lifelong creative based on the unceded territory of the Skwxwú7mesh and Lilwat7úl Nations.

My work is rooted in a deep belief that creativity and healing are interconnected. For over 15 years, I’ve captured vulnerability, transformation, and honest moments of human connection through photography. My personal journey with mental health, neurodivergence, and embodied healing continues to shape my creative process.

I would love the opportunity to study art therapy, with a focus on inclusive, trauma-informed, and land-centred practice at KATI.

Six photographs depict two nude individuals sitting and interacting in various poses against a black background.

1. Myself & I (Final university photography Exhibition)

digital photography - Double exposure in camera - no editing (2009)

Note:
The triptychs were displayed in a corner. With the individual image of each person farthest from the corner, forcing the viewer to physically move towards them to better understand their internal turmoil.

Title: Myself & I

Artist Statement:

This body of work explores the complex terrain of self-reflection, intimacy, and emotional duality through mirrored portraits of the nude human form.

The nude body, unguarded and raw, becomes a vessel for truth. Each interaction invites the viewer into an intimate space where internal conflict mirrors interpersonal connection. Reaching toward the other becomes an act of reaching toward the self. Yet the point of contact can never truly be attained.

This work is a meditation on embodiment, vulnerability, and the paradox of being human; separate, yet connected. It invites viewers to pause and consider the parts of themselves they push away, and the ones they long to meet.

A collage of black-and-white photos features close-ups and portraits of a woman in various emotional and contemplative poses, both indoors and outdoors.

2. 30 Day Self Portraits (While struggling with depression)

Digital photos (2012)

Doing a 30-day self-portrait challenge while living with depression was never really about making art, it was about moments of intention when it felt so much easier to  disconnect.

Depression flattens time, makes the days blur together -but this practice marked each one with (an albeit fleeting) sense of purpose. Some days I didn’t want to be seen at all. I felt hollow, distant, barely able to get out of bed. Other days I craved it like some kind of proof that I still existed. A few of the days, when I found small pockets of light, it felt like a sliver of hope. It reminded me that even in my lowest moments, I can still create. That was enough.

What I didn’t expect was how much gentleness this process would bring. A soft witnessing.

This project gave shape to something that felt formless.

Six open sketchbook pages filled with colorful watercolor illustrations, hand-written notes, and diagrams are displayed on a wooden surface.

3. Daily Art Journal

pen / pencil crayon / watercolour (2025)

Journaling is a practise I've enjoyed since I was young. More recently, I've started incorporating the element of art, and it feels so expansive to express myself beyond just words.

Carving out the time to make art in conjunction with journalling keeps me connected to my creative practice as well as my intuition.

A collage of multiple figure drawings of a seated nude female model in various poses, sketched with charcoal and pencil on different shades of paper.

4. Figure Drawing

pencil / charcoal / Conté (2023-2025)

When I’m figure drawing, there’s an immersive brain-body connection. It feels as if my mind slips into a trance-like state, where time slows down and everything else fades away. I become fully present, completely absorbed in the lines, shapes, and subtle movements of the model.

A grid of eight photos showing handmade ceramic pottery, including bowls, mugs, cups, a planter with a succulent, and a hand shaping clay on a pottery wheel.

5. Pottery

(2024 - 2025)

Pottery invites presence through touch, rhythm, and repetition. A grounding ritual that slows my mind and connects body to breath. I quickly learned that the process asks for patience and surrender.

One of the most poignant things my instructor said was, "Working with clay invites presence without attachment. It's a practice in embracing impermanence."

Several small stacks of balanced stones are arranged in a row on a weathered wooden log, with pebbles visible in the background.

6. Mindful Nature Practices

Stones / sticks / pinecones / found items

Mindful, ephemeral nature art is one of my favourite ways to quiet my mind outdoors. Creating temporary structures or designs using found objects from the natural world emphases the meditative aspect of the activity.

The process of creation and connection with nature.

 

A woman in a white dress writes in a journal, meditates, and sits in a sunlit, wooden, plant-filled room with large windows.

7. Soul Session | Danielle

Digital photography (2024)

I call these photography experiences Soul Sessions. They are a blend of portraiture, boudoir and deep presence. More than simply taking beautiful photos, they are about witnessing women honestly, especially during times of change, growth, and celebration.

This particular session was with Danielle, who was moving through a tender period of reflection. She shared with me that she had always imagined being married by 40, but life had unfolded differently. Rather than brushing past that grief or desire, we chose to honour it. I gently suggested she write vows. Not to an imagined partner, but to herself.

A quiet commitment. A moment of self-devotion.

Five watercolor paintings of botanical elements, including green leaves and colorful flowers, are arranged on a vibrant watercolor background with abstract floral and leafy patterns.

8. A study in Florals

Watercolour (2020)

After nearly a decade away from my visual art practice, it was watercolour florals that gently called me back. These studies are less about botanical accuracy and more about sensation. There’s just something about the melodic rhythm of the brush.

Three black ink and pencil sketches of crows on white paper, featuring one close-up, one full-body, and one with wings spread in flight.

9. A study in crows

charcoal / pen (2024 - 2025)

Crows have become a quiet reassurance in my life. Not only as symbols of transformation, but as part of my day-to-day. They perch in the tree outside my window, and I often see them when my partner and I visit the lake property we hope to call home one day. That land represents so many dreams, including building a greenhouse art studio, to one day welcome art therapy clients.

At this point, the crows feel like guides, reminding me to trust that I'm on the right path.

A collage of stage performances featuring multiple dancers in bold costumes, colorful lighting, and one group photo with a large gathering in front of a backdrop.

10. Heels Dance Show | Luminesque DAnce school

Dance performance (2025)

My first time dancing on stage (as an adult) was in 4 inch heels, surrounded by a dance community that aligns with my values. One of the most empowering (and vulnerable) art forms I practise is dance. You can't hide behind your work when your body is the instrument of expression.

 

"While the present world celebrates patriarchal power and sexuality - it often represses, shames and retaliates against all other forms. We hope that by providing accessible space on our stage for our students to safely express their sexuality, power, and confidence, we work together to unlearn and challenge any sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, fatphobia, ageism and ableism that makes us feel like we’re anything less than brilliant."
-Luminesque Dance

 

A collage of twenty wedding and couple photos, featuring various outdoor and indoor settings, candid moments, nature backdrops, and celebratory scenes.

11. Wedding Photography

Digital Photography (2010 - 2025)

Over 15 years as a wedding photographer I've captured 600+ weddings and elopements around the world (fifteen countries and counting). I’ve been honoured with international awards, led sold-out workshops, mentored emerging photographers, and guest lectured at a local college. Alongside documenting love stories, I’ve also photographed dozens of women navigating big life transitions, and moments of raw truth through "Soul Sessions".

After moving our business across the country, my partner and I launched a second company dedicated to mountain elopements, and now run two thriving creative businesses in a mountain town we love.

And yet, there is a quiet, persistent voice inside me that knows there’s something more, something deeper, I’m meant to be doing.

I believe that spending the next two years at KATI is the path to that next chapter. One where I can bring all of my creative experience into alignment with my deeper calling to support healing and growth through art.