CLALLAM BAY — From cells to sales, offenders at Clallam Bay Corrections Center are turning profits from their handicrafts.
On Tuesday the facility debuted its first Inmate Art Show, a collection of about 350 drawings, paintings, cards, candles and other items created by 19 inmates.
The artwork was for sale to correctional staff, with prices ranging from about $5 for earrings to $90 for a painting, said LeAnne Fletcher, community involvement coordinator and public information officer for the facility.
The prison hopes to expand the art show to the public later this year, Fletcher said.
The artists, many of whom were flexing their creative muscles before they were incarcerated, work on their crafts inside their cells or in the facility’s hobby craft program, Fletcher said.
They purchase all of their own supplies, and the prison provides them a place to assemble their work.
While Clallam Bay offers no art instructors, the inmates teach each other and receive some help from recreation specialists, Fletcher said.
Any inmate who wants to participate can do so, she said.
“I have talked to several of the artists, and there is definitely a sense of self-worth there,” Fletcher said. “It’s gratifying to them to know that people are interested in their artwork and recognize their artwork.”
On Tuesday the art, including bead work and leather work, was laid out in the prison’s visiting room for prospective buyers to see.
The artists did not attend the show.
