Art...Made In Jail

The other day a co-worker approached me and asked if I had ever seen prison art. I had to ask twice what she meant by that. She knows someone who is in prison and will probably be for the rest of his life.

And he's an incredible artist.

All of the things I was shown were made out of paper.

I took a lot of pictures, but there was no way I could capture the beauty of what he made with those photos. You have to pick these things up and examine them up close to really appreciate the craftsmanship. Even the hinges on the jewelry box were all made of paper.

I don't know much about prison life, but I imagine there's a lot of free time. This particular person used that time to create some amazing pieces of art.

New Life...

A few weeks ago a co-worker left for a new job. And he left behind a couple of plants. These are not huge plants, but small bamboo shoots. And as things went, I was able to adopt one of them.

I got the one that didn't quite look healthy.

I've never had a bamboo plant or taken care of one. I see them all over so I assumed they're pretty indestructible. I thought I just had to give it some water and let the thing come back to life. But after a couple of weeks, the thing didn't look like it was responding, and it didn't look like it's counterpart. That thing looked like it was thriving.

It was another co-worker--the one who got the other bamboo plant--who recommended I try a couple of changes. First she said I was watering it too much. I'm sure I was, but I thought a wilting plant needed lots of water. Turns out this isn't the best advice in some situations. Next she suggested I place it on the windowsill. She decided to put her's there, too.

After a few days I checked on my little plant and I saw a shoot of new growth. That made me happy. I don't know if it was the reduced water or the additional sunlight (sparse, as it is in the winter...) that is the main reason it seems to be on the rebound. I'm sure many out there know for sure, but I don't. Whatever the reason, I'm glad for the change. Hopefully this trend will continue.

Time will tell.