Dying for Art

Art born from a body in rebellion. A body still choosing to create.

Dying for Art is the name I’ve given this living, breathing series of paintings—each one made in the in-between spaces of pain, paralysis, and presence. This is what it means to be a disabled artist. To grieve what has been lost while still reaching for beauty. To create with a body that is breaking down, every brushstroke a reclamation.

 

I make art not in spite of my Chronic Illnesses and Disability; but because of it.
Because I need to prove to myself that I am still here.
Because my body may be dying in parts, and screaming in pain in others,  but my spirit is not.
Because I am still worth color, movement, and mess.

 

Recently, I’ve entered palliative care, a shift that has deeply changed how I live, and how I make a living. Creating has become both a lifeline and a legacy. If my work brings even a flicker of light into your life, it would mean the world to have your support in this chapter.

This is Dying for Art.
This is body grief on canvas.

 

Explore original work by Jayne Mattingly, disabled artist, writer, and author of This is Body Grief.

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With Palliative Care I could live on until I am 98 like my Grandma Gorey did, but this is a story of healing, and trusting my body. It has rejected help and treatments to the point of harming me further. It has let go, and therefore I need to as well to a point where I can live and find peace and hope in a way that makes sense to me. This is Body Grief. 

✷ Bring a piece of this story into your home ✷

• [Shop the art] – Own an original from the Dying for Art series

• Order a Custom Piece! 

• [Buy the book] – This is Body Grief is available wherever books are sold

• [Support my work] – Share, follow, and help keep the art and advocacy alive