Our First Class

Our first session with the women was amazing. We introduced the project and all of the parts. The women were so excited about the partnership with the UI archive. They were also excited about the exhibition. It was important to reassure them that the painting portion of the class is achievable with the aid of our "secret process" to transfer photographs. I was given permission today to bring in a camera and take pictures of the women for the self-portraits. So next week we will prepare the surface of our canvas with an underpainting and then the following week we can transfer some images. The women all picked out at least one memoir from the archive to explore. They also used the idea of a time line to start working in their journal. They all approached this particular idea differently. Some drew a timeline, some chose to write about a point in their life. I will take some photos of the journals next week and share them on our blog. I also found out I can email the women via "O" mail. "O" stands for offender mail. Next week Rebecca and hopefully Riley will introduce ways to think about memoirs.
It was great to be back at the prison and touch base with some of the women I have known for many years. I am always renewed in my commitment to working in prisons with women when I return after a long absence. I have not been there since the summer. I also dropped off 1000.00 worth of yarn for the Blankets of Hope project. The women knit blankets for every girl at IJH and attach a handwritten letter that accompanies the blanket. The girls get the blankets on valentine's day. It is amazing. This is our second year. I have to start looking for a way to raise another 1000.00 pretty soon so we can continue the project.