Shepard's portrait of Nelson, as well as Garrick's own intricate miniature carvings, are part of an innovative art exhibit gathering work by denizens of the maximum-security pen. Along with just nine other people from the outside, I've been invited to check out the inmates' paintings, drawings and jewelry, and to meet the artists, some of whom will spend the rest of their lives in prison. All the artwork in this first-ever exhibit was created at benches in the prison's hobby shop, a place the men speak of with reverence. Others have access to a greater range of tools and materials. The work fills the prison's gymnasium.
Aesthetic similarities run deep through the various pieces.
Above all, there's a patience, focus, and sense of time in all the artwork. When you visit a prison, you have plenty of time to think about where you're headed. A series of checkpoints slows things down. Only after we clear these hurdles do we get to meet Coco and Charles. They do everything that genial hosts at a party would do to put their guests at ease, short of offering us a drink.