Art in Emotion was organized by Cherish Latting and hosted at Locust Alley. The main purpose was to showcase local talents with specific pieces that show emotion. That kind of art speaks loudest to the organizer and that’s why her first show focused on emotion. The show was a great success, and she is looking forward to her next showcase in the not-so-distant future.
During the showcase, NatVid Life&Style magazine had the fortunate opportunity to meet some of the areas most talented artists as they told their stories through their diverse styles. The talented Jared Rebold story stood out most boldly. Why? In a world of technology and state-of-the-art graphic softwares like Adobe Illustrator, which countless artist use to create outstanding illustrations, Jared illustrations are done the conventional way on paper or canvas using pen, pencils, markers, or oil to tell his story and express his emotions. Even more profound, he spoke about the past thirteen years of his life and how art played a role in channeling his emotion. Here is what he shared.
NV L&S: When did you realize that you had artistic skills?
JR: I have been drawing since the second grade. My teacher Ms. Watts told me I had good art skills and if I didn’t want to go out on recess, I could just stay in the classroom with her and draw. I got good at drawing Ninja Turtles and then landscapes. Ms. Watts put art into my life, and I will always be grateful to her.
NV L&S: I understand that you were recently released from prison. Why were you arrested – what were you charged with?
JR: Yes, I was, and I was charged with nonviolent burglary of an occupied dwelling. It was at these three hunting camps and for each camp I got seventeen years – a total of fifty-one years.
NV L&S: You are out after twelve and a half years and not fifty-one, why?
JR: In the state of Mississippi, you only serve twenty-five percent of the time for a nonviolent crime. So, I was released right at the cusp.
NV L&S: What role does your art play while you were imprisoned?
JR: While I was in prison my art just kept getting better and better. With all that time – it was like gasoline to a fire – for my artistic skills. My mom setup this thing where every single month I had to have some artwork coming to the house. It was both our rehabilitation and therapy. As long as I sent her some art every month, she knew I was doing good.
Looking back at it, imprisonment created the diversity that really influenced my art. When you see the evil stuff in my art it’s just the pain that’s coming out of me from losing both my parents, my fiancée and a lot of the main figures in my life that were wiped out while I was in prison.
NV L&S: There must be a whole lot of art stored somewhere, am I right?
JR: I have been looking for them. I found six of them so far.
NV L&S: Where were you imprisoned?
JR: I was in the worst prison in America – East Mississippi – which a psychiatric prison for people who are clinically insane, and it houses the worst prisoners in the state.
NV L&S: How did you end up there?
JR: When I got there, I was already suffering from depression and the doctors asked me if I was depressed and I said yes. They asked me if I wanted some anti-depressant and I said, you all are the doctors tell me what to do and because of that I spent four years in the most insane place on this planet. In there, your life is like nothing, it’s meaningless – people can die for a Ramon Noodle Pack. I witness this consistently.
NV L&S: But you are out – you survived. How?
JR: I participated in things I didn’t want to participate in, but to survive you become something you don’t want to be. I was a member of a criminal organization whose main job was to get things into prison.
NV L&S: What’s your plan now that you are out?
JR: To find my manuscript. It is a 200-page book that’s tells my whole life story from the first crime I ever committed when I was eight years old.
NV L&S: What did you do at eight?
JR: I broke into my neighbors’ house through their doggy door to get their Lucky Charms. We were too poor to afford Lucky Charms, but they were mega rich church folks who were judgmental. We didn’t go to church, so they always made these condescending remarks and threw it in our faces, so I took all their Lucky Charms.
NV L&S: What happened to you after that?
JR: Nothing! No one ever heard about. This is the first time I am telling anyone about it, except that it’s written in my book on the first pages. Actually, the first pages of my book are about me getting stabbed in the middle of a prison riot. It’s like a teaser, the minute you start reading you are going to say this needs to be in a movie.
NV L&S: You served twelve and a half years; how does it feel to be on the outside?
JR: Since being out so much has hit me at one time. Everybody is so kind and generous and I am not use to kindness and generosity, but I think I am adjusting fine. When I went in, I was 26 years old and there were cell phones, but nobody had them. Everything in technology happened during the time I was in. There are a million different flavors chips, drinks, and food. So much to choose from, so much content and everything is being delivered. It’s like the whole world made a paradigm shift and my brain is just defragmenting and trying to catch up.
Being able to present my art at Cherish’s Art Show and talking to you is like a well needed vent. Sitting here with you and being recorded is great, for I want everyone to know that they must appreciate their situations and their circumstances.
Jared’s dream is to paint murals on the wall under the hill so visitors on the river boats can see and enjoy. He presently works as a cook in what he said is a busy restaurant and he loves it. In his spare time he is consistently toughing up, adding color to previous black and white art he’s done and creating new ones.
If you are interested in have one of his master pieces or would like to book him for any upcoming art shows or to fulfill his dream of painting the mural under the hill, he can be reached at 601-747-0800 or email: jaredrebold@gmail.com. Yes, he has caught up with technology!
Look out for our future issues as we share stories of other artists from around the city.
