Connie Fiore was a Mouth Painting artist who lived in Merritt Island, Florida.
Connie had a neurological disease, MS or “Multiple Sclerosis”, which parallelized her from the neck down. She was extremely gifted at crafts including leatherwork and hand painting, but as the disease progressed, it left her but one option, to paint by mouth. She is best known for having painted approximately 180 pieces of artwork by mouth and was well-known in the community as an advocate for the disabled. Sadly in May of 2012, she passed away due to complications of a pressure sore, a very serious threat to any quadriplegic. She is survived by her friends who knew her, took care of her, and were with her to the very end.
The below passage is Connie’s original mission statement which sums up the mission of ArtforMobility!
What would you do if tomorrow you suddenly became paralyzed due to an accident or disabling disease like I did M.S.? How would you begin to put what you called life back together again?
First you would go through the “normal” red tape and you find what they call “cracks.” I managed to fall between every crack imaginable! First I didn’t work enough “quarters” to qualify for assistance, SSI. Second, I wasn’t married long enough to draw off of my ex-husband. Third, I came down with the disease before I was of age BUT I got married at 18, so I no longer came under my father.
The purpose of the site is to help fill in “the cracks” that people like myself fall into. I went without MANY things I should not have had to for almost ten years. Fortunately, my father was quite an inventor and enabled me to continue to live on my own years beyond anyone’s belief.
By 1991 the paralysis was more than my aging parents could assist me with. I needed a care giver to live in. If I could have afforded the computer I now have with Home Control I could have continued a lot longer alone.
Learn more about MS In the video below