Inmates’ creations at annual OSR art show sold quickly

It seemed almost fitting that two inmates’ paintings of the historic Ohio State Reformatory sold quickly in the Central Guard Room, one for $75 and the other for $100.

Artwork by prisoners at the Mansfield Correctional Institution and Richland Correctional Institution were available for sale this past weekend at the annual art show at OSR, the prison-turned-museum off Ohio 545.

“This artwork is all created by the incarcerated individuals at our institutions and is open to the public to observe and/or purchase,” said Kasey Plank, the warden’s assistant at MANCI. Admission was free to the art show in the Central Guard Room of the historic prison-turned-museum at 100 Reformatory Road.

Inmates’ paintings included Marilyn Monroe, Angelina Jolie and an owl, a cardinal (the state bird of Ohio) and a helicopter with silhouettes of helmeted soldiers walking in a painting using shades of black, gray and yellow.

Joe Seals, one of the recreational staff members at RiCi, pointed to a painting of a crow perched on the outskirts of a city.

“This was someone who never engaged in art before. He is very proud of this,” he said. “He just wanted it to be displayed because he never knew he could actually get into art. That’s really the story where a lot of these guys get separated from what they know in life and they get introduced to some recreational activities (and find) ‘I never knew I was an artist, I never knew I was a musician.'”

Watercolors, woodcrafts and paintings all were eye-catching to passers-by.

One talented artist made a bicycle from popsicle sticks about a foot in length, which he cut and carved using toenail clippers, “and a lot of patience” since inmates can’t use knives, Seals said. “It’s some of the ingenuity and adaptability of artists.”

He said this woodcrafting artist/inmate’s wife has written a book, “A Bike Hobby: A Step-by-Step Guide to Building Wooden Model Motorcycles.” A couple collector-sized motorcycles he made also were displayed nearby.

Ashley Shaw, a general activity therapist at MANCI, showed this visitor colorful crocheted bears made by an inmate.

“Fight cancer with Happy Heart Care Bears … For a donation of any amount to St. Jude Children’s Hospital, take a free care bear,” the sign read.

Another exhibit was a painting of an American Eagle and the U.S. flag. The eagle was drawn free hand and painted the onto a large, used canvas.

MANCI Corrections Sgt. Ruby Waltz shared the story behind a military WWII airplane made of cardboard an inmate created. The oversized aircraft had to be carefully carried into OSR; it is displayed just outside the entrance to the guard room.

“There’s actually a fan inside when you plug it in, it turns the propeller,” Waltz said.

“It took him three months,” she said. “He is very, very picky.”

lwhitmir@gannett.com

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