“Most Inspirational Song of 2022/23: Kendrick Lamar’s: ‘Count Me Out.'”
Wow. Ok, so, things are finally starting to crawl forward…. All praises due to God.
Hello ladies, gentleman, them and, they. Please allow me to reintroduce myself; I am Kal-El. An incarcerated freelance artist who is trying to find his way inside the cold, cut throat business of imaginative design.
The art underworld. A place where you can lose your soul trying to appease the Governors of Galleries and Congress of Curators.
This digital diary will be very therapeutic for me. I’ll get to talk about my works, my mediums, how my past influences my present, what does and doesn’t work for me, and the music that adds the color into each piece. Most importantly, I’ll get to talk about my muse, The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.
Its been 6 years since I’ve picked up a paint brush. I taught me everything I know. Some through books, but most from trial and error. Painting is a part of me now. An important piece that I don’t know how I’ve lived without for so long. Painting is the cure for my mental health. Period.
Even if no one understands or cares about how I view the world thru my art, I will continue to glide my brushes across any and everything until the day I turn back into dust.
I’ve been dreaming of having this kind of outlet for years now. As I’ve said, this will not be just about my art. I will be exposing the good, the bad, and the ugly of the Pennsylvania penal system. When it comes to this topic, I will try to be as fair and unbiased as I can. I believe in right and wrong. Regardless of color, class, etc…
If you’re going to read this, please keep in mind, this is MY point of view. Agree or disagree. I don’t care. I’m going to tell it how I see it. I may not always be right, but I will forever be true to me.
With that being said, let put you up to date on some things. is a long form text area designed for your content that you can fill up with as many words as your heart desires. You can write articles, long mission statements, company policies, executive profiles, company awards/distinctions, office locations, shareholder reports, whitepapers, media mentions and other pieces of content that don’t fit into a shorter, more succinct space.
Articles – Good topics for articles include anything related to your company – recent changes to operations, the latest company softball game – or the industry you’re in. General business trends (think national and even international) are great article fodder, too.
Mission statements – You can tell a lot about a company by its mission statement. Don’t have one? Now might be a good time to create one and post it here. A good mission statement tells you what drives a company to do what it does.
Company policies – Are there company policies that are particularly important to your business? Perhaps your unlimited paternity/maternity leave policy has endeared you to employees across the company. This is a good place to talk about that.
Executive profiles – A company is only as strong as its executive leadership. This is a good place to show off who’s occupying the corner offices. Write a nice bio about each executive that includes what they do, how long they’ve been at it, and what got them to where they are. I have been working on a piece for the Let’s Get Free Org. art show since November. The theme for the 2023 show was a question: “What does Freedom look like to you?” When I got that mail, I was like, damn. What does freedom look like? I also thought about how interesting that interpretation would be to put on canvas.
I have been incarcerated for 17 years. I don’t know what freedom FEELS like anymore, let alone what it LOOKS like! So, I had to visualize emotion. My greatest challenge to date. I can’t wait for ppl to see it. Its surreal expressionism in its rawest form. Great topic LGF.
The month of January has been rough for those of us on D-unit at SCI-CBS. The heat broke on Christmas weekend. The coldest days its been in years. We went all 4 of them with no heat. Its Jan.16th and its still an issue. It keeps going in and out and all we’re being told is, they’re waiting for a part. On top of that, Admin. has decided that we don’t need 2 blankets.
Now, in policy it says (1) wool blanket and (1) cotton blanket. We never had wool blankets like Muncy. We have had (2) polyester blankets since I got here in 2016. Now, in the middle of winter, we have to suffer the cost cuts. They claim to not have the money for clothes, blankets, and food. Yes, I said food. The meals here are… meager, at best. The female facilities receive a fraction of what the men get. The good or donated food goes to staff. If we don’t have commissary, we go hungry at night. We are given just enough to stay alive. I feel like Oliver Twist on most days. Commissary prices skyrocketed. The positive side is, the pay rates went up 20%. Thank God for the men who fought for it. The women fight for nothing, except relationships. That’s a topic for another day tho.
So, now that the introduction is out of the way. Every Monday I will be writing about a painting that’s on my page and what inspired it. Preference? Email me. I’ll also be talking about staff/inmate relationships. Good and Bad.
Z-Coded: Art by Kal-El Carey 