Guelph artist using meat as a medium for fun and therapy

A difficult diagnosis and an odd request have come together for a Guelph artist who has found new inspiration and a form of therapy.

Barbara Salsberg Mathews made a name for herself by creating realistic architectural paintings but when she began to notice a tremor in her hand and weakness in her arm, she went looking for answers.

She was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and was forced to put down her paintbrush.

“I gave up painting for two years and I started playing around with my food. I had fun creating little portraits and then I took on political portraits and really laughed a lot.”

Salsberg Mathews said she was contacted by the University of Guelph student newspaper, The Ontarion, to do a portrait of Premier Doug Ford out of food. She said that was her first real attempt and it ended up going viral.

She then began turning to other political figures, namely Donald Trump, Elon Musk and Vladimir Putin.

“It’s very therapeutic too, especially when I start finding myself getting very mad a the politics going on,” she said.

Salsberg Mathews said her artwork isn’t indented to ruffle feathers.

“I have fun and life is so precious. When you get a disease like this where there is, at this point, no known cure, every day is a gift. So, I try to have fun and give something positive back.”