94 | MAY 18 • 2023 

O

n opening day of her painting 
exhibit at the Birmingham 
Bloomfield Art Center, Terry 
Matlen was thrilled that about a third 
of her 21 paintings sold and will be 
distributed when the exhibit ends on 
June 1. 
In the meantime, she hopes there will 
be more interested buyers because she 
established the autobiographical exhibit 
to relate to viewers and help them 
recognize their own ways of life and 
how they reached those ways.
The key in the development of her 
display, RAW – A Journey Through 
Her Wild Imagination, Childhood and 
Symbolism, consists mainly of small 
story paintings with most in the size of 
about 8 inches by 8 inches.
“This show unfolded as I was working 
on it,” Matlen said. “I have a lot of 
artifacts and vintage items in my studio, 
and I’d grab one of them and paint. 
“I start with one object and think 
what will make this painting work with 

a story but also artistic elements such as 
composition, texture, light and dark so 
things just happened. 
“I saw themes emerge which begin 
with my early childhood. The beginning 
of my show is a painting of me as a 
young girl looking pretty unhappy 
because there have been traumas.”
Those traumas reach from a 
misdiagnosed appendicitis to the death 
of her father. Then there are feelings 
expressed about being a tomboyish 
sister among brothers. 
“One of the paintings shows me as 
a pouting little girl in a dance outfit 
standing next to my brother in what 
I thought was a very cool Cub Scout 
uniform,” she said. “He got to do things 
that I thought were interesting.” 
The artist wants viewers to be aware 
that she inserts humorous elements in 
her artistry as well because she wants 
to provide what she considers necessary 
laughter.
The show builds with different 

symbols as Matlen is very interested in 
symbols, dreams and fantasies while 
working as an online social worker who 
has written two books, The Queen of 
Distraction: How Women With ADHD 
Can Conquer Chaos, Find Focus and 
Get More Done as well as Survival Tips 
for Women with AD/HD: Beyond Piles, 
Palms and Post-its. 
“I think small canvases can really 
draw a punch because they invite the 
viewer to come closer,” said Matlen, 
who also did one large painting at the 
request of the art center. “Viewers pull 
into these images and bring their own 
experiences 
“My goal is not only to express my 
own feelings and history but to let 
viewers bring their experiences into 
what they’re seeing. When you get 
close, you can see little tiny details you 
might not see standing 10 feet back.” 
Matlen, who grew up in Detroit and 
Huntington Woods and now lives in 
Birmingham, attributes her interest in 
art to a teacher at Berkley High School. 
The teacher gave each student a small 
piece of cardboard and told them to 
make a small hole and then look at 
surroundings through that hole. 
“That was the beginning of me 

Autobiographical Art

ARTS&LIFE
ART

Terry Matlen tells her story through 
a series of small paintings at the 
Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center.

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

“Scout Envy,” oil on 
canvas, 8”x8”. LEFT: 
“Schuyler and the 
Flying Dutchman,” 
oil on canvas, 8”x8”.

continued on page 96