Tag Archives: art

Showcasing “Art is Freedom”

Posted December 6, 2019

Text and photos by Erica Benoit, SPP Environmental Workshop Series Coordinator

SPP artwork presented at the Northwest Nature and Health Symposium at the University of Washington

Incarcerated artists at Stafford Creek Corrections Center recently showcased their art in two venues. First, organizers of the Northwest Nature and Health Symposium at the University of Washington asked if they could display a selection of workshop series screen-prints at the conference exhibit on October 30. Soon after, Stafford Creek hosted an art show that allowed several talented artists to promote their art to the local community.

Nature & Health Symposium Exhibit

The Nature & Health Symposium is organized by University of Washington’s EarthLab. Their Nature and Health Director reached out after seeing the SPP blog about screen-printed art created in the SPP Workshop Series.

In addition to art and images from the workshops, the exhibit included writing and artwork from artist and former Sagebrush technician Lawrence Jenkins.

Stafford Creek Corrections Center Exhibit

SPP table at the Stafford Creek art show.

Soon after, SPP-related artwork was featured at the Stafford Creek art show. In addition to a few of the screen-prints, colored pencil portraits of North American perching songbirds (passerines) and an Anna’s hummingbird by artist Michael Gorski were included.

Artist Edmund Ball crocheted a beautiful piece that featured flowers, a butterfly, and a bee against a backdrop of prison bars.

One particular artist, Marvin Faircloth, who has contributed his time and artistic ability to SPP previously, painted a colorful piece that he cut into business card sized squares to distribute to visitors to illustrate our interconnectedness. On the back of these cards, he included his name along with short quotes. I chose a card that said “Art is freedom,” which I think beautifully sums up the ability of art to reach beyond the walls of prison.

In addition to SPP art, the show included many more talented artists, some of which featured nature prominently in their work. Please enjoy the selection included below:

When Nature Meets Art

Posted August 16, 2019

by Emily Passarelli

in collaboration Education Nature inside

Text and photos by Erica Benoit, SPP Environmental Workshop Series Coordinator

In July, incarcerated students at the Stafford Creek Corrections Center had the unique opportunity to participate in a screen-printing workshop through the SPP Workshop Series. Emily Adams of the Evergreen State College graciously offered two separate workshops so that a greater number of students could participate. Emily gave an introductory lecture on the history and process of screen-printing and then the students had about an hour to create their own prints.

Emily Adams describes the history of screen-printing in a classroom at Stafford Creek Corrections Center.

For inspiration, students had a variety of high quality images taken from SPP’s various programs to choose from as the subject of their screen prints. In some cases, the students practiced the skill of grid drawing while others relied on quick tracings due to limited time.

Once they had a drawing in hand, Emily put the drawing through a Thermo Fax Machine to create a “screen,” which each student ran ink through to create the final product. The image below illustrates this process, as one student uses a squeegee to push yellow-orange ink through his screen. For the first workshop, students were pressed for time, but almost everyone was able to complete a print before the session ended.

Emily and I worked through a few logistical challenges to make the second workshop an even greater success. Most of the students in the class were able to leave the workshop with two or more different prints. We hope you enjoy some of the great prints the students created, posted below.

Workshop student Colton Green happily shows off his first screen prints!

Resourceful Art

Posted January 28, 2019

by Emily Passarelli

in Community Contributions Inmate Voices Prison Life

Text and photos by Bethany Shepler, SPP Green Track Program Coordinator

Creating fine art is rarely described as an easy activity—inspiration and skills have to be cultivated. Creating art in prison is even more difficult. Many inmates don’t have access to the materials needed to do artwork, whether that be painting, drawing, wood burning, or any other type of art. But some artists seem to take this as an interesting challenge and, working with Washington State Department of Corrections (WA Corrections) staff, they find a way to create the art they envision. During my recent trip to the Washington State Penitentiary (WSP), I got to see some of the beautiful artwork being created in the Sustainable Practices Lab, and that will be going on display at a local gallery in Walla Walla; they will be showcasing not only the talent, but resourceful nature of art that is created in prisons.

The inmates at WSP have to make their own canvas. They use old bed sheets and pull them tight over a frame – made from recycled wood – and then seal the sheets with 4 coats of wax. The final product is similar to a canvas you might buy at an art store.

A close-up of canvases inmates made from recycled and reclaimed materials.

These pieces are created by two men who feel a sense of freedom when expressing themselves and their opinions through their art. They are clearly both skilled artists, but chose one creative lead for the project with the underlying theme – social critique.

Take a look!

The artist told me that this piece will have more color on the masks before it’s complete; even though it’s not done yet, it looks so cool!