At Hiland Mountain Correctional Center, art classes help prisoners take a break and prepare for release

Nanette Brown (left) and Tanya Parker (right) make creation successful a people astatine Hiland Mountain Correctional Center. (Matthew Faubion/Alaska Public Media)

On a caller Tuesday, Jamey Bradbury stood successful beforehand of astir 9 women, each wearing yellowish jumpsuits. They were successful a schoolroom wrong Hiland Mountain Correctional Center successful Eagle River, and Bradbury was starring nan past convention of her people “Tapping Into Your Creative Self.” The purpose was to show students that everyone has a imaginative broadside and you don’t request elaborate materials to entree it.

“What I for illustration to do is benignant of babe measurement group into productivity into taking a consequence that mightiness beryllium scary for them,” Bradbury said. 

Bradbury began by pulling retired dozens of mini packages of Play-Doh and distributing them crossed nan table. She gave a fewer different prompts and nan women started kneading and shaping nan colorful dough. 

Hiland presently houses astir 350 women and 15 signed up for Bradbury’s six-week class, though a fewer person been released during that time. Bradbury doesn’t unit immoderate information and erstwhile she held nan acting session, 2 women chose to leave. But students person sometimes amazed themselves erstwhile they’ve tried caller things, for illustration Tanya Parker. 

“I wrote my first poem, a mates of weeks ago,” Parker said. “I was truthful happy I did thing for illustration that. I was proud of myself, but I wouldn’t person been capable to do it if I didn’t travel to this class.” 

She pulled her poem retired of a files adjacent to her. 

“It’s called ‘My home,’” Parker said. “My location is not made of bricks, my bosom is not made of stone, my psyche is not made of ashes…”

Parker said that since penning that poem, she’s besides reference poesy for nan first time. The classes person besides taught her to consciousness comfortable speaking successful beforehand of a group, she said, thing she’s ever avoided. And she said that caller assurance will thief her erstwhile she’s released, successful nether a month. 

“I’m gonna guidelines up for myself,” Parker said. “You know, if group don’t for illustration nan measurement I opportunity aliases what I say, they don’t person to travel around. I americium who I am.”

About 5 thousand Alaskans are incarcerated successful almost 30 prisons and jails successful nan state, and nan number of incarcerated Alaskans has tripled since nan 1970’s. Arts classes for illustration Bradbury’s are shown to reduce some unit wrong prisons and nan rates of recidivism, group returning to situation erstwhile released. But a spokesperson for nan Department of Corrections said only a 4th of jails and prisons successful Alaska connection immoderate benignant of arts class. 

Bradbury began school penning classes present successful 2018 and she’s an unpaid volunteer. She said her knowing of what students want and request has evolved and truthful she’s offered a wide assortment of classes complete nan years, including poetry, journalism, and memoir writing. 

One of nan themes Bradbury talks astir successful her classes is nan treatment powerfulness of art. Studies person shown making creation has galore health and intelligence wellness benefits. 

That’s thing Jessica, 1 of Bradbury’s students, has noticed. Jessica doesn’t want to springiness her past name. 

“As Jamey has taught us, doing worldly pinch your hands allows your mind to spell different places,” Jessica said. “It’s therapeutic and allows you to woody pinch issues aliases trauma that you request to activity done that you don’t needfully person nan opportunity to successful here.”

Jessica said nan classes person transformed really she feels astir her classmates. She said successful prison, group often person to deterioration a metaphorical disguise to get done nan day, to effort to not deliberation astir what they’re missing connected nan outside. But she said Bradbury’s classes are a safer abstraction to beryllium vulnerable. 

“It allows america to beryllium capable to return disconnected that disguise that you person to deterioration successful a spot for illustration this,” Jessica said. “And we tin grin astatine each different conscionable successful passing aliases successful [the] nutrient line, and cognize that it’s not a clone smile… cognize a small spot astir nan personification that we ne'er would person known otherwise, because they unrecorded successful a different house, aliases they support america separate.” 

Jessica said she plans to support penning aft she’s released and hopes to people thing astir her clip successful prison. 

Bradbury said her students person processed aggravated emotions during penning classes. She said successful a memoir class, respective students chose to constitute astir nan crime that led to their incarceration and nan students were amazed to spot location were galore similarities successful those stories. Bradbury said everyone successful people who shared their communicative cried. 

But she said nan classes besides person tons of fun, ray moments and tin beryllium a break from situation life. 

“You look around, and you spot group successful yellowish jumpsuits, and you remember, ‘Oh, I’m successful a prison,’ but you beautiful quickly hide that,” Bradbury said. “And I deliberation that for a fewer minutes, astatine slightest successful nan class, they’re capable to hide that too, and it’s conscionable a group of women crafting together, hanging retired together, laughing together.”

Bradbury said she hopes this people has taught her students they tin find ways to beryllium imaginative wherever they are, wrong nan situation aliases aft release. 

RELATED: See a video of this communicative and a chat of life aft incarceration connected Alaska Insight