Leah Samuelson. Estrategia de Transformacion staff showed me to the prison for barrio 18 gang members at 9:00 this morning. We entered with a long line of wives and girlfriends bringing clothes and gifts to men inside.

I was introduced to two artists in a hallway who were interested in helping with the mural. My host from EDT asked if I was ready to begin painting. I said no, and

asked where was the wall we were supposed to consider. “Right here,” he said, “in front of us. This is these men’s home. Where would you like to start?”

There are 140 men living in this hall and the 10 or so suites attached to it behind heavy iron doors. I walked the length of the hall among crowds of men sitting on balled up mattresses on the floor, some writing in notebooks at small wooden desks, and some gathering in the corner to receive condoms from a visiting social worker. One side of the hall is finished with inmate artists’ black and white murals of skeletons, masks, and women. The other side contains 2 iconic religious murals. My host suggested I fill one of the blank spaces on that side- near the door, so visitors will see it.

My host and I explained the prodigal son theme of the mural to and held a brainstorming session with the 15 men who had drawn near us. We conferred on the particulars of what the mural characters should look like- what they should wear, their hair, shoes, etc.

From my seat in one of the desks I sketched two inmates who modeled the father’s and son’s poses for the mural. It was difficult to find a volunteer to model s the son- on his knees with his arms raised to the father. The sketching process was intriguing. One young man had his portrait sketched as a keepsake- capturing his gang-signaling hand gesture.

Our prodigal son model helped me measure every dimension of our complicated wall. It is interrupted by iron doors, cement pillars, and miscellaneous bolts.

Then my host interpreted as I introduced myself and the project to the entire room. “They are expecting a lesson from the scriptures.” My host told me. So my introduction included a brief sermon on the message in the prodigal story.

We described the 3 step process of the mural. I would make the final drawing of a composition based on my sketches that evening. Tomorrow I would draw the outline onto the wall itself. Next, volunteer artists would accent and shade the outline in black using their tested technique seen in the hall. Finally, anyone interested would be welcome to help fill the rest of the piece with color and brighten the hall.

My host drove me to a hardware store to purchase gallons of colored paint and cheap brushes. Only house paints (and the colors there included) were available, so the palette will remind viewers of a local home.

I am producing the design and drawing for the composition in a notebook with colored pencils I brought with me. My housing host walked me down the street in her neighborhood to a craft stand that sold us a large sheet of plain white wrapping paper- perfect for a large-scale final design.

I had wanted to use an overhead projector to transfer the design onto the wall. But the EDT host would not allow it. He said gang artists apply their drawing plans by eye and hand. It would be considered inauthentic to project and trace a drawing.

As I sketched the models today an onlooker murmured, “Yeah, she can do this.”
So now the project and the pressure are on. The painting styles and skills we will use need to be something we can all be proud of. There are men in here with sentences ranging from 6 years to 250 years. We’d better make this process literally something to live by.

 

NOTE: Leah's work is part of BuildaBridge's Artists on Call Program. Artists are responsible to raise their own support for travel costs. Local hosts provide on site support in most cases and BuildaBridge assists with costs where possible. Your contribution to BuildaBridge can help. Plase consider a donation.