Red, White, and Blue

With the help of volunteers and VISTA members, programs for inmates in the Grundy County Detention Center include dog handling, art, meditation, and GRE studies. This afternoon I went to see an art show featuring work by four incarcerated women. Each had created four works -- including a mandala, a hand and "moving" lines, a small geometric design, and a collage.

To the cynic who wonders if art has "purpose and value," I would point to this revelation by one the women, writing about her collage: she included a photo of core ice cream because "I love it and because it reminds me I need to work on my core of my being and bring it out."

Like this abandoned building across the street from the courthouse, something may look broken, but it can still be beautiful.