Last Updated Friday February 1, 2008, PST 3:53 AM
The first time Debee Cornell's artwork was shown publicly, she was in elementary school. Her art class had a showing at the Cottage Place gallery in Ridgewood.
Her mother, Susan Cornell, remembers a drawing of a vase and flowers that a kindergarten teacher had her do. "I assumed the teacher did the vase, because the lines were so straight," she said. "But no, Debee did that."
In a portrait of a friend that she did at age 14, titled "Summer Love," Debee's early promise shows in the pregnant expression of the subject's mouth and the almost touchable interplay of light and shadow in her hair. Throughout her childhood, Debee's unusual eye for detail was apparent.
But the second time her work was shown publicly, those eyes were closed forever. Just shy of 17, the young artist had succumbed to an overdose of heroin. Susan and husband Gene displayed her work at the memorial.
On the first anniversary of her death today, they are opening her third art exhibit, a more comprehensive collection of her drawings and poetry.
"She excelled at black and white pencil and ink pen or marker," said Susan Cornell, who also paints. "Her detailed line drawings were what she was best at."
"She just didn't miss anything," added Gene Cornell.
The Ridgewood teen was a natural talent, self-taught in everything from drawing to poetry to songwriting. Her art was compulsive and introverted, an outlet for expression during her troubled adolescence.
"We were close as a family, but she was very alienated," said Gene Cornell. Of African and Hispanic descent, Debee was adopted when she was 5 1/2 weeks old into a Caucasian family. She changed her given name of Deborah to Debee and had unanswered questions about her own identity.
Susan Cornell said, "I think she always felt loved ..."
"... but she always felt different, and it really upset her," Gene Cornell finished.
A drawing on her Web site, hateworthy666.deviantart.com, depicts a fetal figure hugging a red heart and weeping straight blue lines as colorful figures out of Keith Haring do cartwheels on its head and walk into the distance, leaving tiny footprints. Titled "My Inner Picasso," the drawing was "a little insight into being me," according to Debee's caption.
About 25 to 30 art pieces will be in the exhibit, as well as many collected digital works presented in a digital photo frame, said Gene Cornell. Some of the original pieces are lost forever, but Debee diligently scanned much of her work, leaving a digital trail on the blogging site Xanga and the art hosting site Deviant Art.
Her parents have been working on the exhibit for quite some time. "It's been a terrible time," said Susan Cornell. "I suppose the art show is one way for us to deal with it. It gives us a chance to celebrate her creativity."
Just like a year ago, when the Cornells hosted a separate teen memorial for Debee's peers, there will be a separate teen reception on Feb. 12. Last year, her classmates asked for a chance to commemorate Debee on their own terms.
"The kids initiated it," said Gene Cornell.
"That was very comforting, as well, for us," his wife added. Many neighbors have also reached out to the Cornells in emotional support during this difficult year.
But a year out from Debee Cornell's death, her parents believe it is time to share her full story alongside her substantial talent.
"We've been very direct with the world and the circumstances of Debee's death," said Susan Cornell. "Maybe it will help somebody."
E-mail: shih@northjersey.com
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