A simple Fork

Well last night was not as uplifting as our usual sessions. T. one of our strongest participants just recently got paroled and she is disconnecting with us. She was very agitated and frustrated last night--painting did nothing to help. K. found a fork in the bottom of my painting bag. Who knows how that got there. She held it for a long time and said, "a fork... a real fork... it has been years since I touched a real fork." I am always stunned when reminded of the deprivation many of the women face on a regular basis and the importance and significance of little things.

Next Week Mary Swander from ISU, Iowa's Poet Laureate will visit the prison to do a reading for our Women in Exile project. We are all very excited. Many of the women finished paintings tonight, that was very exciting. I hope to post images of those soon.
Our performance for the public is at Shambaugh Auditorium on April 26 and at the prison on May 4.