Trash turned to treasures: Inmates create jewelry by using discarded items

Discarded items like candy wrappers, potato chip bags and grocery sacks are commonly used by inmates to create jail house jewelry. Pieces of a grocery sack are tied to something in the prisoner’s cell and stretched. The stick from a corny dog is tied to the other end and the stretched plastic is twisted and twisted until it becomes a strong enough strand to braid, knot and weave. Brightly hued bits of packaging from sweets and junk food purchased in the jail commissary are interwoven to add flash and color. For some, it brings to mind the old adage, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” The quality of the creation depends largely on the skill of the artist. Some have more time to spend on their designs than others.

“I use square knots on mine,” said one inmate who sat waiting in court for a hearing. “Mine are kinda crude but some of these guys can really do amazing things. They spend hours on them.” Time is something inmates at the Miller County Correctional Facility often have plenty of. “They have made me flowers,” said Sheriff Linda Rambo. “I’ve gotten a ring, too.”

Rambo says the inmate who presented her with the flowers fashioned them from trash and gave them their color by meticulously scraping the lead from colored pencils to use as dye. A man in street clothes sitting in court last week had two crosses hanging from his neck. He said they were given to him during a brief stay behind bars. “People are always asking me about them,” said the man, who mentioned the crosses bear special significance because they were created by hand and are one-of-a-kind. Rambo says the crafting of the religious symbols and other items by inmates makes them feel productive in a setting where depression can overcome the mind.

“What else have they got to do,” she said. “I can’t let them wear metal crosses because of security issues.” Many inmates say they “find God” while incarcerated. Feelings of loss, isolation and a need for redemption are likely at the root of the jail residents’ increased spirituality, according to many Websites addressing the subject. “This is going to be so hard on my family, especially my daughter,” said the square-knot cross-wearing inmate. “I just got five years but I’m still positive because of the Lord.”
Source: texarkanagazette