Tag: disability

Plans Pinched

Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , , , , , 6 Comments

After my last post on how I was going to post more consistently, I finished a painting/collage, and was ready to write a post, then got a pinched nerve in my cervical spine (neck). It’s happened last year, too, and is part of the way my spine is weakening due to my HSP, a degenerative condition that causes thinning of the spinal cord. The pinched nerve sends shooting pain down my arm, as well as a sharp pins and needles feeling. Writing on my computer, or by hand for that matter, became excruciating. It’s better now, the pain manageable. I’ve done a lot of physical therapy – otherwise, I just have to wait it out. It usually resolves itself within a month.

So it goes that I’ve reached a point where I can’t make promises on schedules – not that I’ve ever been that good at it anyway.

Art and writing are strange endeavors in these times. It’s like the whole world has a degenerative condition, and things are falling apart in extraordinary and surreal ways. A lot of people are getting hurt and are unable to talk about it; censored somehow, despite the presence of an unprecedented number of media outlets. We’re all drowning in information about problems, and denied access to solutions. So, I took some time away from all that and painted an homage to my chin.

I’ve always been self-conscious about my double chin (and round face). Now a lot of friends are aging, and their faces are changing as their skin gets a bit wrinkled. I’ve always loved wrinkles, the way we age and change. I find the kind of restrictions we put on ourselves as to what we see as beautiful absurd. Every wrinkle, sag, scar, anomaly, or unique characteristic is fascinating to me. I love the signs of aging and survival.

But I find that I don’t extend that grace to myself. So I took a few pictures of myself at “bad” angles. I painted each one on paper, using watercolor, acrylic paint, paintmarkers, and pens then collaged them onto a canvas, along with some ads for ways to get rid of double chins.

Surprisingly, I was uplifted by the project. I enjoy my chin much more because the overall mood of the painting is happiness. And in spite of the state of the world, I am happy. I’m willing to bet I’m happier than any of the rich and powerful people chipping away at our beloved country and world. I’d rather have a degenerative disorder of my body, than degenerated compassion and lack of regard for the needs and safety of others.

Forgive Us Our Chins by Joy Murray, 2026, 20×24″

So what do you think? Should I make it available in my Redbubble shop? Or is it more of a one off, personal self portrait? (It’s now on Redbubble as prints, cards, stickers, etc https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/181208173?asc=u)

Keep your chins up, my friends. As soon as the pain of being pinched by the world passes, make something beautiful or funny or powerful. You make the world a better place.

~~~

Thanks for reading my blog. Feel free to share it, if you’d like.

This blog is brought to you by the generosity of people who support me on Patreon , buy my art, and who support me in so many different ways. 

If you’d like to make a one time donation, you can do so at paypal

Cards and prints of some of my art is available on Redbubble.  Also T-shirts and stickers and other odds and ends. When you click an image, in the lower right hand corner you’ll find a link to all the various products that these are printed on. If you have any trouble finding what you’re looking for, let me know. joyzmailbox@gmail.com 

You can subscribe to this blog by email in the link below this post.

If you find a typo, let me know, and I’ll send you a postcard.

Me with a Sunflower fabric sculpture I made maybe 20 years ago. Her necks gone a bit weak, too.

65 Years of Joy

Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , 3 Comments

I turned 65 yesterday (September 9, 2025). What a surprise that was for me. And to be happy about it! I never thought either thing would happen. To begin with, when I first started having health problems, my doctors told me I might not live until I was 30. (I’ve now lived to see both of my kids enter their 40s.) But as my degenerative spinal cord condition progressed, and I developed bi-polar disorder, I thought if I did live this long I’d be mad about it.

To have to keep dealing with so many health issues and pain for this long used to seem unbearable. Especially after my left leg got too weak to balance with (my right leg had already lost most of it’s movement) and I had to start using a wheelchair full time – stopped being able to use my walker at all. It was so hard to adjust to the new limits and lack of access. I felt a terrible sense of confinement.

But one day, I began to see all the grace and beauty in my life. I felt like I’d received a reward for growing older. My expectations shifted, my acceptance of pain and limits became more than just an act; it’d somehow become a part of who I am (though I still feel misery and sadness – and sometimes I shout out a blazing “Fuck!” in the middle of the night when pain wakes me or keeps me from sleeping). But more often I feel a sense of calm at the same time. We’ve been through this before, I tell myself. We’ll get by. (I refer to myself as a collective – I contain multitudes).

There are hundreds of easy ways to end this story, this life, but I keep wanting to add a little more, another chapter.

What a remarkable thing love and friendship has been. When I’m around friends and family talking, enjoying music, or sharing a meal, all that’s broken within me is reduced to a very small compartment of my being. I open up my heart to those around me, I listen to their stories of pain and sorrow. We laugh and joke, get sad and indignant, then grab a thread of conversation that leads back to the light, or sit in the sadness for as long as we need.

Everything is chaotic and strange. We fall sometimes, more often as we age, but the safety net between friends never breaks, we are there for each other, so we always land softly, and find our way back to love and laughter. No matter how bleak things look, there will never be a shortage of that kind of health or wealth. It’s a great gift to have lived long enough, and through enough, to know that.

Embrace Imperfection by Joy Murray ,20×24″, mixed media on canvas, 2025

~~~

Thanks for reading my blog. Feel free to share it, if you’d like.

This blog is brought to you by the generosity of people who support me on Patreon , buy my art, and who support me in so many different ways. 

If you’d like to make a one time donation, you can do so at paypal

Cards and prints of some of my art is available on Redbubble.  Also T-shirts and stickers and other odds and ends. When you click an image, in the lower right hand corner you’ll find a link to all the various products that these are printed on. If you have any trouble finding what you’re looking for, let me know. joyzmailbox@gmail.com 

You can subscribe to this blog by email in the link below this post.

If you find a typo, let me know, and I’ll send you a postcard.

Updates on Medicaid and SNAP

Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , Leave a comment

Cuts to the budget, cuts to our hearts and souls

Here’s links to somewhat clear explanations on the Bloated Budget bills effect on Medicaid and Medicare. And another one on SNAP. I am on Medicare Disability but because my income is a low social security payment, Medicaid provides help with my co-pays for neurological treatment and medical supplies, which are very costly. That help may be stopped. I still don’t know what’s going to happen with my SNAP which provides me with food benefits or food stamps, but given the present atmosphere, I expect cuts. It’s all very bewildering and scary.

Again, thanks to everyone who has protested this bill and makes having a degenerative disease easier to bear. I’m so grateful you want your tax money to go to help those of us who are sick and/or poor through no fault of our own. Thank you for wanting, like me, a country that is kind and just for everyone.

Medicaid:

https://www.propel.app/blog/medicaid-cuts-explained-big-beautiful-bill-updates/?fbclid=IwY2xjawLnb7tleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHkjYUrl4CadftQd8wDo-nfeSCoNb_L8i5cOR1TFxZsypyIUZ2lVLMdFRL50U_aem_2i2imR0lABEGUBXAe9xmGw

SNAP:

https://www.propel.app/snap/cuts-to-snap-big-beautiful-bill-food-stamps-changes/?source_caller=ui&shortlink=BBBeng&lid=e7fhh31x4fio&c=BBB%20Announcement%20(English)&pid=Email&deep_link_value=freshebt%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Fblog%2Fcuts-to-snap-big-beautiful-bill-food-stamps-changes&af_xp=email

Not part of the plan by Joy Murray, acrylic on canvas, 5×7“

~~~

Thanks for reading my blog. Feel free to share it, if you’d like.

This blog is brought to you by the generosity of people who support me on Patreon , buy my art, and who support me in so many different ways. 

If you’d like to make a one time donation, you can do so at paypal

Cards and prints of some of my art is available on Redbubble.  Also T-shirts and stickers and other odds and ends. When you click an image, in the lower right hand corner you’ll find a link to all the various products that these are printed on. If you have any trouble finding what you’re looking for, let me know. joyzmailbox@gmail.com 

You can subscribe to this blog by email in the link below this post.

If you find a typo, let me know, and I’ll send you a postcard.

Accessibility and Art

Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , 1 Comment

Here’s a link to a film about a cross-disability collective that’s quite uplifting. Often we, as a nation, and I guess as a world, think accessibility is impossible and too expensive. So it’s delightful for me to see things like this film where we can see accessibility in action. I like that it’s a little slower — not the rush, rush everyone seems to be addicted to but is mostly an illusion. I also like the statement that stairs are accessibility for people who have legs. We just need to expand how we define accessibility. By making things as accessible as possible, we assure able-bodied people don’t age out of access to the places and the events that we get to enjoy when our bodies are younger. The film’s about 20 minutes long. I hope you enjoy it.

https://art21.org/watch/new-york-close-up/i-wanna-be-with-you-everywhere/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=header&utm_campaign=Art21News20250625&fbclid=IwY2xjawLKZ_dleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFRZkpCMGRKeVNSYXFkTXM2AR4hHx1zFyc8t7bj0Ds3hFV6BrOnkaCSKcONAZODstjfi0f5sR0RMC3rcVBqNQ_aem_BCipRAy06KNe1pvoCFS56A

Also, Opulent Mobility is open for submission for the 2025 exhibition. They’ll be accepting submissions til August 31.

From A. Laura Brody: “We once again challenge you to imagine a world where disability, mobility, and access are not merely functional, but opulent. Submit your art for OM 2025 at
https://www.opulentmobility.com/submit-artwork.html
Deadline August 31
And take good care of your hearts in these troubling times.”

The Kiss by Joy Murray, part of Opulent Mobility in 2024

~~~

Thanks for reading my blog. Feel free to share it, if you’d like.

This blog is brought to you by the generosity of people who support me on Patreon , buy my art, and who support me in so many different ways. 

If you’d like to make a one time donation, you can do so at paypal

Cards and prints of some of my art is available on Redbubble.  Also T-shirts and stickers and other odds and ends. When you click an image, in the lower right hand corner you’ll find a link to all the various products that these are printed on. If you have any trouble finding what you’re looking for, let me know. joyzmailbox@gmail.com 

You can subscribe to this blog by email in the link below this post.

If you find a typo, let me know, and I’ll send you a postcard.