Hiner's creativity brings art to inmates
Jerry HoffmanMount Pleasant resident Donna Hiner believes prison inmates should not be forgotten by society and wants to communicate this idea through art.
“I want to say just because we incarcerate someone does not mean they are gone. They can come back to society and rehabilitate.”
Hiner said she plans to have inmates make clay masks of their own faces. Prison uniforms from each county will be displayed with the masks. A seed bag with a plant inside will be attached to each mask.
“This will hopefully be a living, breathing installation,” Hiner said. “The plant symbolizes that whatever our experience is, we can turn it into a learning experience. It’s about rehabilitation. Everyone counts and no matter who you are, you can always grow.”
Hiner received a bachelor’s degrees in art and history from CMU and master’s degrees in history and art history and sculpture. She began her project this week in the Isabella County Jail and hopes to visit each of the 83 county jails in Michigan.
“Lt. Tom Recker was very open-minded about the project,” Hiner said. “I brought in a five-page proposal and outlined it like a grant.”
She hopes to display the masks in their respective counties and together in a large show in Detroit or Lansing when the project is finished in about two years.
Hiner is planning to apply for a grant from the Michigan Arts Council, but is currently planning to finance the project herself, which she estimates will be between $25,000 and $30,000.
The inmates will make two masks, one for Hiner and one for themselves to keep.
“I think the inmates enjoy the project and the idea that it will be a living memorial,” said Terry Sullivan, classroom instructor at the Isabella County Jail. “They did a great job.”
Hiner said she plans to take her project to Roscommon County next week and then to Bay County.
“There may be counties that don’t want to participate,” Hiner said. “But I’d like to round up as many as possible.”
The idea came to Hiner one night when she was at home.
“It popped into my mind as something I need to do,” she said. “When I get the intuitive urgings I follow them, and it has been a success.”
Hiner describes her art as “a gift of giving and a healing process.”
“Art is usually something you can look at, not something you can take with you. This has been a process I have been working on for six years.”
