Art & Spirituality Program

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One part of my internship at Emmanuel Church is with the Art and Spirituality program at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility. This program provides women housed at the prison with the time and materials to make cards to send to their friends and loved ones. They are provided with images that they can color in, and I have started drawing my own images for them each week. I have made drawings for specific holidays like Halloween and Thanksgiving, images to use for birthday cards, and images for cards that are not for any particular occasion.

Last Monday I brought in some drawings of birds with speech bubbles that said “I love you” and “I miss you.” The “I miss you” ones were very popular. I cannot imagine what it would be like to be in prison, but I can see why the “I miss you” message could be a very important one. It was great to be able to provide the women with a way to express themselves to the people from whom they are separated. It is nice for me to be able to put my drawing skills to use in a way that is meaningful. I am looking forward to making more drawings for them to color in, and learning what they would like me to draw so that they can have more tools to get their messages across.

Making these drawings also feels like a good way to connect and build trust with the women. Many of them come every week, so I am starting to get to know some of them and they are recognizing me as someone who is there every week. I think it is meaningful that I am taking time to create art specifically for them. I hope that they can see this as a reflection of the fact that I care about them and this program, as opposed to just going there to fulfill a requirement for school.
–Kate Solow