Seller Story
Carol J. Mathews, Cincinnati, OH
“I have found that Carol Mathews’ story brings her art to life. My objective with sharing her art is to help people view Carol’s art through Carol’s mind and experience her reality – the world of mental illness. I learned so much from going through this art that I wish I had known while she was alive. I’m glad we get to share her story.
My sister Carol was a very kind and shy person, even from childhood. All seven of us siblings have an artistic bent, but Carol was the most diverse in her talent out of all of us – she has everything from abstracts and charcoals to figure drawings in her body of work. The depth of her talent is astounding. She worked out of her converted garage studio and used her art to express her mind. She had written, ‘I can’t tell people in words of my experience, but I can draw it.’ Carol’s art was her therapy, but also her work.
Born and raised in Evansville, Indiana, Carol began to exhibit symptoms of mental illness after her freshman year of college. She was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder shortly thereafter. Most of us don’t know much about this illness, so we tend to be afraid of it. I am on a mission to make this something we can talk about openly, comfortably and without stigma, just as if I were going to ask you how you were doing with your diabetes or your heart condition.
During the last few years of Carol’s life, her symptoms grew more severe, and I began calling her a few times a week on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Sometimes the calls lasted five minutes, sometimes an hour. After her death, I went through about 600 of her sketchbook journals. I discovered that even on her good days, she was still battling this illness. Perhaps that is why, during our grieving, my siblings and I unanimously felt she was finally at peace.” – Robin Cox
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Pair of Rookwood Pottery Art Deco Style Ceramic Candlesticks, 2019
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Danish Modern Jo Hammerborg for Fog & Mørup "Zero" PVC Pendant Light, 1972
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Outdoor Aluminum Octagonal Modular Picnic Table and Seating
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Christian Dior Faux Pearl and Crystal Drop Earrings
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Mikimoto Five Pearl Quartz Wristwatch with Mother of Pearl Dial
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
14K Star Charm Ring
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Pastel Drawing of Lake Landscape, Late 19th Century
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Offset Lithograph After Bernard Buffet "Bouquet"
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
William J. Greenwood Landscape Watercolor Painting, 1971
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Sterling Diamond Huggie Earrings with 10K Accents
EBTH Columbus - Hilliard
Landscape Pastel Painting Of Pastoral Sunset, Early 20th Century
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Engraving After Wale and Gwynn of the Dome of St. Paul's Cathedral, London
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
BVLGARI Stainless Steel Quartz Wristwatch
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Coach Enameled Metal Daisy Purse Charms Keychains
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Chinese Reverse Glass Painting of Tiger and Cub
EBTH Columbus - Hilliard
Hollywood Glam Table Lamp Featuring Chrome and Glass
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Thomas Whelan Benton Serigraph "Red Mountain," 1981
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Artmaster Studios Large-Scale Embellished Serigraph of Mallard Ducks
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth New York Yankees Matted and Framed Displays
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Gwen Doppler Stylized Floral Acrylic Painting "Striped Vase"
What is the most impactful work of art you’ve come across from exploring her journals and manuscripts?
Her handwritten artist statement. She begins it with, “I am a schizophrenic artist. I have survived suicide 3 times. After those failures, I decided to surrender to the fact that I was meant to be an artist.”
What have you learned from your conversations with Carol near the end of her life?
Carol and I talked on the phone two or three times a week, and in the beginning, I would try to talk her out of the paranoia she experienced and attempt to bring her back into what I considered sanity. I realize in hindsight how counterproductive that was, as that was not respecting her reality.
What’s something everyone can practice when confronting someone afflicted with mental illness?
It’s so important that the ill person feels comfortable. Most mentally ill people are embarrassed of their disorder. As the well person, what I’ve learned is that I can “change my language.” It’s a small and easy shift that makes a big difference. For example, I wouldn’t say, “She is schizophrenic,” because she is not her illness. The same way you wouldn’t say, “She is cancer.”
Has Carol better equipped you for this mission?
Absolutely. It’s such a difficult medical field to navigate for an ill person – nearly impossible for a well person. Her art has inspired and motivated me to incite a conversation and change the way we approach mental illness.