Edi Matsumoto holds a bachelor's degree in anthropology from Tsukuba University in Japan. After traveling around Southeast Asia exploring cultures and volunteering at the Mother Theresa’s Home for the Dying Destitutes in Calcutta, India, she came to the U.S.
Her experience with Mother Theresa motivated her to go into nursing. She worked as a CNA, LVN, RN, and finally earned her Nurse Practitioner and master’s degree in Nursing from San Jose State University. She has been working at hospitals and clinics in Monterey County since 1995. She currently specializes in diabetes management at Montage Medical Group and Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula.
Encouraged by her family, Matsumoto began taking art classes at Monterey Peninsula College, then she transferred to the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. She took one art class per semester for 7 years while working at a hospital. She received a master’s degree in Fine Arts in 2018. Her body of work titled “Lives in Our Hands” depicts narrative portraits of healthcare professionals (HCPs), including day to day struggles they face and joy that they work for. Her work has been shown at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, the Triton Museum of Arts in Santa Clara, Monterey County Government Building, Monterey County Health Department, and Pacific Grove Art Center among others.
She and her husband (Alfred M. Sadler Jr. MD, co-founder of the Master of Science Physician Assistant Program at CSUMB) are involved in the action collaborative lead by the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) to raise awareness on the HCP burnout issue (https://nam.edu/initiatives/clinician-resilience-and-well-being/) and to promote their well-being by using art, mindful awareness and wellness coaching.
Her additional work can be seen on her website www.EdiMatsumoto.com.
* This statement has been provided directly by the artist in association to their 14th International ARC Salon entries. This content has not been edited for typos or grammatical errors and has not been vetted for accuracy.
