A lifeline of expression
Cora Jones, 31, uses her lifelong passion for art to cope with the struggles and pain she faces while battling chronic invisible illness.
By Myah Griffin
Cora Jones, 31, has turned to art for decades to express herself, process her emotions and deal with her struggles. She rents a private studio that is shared with about 10 other local artists, who all split the cost of rent. Jones has been renting at the Pushin Building Artists’ Studio, which is located in historic downtown Bowling Green, Kentucky, for four years and visits roughly 4-5 times each week to work on her artwork.

“I just take whatever I’m struggling with, and I just use it as inspiration, because I don’t know what else to do with it,” said Jones.

Cora sits at her desk in her corner nook of the shared downtown studio. This is where she spends most of her time in the afternoons after her job as a bank teller and on the weekends.

However, Jones has been relying on her art now more than ever before after facing intensifying struggles. In 2017, she began experiencing unexplained pain in her arms while driving. After the pain only grew worse, she visited her doctor and was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis with the marker for CREST syndrome. With these chronic illnesses comes pain that Jones cannot escape.

“Every single day I wake up in pain,” she says.
CREST syndrome symptoms:
  • Calcinosis: causes calcium deposits in the skin
  • Raynaud phenomenon: the hands and feet turn purple, tingle, and go numb
  • Esophageal dysmotility: causes difficulty swallowing, heartburn, and acid reflux
  • Sclerodactyly: the skin of the fingers thickens and tightens, which reduces mobility
  • Telangiectasias: causes broken blood vessels under the skin

Cora's storage slot at the studio for her canvases and other art materials consistently stays the most full compared to all the other artists' slots.

In addition to affecting her physically, these autoimmune diseases negatively affect Jones’s mental health. She takes anxiety and depression medication and struggles with feeling like a burden to the people in her life. As these issues are chronic, Jones faces considerable amounts of fear about her future.

“It just makes you physically not feel well, and then you mentally don’t feel well because you’re like, ‘Is it ever going to get better?’” said Jones.

Cora and her husband, Matt, deliver some of her paintings and prints to Needle in a Haystack Art Co. in Cave City, Ky. Cora has her artwork displayed in this tattoo shop and other businesses in the Bowling Green area to be sold for commission.

As she moves forward in her health journey, Jones is determined to receive more answers from doctors so that she can preserve her body as much as possible and continue to be an artist for as long as possible. She hopes to raise awareness through her art and serve as a voice for those with invisible illnesses, inspiring people to take their health seriously and lead better lives. She relentlessly faces her fears head-on so that she can keep pursuing the passion that has helped heal what medicine cannot.

“My happy ending would be to raise awareness," she said. "Maybe normalize invisible illnesses a little more because they affect a lot more people than you would think, specifically women.”

Matt, Cora's husband, watches his wife as she paints. He occasionally goes to the studio with Cora to provide company and offers suggestions when needed.

I absolutely use art to cope with this, which I think is why I’m so fearful of losing the mobility in my hands, because I use art to cope with everything… It’s everything to me.
Cora Jones