Concrete Mama Series - Herbert Nichols Jr.

$140

Starting bid

BID IN INCREMENTS OF $20

Artist - Daniel Mustard, currently incarcerated at WSP.

24" x 36"

Statement: In 1931, Herbert Nichols Jr. became the youngest person ever imprisoned at the Washington State Penitentiary after he shot and killed Sheriff John Wormell in Asotin County. Just a 12-year-old child, he was tried as an adult and sentenced to life in prison. His case shocked the nation, exposing the harsh realities of how the justice system can fail young people. Nichols spent nearly 40 years behind bars before finally being paroled in 1968. He went on to become a successful accountant in Hollywood.

You can listen to the full story on Season 1 Episode 3 of the Concrete Mama podcast in Red's History Report segment.

BID IN INCREMENTS OF $20

Artist - Daniel Mustard, currently incarcerated at WSP.

24" x 36"

Statement: In 1931, Herbert Nichols Jr. became the youngest person ever imprisoned at the Washington State Penitentiary after he shot and killed Sheriff John Wormell in Asotin County. Just a 12-year-old child, he was tried as an adult and sentenced to life in prison. His case shocked the nation, exposing the harsh realities of how the justice system can fail young people. Nichols spent nearly 40 years behind bars before finally being paroled in 1968. He went on to become a successful accountant in Hollywood.

You can listen to the full story on Season 1 Episode 3 of the Concrete Mama podcast in Red's History Report segment.

Concrete Mama Series - Bobby in the Yard

$140

Starting bid

BID IN INCREMENTS OF $20

Artist - Daniel Mustard, currently incarcerated at WSP

22" x 30"

Statement: In the 1970s, Washington State Penitentiary briefly allowed its inmate motorcycle club to keep and ride real bikes inside the prison yard. Being able to enjoy your hard work and what you love gives those of us who are incarcerated a sense of purpose and accomplishment. So fixing up Harleys and then getting to test ride them must have been an exhilarating experience.

You can listen to the full story on Season 1 Episode 6 of the Concrete Mama podcast in Red's History Report segment.

BID IN INCREMENTS OF $20

Artist - Daniel Mustard, currently incarcerated at WSP

22" x 30"

Statement: In the 1970s, Washington State Penitentiary briefly allowed its inmate motorcycle club to keep and ride real bikes inside the prison yard. Being able to enjoy your hard work and what you love gives those of us who are incarcerated a sense of purpose and accomplishment. So fixing up Harleys and then getting to test ride them must have been an exhilarating experience.

You can listen to the full story on Season 1 Episode 6 of the Concrete Mama podcast in Red's History Report segment.

Concrete Mama Series - First Woman at WSP

$140

Starting bid

BID IN INCREMENTS OF $20

Artist - Daniel Mustard, currently incarcerated at WSP

24" x 36"

Statement: The first woman incarcerated at Washington State Penitentiary. She was housed here for Grand Larceny in 1887. She was described only as a housewife. Her name and story remain anonymous in public records. This anonymity speaks volumes about how women's stories, particularly those of incarcerated women, were historically marginalized or undocumented.

The penitentiary had to create accommodations for women because none existed initially. For the next 44 years, women inmates were housed in makeshift accommodations in a prison intended for men. To prove the state was an equal opportunity law enforcer, in 1931, the state built a women’s prison just outside of the walls of the main prison and staffed it with female guards called matrons. In 1971, a new prison was constructed for the women at Purdy, near Gig Harbor.

BID IN INCREMENTS OF $20

Artist - Daniel Mustard, currently incarcerated at WSP

24" x 36"

Statement: The first woman incarcerated at Washington State Penitentiary. She was housed here for Grand Larceny in 1887. She was described only as a housewife. Her name and story remain anonymous in public records. This anonymity speaks volumes about how women's stories, particularly those of incarcerated women, were historically marginalized or undocumented.

The penitentiary had to create accommodations for women because none existed initially. For the next 44 years, women inmates were housed in makeshift accommodations in a prison intended for men. To prove the state was an equal opportunity law enforcer, in 1931, the state built a women’s prison just outside of the walls of the main prison and staffed it with female guards called matrons. In 1971, a new prison was constructed for the women at Purdy, near Gig Harbor.

Concrete Mama Series - The Family That Pays Together

$140

Starting bid

BID IN INCREMENTS OF $20

Artist - Daniel Mustard, currently incarcerated at WSP

26" x 32"

Statement: These children have just parted ways with their incarcerated dads. Visiting a parent in prison can be both joyful and painful. The famous Concrete Mama photo from the book that I've recreated here haunts me because of all the love trapped inside these walls. This was a hard painting for me to finish. For kids, the visit offers a few precious hours of connection, but leaving means walking away while their parent remains behind, carrying both the warmth of the visit and the pain of separation.

In Season 2 of Concrete Mama, the team will be covering more stories like this one about parenting from prison.

BID IN INCREMENTS OF $20

Artist - Daniel Mustard, currently incarcerated at WSP

26" x 32"

Statement: These children have just parted ways with their incarcerated dads. Visiting a parent in prison can be both joyful and painful. The famous Concrete Mama photo from the book that I've recreated here haunts me because of all the love trapped inside these walls. This was a hard painting for me to finish. For kids, the visit offers a few precious hours of connection, but leaving means walking away while their parent remains behind, carrying both the warmth of the visit and the pain of separation.

In Season 2 of Concrete Mama, the team will be covering more stories like this one about parenting from prison.

Concrete Mama Series - Lincoln's Day Massacre

$140

Starting bid

BID IN INCREMENTS OF $20

Artist - Daniel Mustard, currently incarcerated at WSP

24" x 36"

Statement: The Lincoln’s Day Massacre happened on February 12, 1934, when an escape attempt at the Washington State Penitentiary erupted in gunfire. By the end, eight incarcerated men and one officer were dead, and six officers lay wounded. The prison yard carried the weight of grief and chaos that day — a stark reminder of the desperation for freedom and the heavy cost paid by everyone inside the walls.

In Season 1 Episode 4 Red shared some of the ghost stories from people who have encountered these lost souls.

BID IN INCREMENTS OF $20

Artist - Daniel Mustard, currently incarcerated at WSP

24" x 36"

Statement: The Lincoln’s Day Massacre happened on February 12, 1934, when an escape attempt at the Washington State Penitentiary erupted in gunfire. By the end, eight incarcerated men and one officer were dead, and six officers lay wounded. The prison yard carried the weight of grief and chaos that day — a stark reminder of the desperation for freedom and the heavy cost paid by everyone inside the walls.

In Season 1 Episode 4 Red shared some of the ghost stories from people who have encountered these lost souls.

Ramiro

$140

Starting bid

BID IN INCREMENTS OF $20

Artist - Daniel Mustard, currently incarcerated at WSP

Behind every face is a story, a collection of experiences that can make the person before us come alive... if we take the opportunity to go beyond mere appearances.

When you look at Ramiro, you may guess he was the son of a fisherman, and you might not be surprised to learn he began his life in 1948, growing up in Cuba. Perhaps you might guess he became a citizen of the United States after he immigrated in 1966, earning his citizenship through military service during a difficult time in this country, a time when military service was not universally popular.

Would you guess he was a father and husband, marrying his sweetheart just before deploying to Vietnam in 1968, learning he would soon be a father even as he went to war? Do the lines on his face speak of three long years spent as a POW, imprisoned in Vietnam after a routine patrol ended in ambush and capture?

Can you see the resolve in his eyes, revealing a man determined to be a provider to his family despite the trauma he endured like so many of his comrades from war? Even in that first humble job within a cannery, you might believe Ramiro was a man whose warmth created unexpected friends, but now there is little evidence of the emotional turmoil he endured in the midst of this, battling his own demons.

Like any of us, you might expect Ramiro did not forge his path alone, and the individuals who helped him rise above his wounds each had their part, one such person reconnecting Ramiro to his roots upon the ocean. With the help of one caring individual Ramiro found a new path of healing, fishing for marlin on the healing expanse of the open sea, eventually gaining his own vessel... and perhaps you can see the light of inspiration that experience brought him.

Perhaps you can visualize it, Ramiro encountering an old friend, a fellow POW living in Charleston, South Carolina, seeing an opportunity to help a fellow veteran climb out of his own pit of depression and trauma. From this experience grew Ramiro’s new vision.

Looking at the face of this humble man, can you picture the small fleet of fishing vessels he helped create, mentoring veteran after veteran, training them as he nurtured them, giving them a fresh purpose and the open space of the ocean to find peace?

Looking at this man, could you believe he became not just the agent of healing for many others, but also a lifeline to work, purpose, and meaning for many others who might otherwise have been lost?