The first basket that Crissy Bridges made while incarcerated, woven from strips of T-shirts, she gifted to her grandmother.

Rose Edwards, “the rock” of the family who loves to knit toboggans, was happy that her granddaughter learned a crafting skill. But Bridges said besides a new connection with Rose, the Arts Inside program at the Grundy County Detention Center gave her a belief in herself.

“It made me realize that I had more potential than what I thought,” she said recently at a local restaurant.

Bridges, who was released in November after serving 18 months in jail, was part of the initial Arts Inside class in January 2017. Arts Inside, a 501c3, is under the umbrella of the jail’s re-entry to society program.

The volunteers that help with the art classes also offered Bridges a lifeline.

“It gives you a sense that you’re not left there and forgot about,” she said, fighting back tears. “You get to go to these classes and these ladies come back every week and make sure that you have something to do while you’re there. I mean, they care about you.”

Bridges’ baskets and the artwork and crafts of other women currently in the program will be part of a show from 2 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 31, at the Grundy County Courthouse. The public is invited.

Arts Inside initially started out serving only female inmates, but has expanded to include men, as well as adding writing classes, said Arts Inside director Hilda Vaughn. In addition to basket-weaving, topics have included drawing, painting with acrylics and water colors, collages, dream catchers and clay sculptures, she said.

“I feel like I get as much from them as they get from me,” Vaughan noted. “Just hearing their stories. Some of them are so talented and so wise that it’s just time well spent. It feels good to feel like we’re making a difference in some ways.”

The overarching re-entry program at the jail started in summer 2015, said Grundy County Sheriff Clint Shrum. In addition to art classes, the program includes offerings like Moral Recognizance Therapy (MRT), training on resumes and interviews, GED classes and job placement services.

Shrum said the creation of art challenges the inmates and is therapeutic.

“It gave them a way to express themselves,” he said. “What I feel like happened was it opened up their mind to some healing processes. ‘You know what, I can do this, I can put my thoughts on paper through art.’”

The sheriff was initially surprised by the interest in the art classes.

“We’ve got a lot of folks here who have a lot of artistic ability that just needs to be harvested from them,” he said.

Inmates who have participated in the re-entry program have shown improved behavior, Shrum noted, adding that there is also the incentive for reducing time in jail by participating in programs.

Bridges, a mother of a 9-year-old and a 16-year-old, earned her GED in jail and was active in other programs like greenhouse and garden, and the road crew.

“If you’re not in a program you’re sitting in a pod all day long with nothing to do, bored to death, staring at the walls,” she said. “I think without it, without me being able to get out and do these classes…I don’t think I would have been able to come and adapt as quickly as I have back into society.”

Inmates must qualify for the programs, which includes evaluations of their behavior and the crimes they have committed. Vaughan noted that the art program, which has a motto of “Perfect is boring,” are usually small, topping out at about six people per class.

“It feels like we have a lot of fun when we’re in there,” Vaughn said. “You can almost forget where we are, which I think is nice, just relating as human beings to one another.”

Vaughan, a grant writer for the Grundy County school system, volunteers her time for Arts Inside. She emphasized that without the help and support of the South Cumberland Community Fund, the Americorps VISTA program and Sheriff Shrum, the program would not be a success.

The art show on March 31 is sponsored by the Grundy County Sheriff’s Office, Arts Inside, Grundy Area Arts Council, South Cumberland Community Fund, The Office of Civic Engagement at the University of the South, the Americorps VISTA program and Sewanee Dining. Prices for art will range from $3 to $150.