Maybe I am missing the bigger picture here, but I’m not sure why an inmate creating and selling artwork is such a problem.

I know Donny Johnson is a convicted killer and he should pay his debt to society and not be on the streets, but why is it against the rules for him to paint and then sell his art to raise money for charity.

Isn’t the purpose of prison to rehabilitate the criminal? If an inmate has found a peaceful form of expression and the form of expression raises money for a charity, what’s the big deal?

I also don’t understand why prisoners can’t have art supplies. They can have weight rooms to pump up and be strong but let’s not give them some paint and paper. That could be too dangerous. Have prison offials never heard of art therapy?

Sometimes I think I must oversimplify things because I just don’t get it.

Art I get. When I look at art, good or bad, I try to understnd what was in the artist's mind at that time. I have always heard that there is a fine line between madness and genius and I think that is true.

I think some brains are so creative, so intense, that those of us who are just average (me) have a hard time understanding the brilliance.

Case in point is my first-born’s BFA thesis exhibit. The amount of time and deep thought that goes into an exhibit like this is so far over my head. I am in awe of him and his ability to take everyday images and look beyond what everyone else sees and to think on a level that some consider the edge of madness.