By developing and teaching art classes to inmates at Lansing Correctional Facility, I am gathering information on what kids of activities are healing, enjoyable, and educational for this special population of art students. The current goals of my research support, in part, the mission of the Arts in Prison organization: “Arts programs in prisons have been proven to help reduce recidivism. Overall, 95% of the inmates in prison today will eventually be released. At that point they face tremendous challenges. The arts have the power to help one reconnect with one’s soul, to grow, and to heal. The learning achieved by the inmates in our program helps equip them for a more successful life on the outside,” Arts in Prison (http://www.artsinprison.org/ArtsinPrison2.htm). Some of the activities I have facilitated are non-representational and figure charcoal and pencil drawing, watercolor painting as a means of expressing emotion, and mask-making as a means of exploring different aspects of one’s personality. Currently, I am developing a class around the activity of embroidery. Use of color, texture, and person mark-making (self-expression) are also part of this skill’s vocabulary. The goals of this project are to make a communally stitched piece that will be displayed in a public venue, like a portable mural painting. Since the Arts in Prison program has scheduled presentations of its activities within the community, this piece of artwork has the potential of being displayed to the public at least twice a year.