Inmates' art on display at Torpedo Factory

 Morgan Freeman by C.M., graphite, Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.  Artists choose whether to use their initials or their names for display.

So many came for the opening of a new art exhibition at the Torpedo Factory Friday night that guests spilled out into an entrance hallway and packed the gallery where  they had to strain to hear remarks by the curator.  

Morgan Freeman by B.G., graphite, Alexandria Detention Center. Ceiling lights and more are reflected in the protective glass in this photo of the art at the exhibition at the Torpedo Factory Art Center.

They came to see Off the Grid: Creating Change Through Art Instruction & Inspiration named after an art technique of Kelli Schollard-Sincock who volunteers as an instructor for inmates at the Alexandria Detention Center and the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.

It was the inmates' art on display, and their enthusiasm for Ms. Schollard-Sincock's classes has led to waiting lists.

By K. S, graphite, Fairfax County Adult Detention Center

At the Friday event, her passion for her students and their learning was itself exhibited several times as tears fell from her eyes while she related her own personal experiences and rewards, teaching and communicating with the inmates. 

Kelli Schollard-Sincock at the Torpedo Factory, July 20, 2018/Photo by Patricia Leslie

As far as she knows, this is a first for inmates. Ms. Schollard-Sincock donates about 20 hours weekly to the effort.

Although the graphite renderings presented are mostly of attractive young women (suggesting male artists), Ms. Schollard-Sincock's students include men and women, she said. 
  
I went, hoping to buy a piece of art, but she said none are for sale:  "The logistics would be too hard," she said.  Does the art belong to the sheriff's department?  The inmates?  How would that be sorted?  She has no more hours to devote to the cause.

Ms. Schollard-Sincock is a certified forensic sketch artist who has a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Art from the University of Washington and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Printmaking from George Mason University.  

She began working on Inspiration Matterz last year as a trial at the Alexandria Detention Center. The Del Ray Artisans have been so impressed by her contributions and skills, they have embraced her program and are a major sponsor of the exhibition, said a spokesman.

Donated art supplies are welcome: 
Pads of Bristol Board drawing paper (various sizes)
Pads of Drawing Paper (no spiral bound)
Pads of tracing paper
Packages of carbon paper
Packages of standard printing paper (white and colored)
Cardboard backed canvases (variety of sizes)
Smudge sticks (packages are best)
Erasers: gum, kneaded, and white 
Drawing pencils: (specifically 8B, 4B, 2B, HB, 5H, and 6/7H) Paint brushes in a variety of sizes
Acrylic paint sets (especially black, white, red, yellow, blue)
Legal-size manilla folders

(Writer's note:  Until this exhibition I did not understand the difference between an "inmate" and a "prisoner." Click here for definitions.) 

What: Off the Grid: Creating Change Through Art Instruction & Inspiration

Where: The Torpedo Factory Art Center, 105 N. Union St., Alexandria, VA 22314

When: Now through August 31, 2018, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. daily and until 9 p.m. Thursdays. (Call 703-746-4570 to make sure the Torpedo Factory is not closing early for a private event.)

How much:  No charge

For more information: torpedofactory@alexandriava.gov or 703-746-4570

For how to support: Contact the Target Gallery director,  Leslie Mounaime, leslie.mounaime@alexandriava.gov., 703-746-4590

patricialesli@gmail.com