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On Sunday I spent the second and last day of the 2021 Jingletown Open Studios at The Gray Loft Gallery (link below) as well as the studio of Susan Matthews. The day before that, I visited the Jingletown Art Studios and the 2934 Ford Street Studios (link below).
Susan Matthews studio entrance
photo by Styrous®
I admit the entrance to her studio looks foreboding and spooky but that's not the case when you get inside; it is a riot of color, joy and life.
photos by Styrous®
(except where noted)
Susan Matthews has an MFA in Painting from San Francisco State University and a BFA in Drawing and Painting from UC Berkeley. She teaches Drawing and Painting at College of San Mateo.
In addition to being a painter she is a drummer (link below) and for several decades has been studying Cuban music and folklore. One of her drummer partners was there and their conversation was interesting.
Susan Matthews ~ Two Left Feet
A bit of crazy occurred while I was visiting. A couple of Susan's friends were there in the studio and as we looked at the picture above, we discovered and Susan had not realized, that she had painted the figure with two left feet. She burst out laughing when she saw it. Ya gotta have a sense of humor in life.
In 2017 Susan created two installations at SOMArts for the Día de los Muertos Altars that honored victims of the Ghost Ship Fire.
Susan Matthews ~ Ghost Ship Memorial - 2017
photographer unknown
It had been a fantastic weekend for seeing wonderful art, visiting friends and meeting new ones. Not bad at all.
