Artist Couple Created Their Own Language to Communicate (Exclusive)

In January 2005, Sara Jane Parsons was at a coffee shop in Austin for a break-dancing competition when she first saw Jimmy Turner leaning against an amp. Turner, a Tony-award-winning dancer, is deaf and had braced his body against the sound system to better “hear” the music. 

“I just saw this bright, shiny person,” Parsons, a 61-year-old artist, tells PEOPLE.

Although she is unable to sign with her hands — Parsons became paralyzed from the shoulders down after a car accident when she was 20 — she quickly learned she could talk to Turner.

“I realized it’s not really different than talking to anybody else in a language that’s not English and where English isn’t their first language,” says Parsons of those initial interactions.

After bumping into each other a couple of more times, the pair began dating — and twenty years later, Turner and Parsons share a connection that transcends traditional forms of communication. In fact, they’ve created their own language.

“His language is really intuitive to me,” says Parsons of Turner, 71. He’s able to read lips and has created a unique form of communication, which Parsons describes as a mix of American Sign Language (ASL) and American Indian Sign Language (AISL).

“I like to call it JSL,” says Parsons, referencing Turner’s first name. “I try to mimic with my body and my face as much as I can the signs that he’s created.”

The painter is one of twelve artists featured in the Mouth and Foot Painting Artists 2026 calendar. Parsons, who paints by holding a brush in her mouth, says she’s honored to be selected from the hundreds of people who entered the annual competition — and she has Turner’s full support.

“You’re famous now,” she remembers Turner telling her when she shared the news.

In the summer of 1984, painting was far from Parsons’ mind.

At the time, she was a 20-year-old college student, eager to spend time with her then-boyfriend, whom she describes as her “first love.”

The pair had planned a weekend camping trip in northeast Minnesota, Parsons’ home state, with her sister and her sister’s boyfriend.

The two couples set out in the early morning hours so they could reach their destination, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, in time. Once they arrived at the rugged and remote wilderness, the group planned to launch their canoes in the water. From there, they’d watch the sun rise before setting up camp.

Instead, a few hours into the drive, their car was rear-ended by another vehicle.

When the crash occurred, Parsons was riding in the backseat of the hatchback with her boyfriend. She recalls drifting in and out of sleep while she sat on the floor, her head in her partner’s lap. 

“I just remember hearing my sister say, ‘We should exit for gas,’ ” Parsons says. “And then just a huge roar and rumble and stars behind my eyes.”

She adds that she felt like “my head was going to fly off my body.”

While Parsons’ boyfriend broke a couple of ribs, she sustained a life-changing spinal cord injury.

While it took time to heal, both physically and emotionally, Parsons found new purpose and eventually graduated from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, and passed the California bar.

Then she got a job at an AIDS service organization and practiced law until 2004.

Her life took another turn not long after, when Parsons moved from California to Austin, which is when she became fully dedicated to her artistry. 

The multi-talented woman first started painting in law school. The craft is special to her because it’s one thing she didn’t have to relearn in “a new way, post-accident,” Parsons says.

“A lot of what I do is work from my memories of when I was able-bodied,” she says and many of Parsons’ winter scenes are reminiscent of the woods behind her childhood house in Minnesota. 

“I think about the smells and the sounds and what it was like walking through the woods and the fall,” says the painter. “It’s almost like the light is almost golden because the leaves are all yellow. I draw a lot on good memories.”

Parsons praises the Mouth and Foot Painting Artists (MFPA) organization for providing a space for her creativity and fostering a sense of community. In turn, MFPA applauded her talent. 

“Sara Jane’s passion, talent and charming personality are always highlighted within the beauty of her paintings,” says Jim March, Director of North American Operations at MFPA, in a statement shared with PEOPLE. “Therefore, it gave us great pride and immense pleasure to select her delightful painting of chickadees for the January page of our 2026 calendar.”

For Parsons, meeting Turner has been another source of happy moments.

Following their initial meet-cute, Parsons saw Turner again months later and they exchanged numbers.

Do you have a sweet story the world needs to know? Send the details to [email protected] for a chance to be featured in Real-Life Love, People.com’s series dedicated to sharing extraordinary connections and heartfelt gestures.

That same week, Turner had a neighbor call to arrange their first date on his behalf. He brought a bottle of red wine to Parsons’ house, even though he doesn’t drink. It happened to be her favorite.

“It was so sweet,” she says of the romantic gesture.

Not only do Turner and Parsons enjoy laughing together, but they also have a mutual love of animals and spending time with their family. (He has two daughters and the pair shares two godchildren.)

“We both love dancing, so that’s something that we like doing together,” says Parsons. “He makes me laugh, I make him laugh… And I just think we share a lot of foundational compatibility.”

In 2012, the couple brought their families together in Portland, Maine, to celebrate their relationship in what they describe as a “Forever Love Celebration.” For Parsons and Turner, their artistic spirits are one of the deep bonds that tie them to each other.

“We laugh about it a lot,” says Parsons of being in a relationship with another creative. “We’re like, ‘Well, we’re not both supposed to be poor artists, but here we are.’ ”