They might be behind bars with time on their hands, but many of the prisoners at the Westgate Correctional Facility have chosen to use some of that time wisely to express their creativity through a classes in art, sculpture, ceramics and garment making. This evening, the public will have a chance to enjoy their many talents when 'Timely Reflections VII', a special exhibition of the prisoners' work, opens in the Masterworks Foundation's Rose Garden Gallery in the Botanical Gardens.

The exhibition will include drawings, air brushing, oils and water colour paintings, sculpture including Bermuda cedar work ceramics and clothing. The prisoners have spent the past year preparing for the show, and are anxious to share their work with the public. Everything will be for sale, with the money going to the prisoners' families.

Instructors for the classes are: Margo Fraser (garment making), Evelyn Burchall (ceramics), Lester Harnett (art) and Chesley Trott (sculpture/cedarwork).

Department of Corrections recreation coordinator Gregory Simons is delighted not only with the prisoners' enthusiasm but also the quality of work produced.

"The classes are an opportunity for the inmates to express themselves," he says. "There is a lot of talent (at Westgate). Once they are in class you can see their eyes wide open. They are doing things from their imagination and they have the skills."

No doubt, many will be surprised to know that the men have enjoyed Mrs. Fraser's garment making classes, as a result of which his and hers clothing, including pant suits, will be included in the exhibition.

Mr. Simons describes Ms Burchall's ceramics class as "one of the most popular", for which all materials are supplied. In these, the prisoners have created items, such as cups and plates, which can be sent home. As he has done for many years, professional sculptor Chesley Trott has been sharing his talents with the prisoners, with cedar a popular medium. Mr. Simons pays tribute to the support the art societies and galleries have given to the creative programmes, including the donation of frames, and also to Masterworks and the Bermuda Society of Arts for providing gallery space each year on a rotation basis.

¿This evening's official opening of 'Timely Reflections VII' begins at 5.30 p.m. and all are welcome. Synonymous with the exhibition is the popular art-and-music happy hour, 'Live in the Gardens', also at the Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art. The featured music is reggae, with DJs Poppa Lenny and Jake presiding.