In-Prison Workshops

Women living in prison often feel isolated and alone. In general, they have much less communication with one another and fewer visitations with their families and spouses than men living in prison. We quickly began to realize that Create: New Beginnings would provide the safe space they need to discuss topics that are often taboo in prison culture, such as sources of shame and self-doubt. Create: New Beginnings also emphasizes the importance of healthy relationships and creates an environment where women can be open and vulnerable with one another.

Inside/Outside Masks: Vulnerability

By identifying the difference between what we show people on the outside versus how we feel on the inside, participants will create inside-outside masks while exploring the topic of vulnerability.

Stress Painting: Forgiveness

Participants write a letter to someone they need to forgive or receive forgiveness from and turn it into a painting, whereby they are encouraged to let go of bitterness and begin the journey of forgiveness.

Collaborative Hand Art: Reconciliation

While thinking critically about a specific relationship, participants trace their hands and use colored pencils to create a representation of where they are in the process of reconciliation.

House of Emotions: Emotions

Participants reflect on their current emotional state, identifying both positive and negative emotions to create a ‘house of emotions’ using colored pencil.

Your Story: Empathy

Through group sharing, participants will practice communicating openly and deeply while giving positive feedback that emphasizes compassion, patience, and appreciation for one another, ultimately using acrylic paint to create a storyboard of an experience that someone shared amongst the group.

My Profile: Shame

Through the creation of self-portraits, participants will explore and share their own experiences with shame and its causes.

Doodles: Self-Doubt

By identifying areas of personal self-doubt participants will learn to silence their inner critic, allowing them to be as creative as they were designed to be by God.

My Roots: Pride

Participants will explore healthy and unhealthy pride, and the difference between pride vs. humility, ultimately using painting techniques to create a tree of their own life in order to let go of unhealthy pride.

Still Life Flower: Accountability

Participants will work through a specific time their own actions have hurt someone while exploring the topic of accountability and the importance of being personally accountable, ultimately creating an ‘accountability flower’ still-life using watercolor and acrylic paints.

Walking Through the Valley: Courage

By exposing their fears and reflecting on an experience where they have faced fear, participants will create a mountain peak and valley scene with watercolor to represent their personal journey.