Paw Paw Rabbit Productions

Taking it all the way back to the beginning, Shaid was born in Rhode Island, but grew up in Oneonta, Alabama, on Straight Mountain. He began working as a painter in his late teens. Although Shaid was in demand to paint houses inside and out, his favorite job was when customers would ask for wall art for their children’s rooms. Not only did he do the art, but he also often built furniture to match. Shaid was destined for great creative endeavors, but these never came to fruition. Through a series of terrible choices, Shaid fell into a dark world of drugs and pain. Sadly, it culminated in the loss of someone’s life and a prison sentence for Shaid.

Yes, and Shaid will be the first to tell you that prison saved his life. While there, he has been able to get off drugs, think clearly, and remember who he was before his unwise choices. He resides in the Honor’s dorm, where he sits with his colored pencils and draws extraordinary things. You can read a Note from Shaid from his first book Kraylos-Yellow Finds His Purpose for his perspective. Most importantly, we acknowledge that not all prison experiences are positive, and not all inmates reform their lives. Ultimately we believe in justice for the victims of crime, mercy for the inmates seeking to turn their lives around, and humility to understand the pain suffered by all families impacted by crime.

The name of his world, “Kraylos,” comes from an inmate who was fascinated by Shaid’s art. This man found Shaid one day and demanded to know if there was more “kraylos.” Thinking this was a new prison gang term that he didn’t know yet, Shaid panicked and braced for the worst. But the man looked at him and said, “The crayon man! The crayon! Where’s kraylos?” And so began Yellow’s journey through Kraylos.

Being incarcerated of course limits Shaid’s ability to get his art out to the world, and that’s where the collaboration that is Paw Paw Rabbit Productions comes into play. Shaid’s brother Eric (that’s me, typing all this) does a lot of the logistics, layout, and technical stuff to get Shaid’s work out. His sister-in-law Angie proofs and edits Shaid’s copy. Various family and friends provide both inspiration and feedback on Shaid’s art and stories.

Paw Paw Rabbit was the name Shaid’s eldest son called his grandfather, Elwyn, a consummate storyteller. Elwyn passed away years ago, but he believed in Shaid right up to the end, through good times and bad. Elwyn saw the good in people that others might choose to ignore or neglect, and so we want to honor his memory in everything we produce. Elwyn gave generously to everyone he could, even when he didn’t have much himself. To follow his example 10% of anything we make will be donated to non-profits, specifically those supporting victims of crime and their families as well as programs using art to rehabilitate and support inmates.

A gallery of Shaid’s work is available now and will grow as more art is available.

Absolutely! Thanks to a successful Kickstarter in September of 2021, Kraylos—Yellow Finds His Purpose is available for purchase at various retailers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Wal Mart. Shaid’s second book, Kraylos—The Power of Words was published in November of 2022 and is available from these same retailers.

If you’re not into the big box scene, we’re happy to ship you one straight from here as well once we get a few logistics worked out. Just know that right now we can’t compete with the big guys on shipping costs! If you’d like an electronic version, we do have PDFs of both books available right now.

A local station in Birmingham, AL—WVTM 13—featured Shaid’s story in their Project CommUNITY series. You can find the entire story at this link:

Alabama inmate finds purpose while creating book depicting life leading up to prison

With his second book published, Shaid has turned his eyes to the next book. Updates will be posted here as this book nears a final release date.