My name is Kenneth Carlisle Jr. On the streets they called me “Big Ken”. I sold drugs and hustled most of my adult life. As a result I also spent a large portion of my life incarcerated. My first bid was a state bid in 1997 for trafficking cocaine. I spent most of that time (18 months) trying to orchestrate a master plan to do the same thing on a larger level. However, I always loved to draw even as a child. So outside of help from my parents, I drew on handkerchiefs and made cards to supplement my prison needs. When I was released my delusions of grandeur quickly activated and I put down my colored pencils and picked up a dope sack. In 2002, I was taken into custody by the federal marshals. Facing 20 to life for possession and distribution along with automatic weapons, I fell down in my cell and cried out to Jesus!! Ever since then my life has taken a turn for the better. Not only did I draw and paint portraits in federal prison; I was given grace to answer my call as an ordained minister, lead large Bible studies and actually write an autobiography within those almost seven years. God got me out of prison and I have been on a mission to spread the gospel and find practical solutions to minister to the needs of converts both spiritually and economically. That is why it is so important for programs like Cellblock Creations to flourish. I can’t help but think that maybe things would have been different if I had a medium to express my life through art as a means to support my family.