Joseph Mitchell
From prisonerdavid.com
Welcome to Outrider Catalog.
My name is Joseph Mitchell. I design and carve original wax prototypes for Dallas Pridgen at Outrider Jewelry. Before you purchase a piece of fine jewelry art from this prestigious jeweler, consider that you are not just buying biker jewelry from a jeweler with no credentials in biker/rock/convict lifestyle, for he has the real struff made by myself.
Contents |
My Story
I have been incarcerated in the California "Draconian" Prison System since the early 80's.
During these years that I have been in some of the most notorious prisons such as Folsom, Corcoran SHU (for two escape attempts), Pelican Bay mainline (wars, stabbings, killings, etc.). I steadily practiced my craft by carving designs in bars of state soap. Some are still in Ad-Seg offices where I was housed. When I wanted to do something bigger, I would take a palm brush and cut the bristles down to stubs and then use it to grind the bar into powder. I would take the powder and add the proper amount of water, mix it with my hands, and produce a perfect clay to create a sculpture with.
I enlisted in the hobby shops in most of the prisons and was taught by a good friend (see picture – left side) the “lost wax casting" method of jewelry casting. I made jewelry for five years until they canceled the program, but I was bale to turn this tragic situation into another trade that is more satisfying to me. That is creating original designs which you can find in Outrider today.
Creating Art in Prison
There is history with these designs. For example, the “Deadman's Anchor" on page 14 has a story to go with it. I was going to the prison library to have a clerk xerox a copy of the wax design so that I could send Dallas a copy of it (this is the only from of picture I can take of the originals as I don't have access to a camera), when the yard went down because a white guy was seriously stabbed in the neck.
We were surrounded by guards all around the yard and guards were on the building roofs with “mini-fourteens" locked and loaded ready to shoot. We were in for a long day of bing strip-searched to see if the weapon and/or attacker could be found.
I have been through this routine a hundred times before, but not when I had wax designs with me. I had the Anchor, the Guardian Pendent, and the Eagle in a plastic square sewing box for protection. But I was worried how th guards, who would be searching me, would treat them and I could picture them bing broken by the end of the day. So, as I lay on my stomach, I reached into my jacket, pulled out the box, removed the designs, and started uprooting grass to put on top to hide them. I then put a buttercup on top of the grass mound to give me a simple location because my next task was to roll myself five full rolls away from the hidden designs so that when I got searched they would stay safe away from me.
After I was searched and alone again, I rolled back and placed the designs gently back in their container.
We were on lock down for 61 days (whites only). It was lucky that I had a cellie who was poraling. He took my designs out with him and mailed them to Dallas in the free world.
Images of some of my Designs
 Celtic Ring |
 Derby Clown Ring |
 Aztec King Pendant |
 Tribal Mask Pendant |
 Stretch Skull Pendant |
 Gothic Cross Pendant |
 Insane Clown Pendant |
 Gargoyle Belt Buckle |
List of all of my Designs
On this lockdown I was able to create/carve the following for Outrider:
- Small Chopper Ring
- Flaming Lips Pendant
- Derby Clown Ring
- Hell raiser Pendant
- Double Eagle Ring
- Quetzalcoatl Belt Buckle
- Bony Reaper Ring
- Guard Dogs Pendant
- Angle Wings Pendant
- Aztec King Pendant
- Celtic Knot Ring
- Flaming Bike Ring
- Skull Ankh Pendant
- Tribal Mask
- Alyse's Ring and Cross
- Guardian Pendant
- Deadman's Anchor
- Gothic Cross Pendant
I have also created:
- The Stretched Skull
- Big Chopper Ring
- Demon Deacon Pendant
- Insane Clown Pendant
- Shrunken Skull
- Spiral Dragon
- Quetzalcoatl Pendant
- Gargoyle Belt Buckle
- Double Headed Dragon/Serpent Ring
- Celtic Ring
- Celtic Cross
and others you will see soon.
Message to my Friends and the Customer
From the start of our communications, Dallas accepted me and recognized my talent as a dying art form still being practiced in the bowels of hell, the live version of “Welecome to the Jungle" by Guns and Roses daily prison life that I have been a part of for so many years and has brought it to you because he cared enough about my talent to give you the best in real biker/rocker/convict art.
I carve to serve you with authentic, true, and fine jewelry. I pledge that no matter where I am in life after I'm released (or never), I will thank each and every person I see wearing one of my designs as it will say to me that you appreciated the honor in my craft and the thousands of hours, years, that I trained myself in this art form to make these designs for you.
I also want to thank a good friend, David (“Ozzy") Upham, at Solano for teaching me in the eighties the “Lost Wax Casting" process and for scrutinizing every wax design that I created to make sure I gave each on my all. Long stories there! One day we'll be free alive or dead.
I also want to thank Marybeth Breen, who visited me for two years every weekend. You are responsible for my success as you are the inspiration I drank from. I will always love you and I still enjoy you as if we met yesterday for the first time.
Dallas, and everyone at Pridgen Jewelry, thank you for giving me a place in life.
until I meet you in person, thank you for purchasing your personal favorite from Dallas Pridgen Jewelry.
Sincerely,
Joseph Mitchell
Contacts
If you would like to contact me to create a design for you or just say hello you are more than welcome to contact me at:
Joseph Mitchell D – 09632 CTF E-301-B-L P.O. Box 689 Sodedad, CA 93960-0689