Art from the Inside (July 2005)

This artwork is an intricate religious drawing by one of my T’ai Chi Chih students, Juana. Hers is a special kind of art specific to prison art and is called panuelo or paño. Paños are pictorial letters that carry messages from inmates both to family and loved ones on the outside and to friends within the prison system. Designs feature religious themes, often alongside tattoo patterns, tributes to friends who have died, and images from pop culture. Paño drawing emerged from the jails and prisons in Texas, New Mexico, and California during the 1940s. There are several exhibitions held around the country every year and many paño artists have become quite well known. Most of all, it’s an art form that affirms the artist’s existence to the outside world. So here for our larger T’ai Chi Chih community is Juana’s affirmation of her existence for us to acknowledge and, I’m sure, to admire.

– Kathy Grassel