Martha Stewart Built Nativity Scene in Prison

While Martha Stewart was in a West Virginia prison, she spent her time making stuff. On the Christmas Day episode of her television show, Stewart showed off ornate clay forms of the baby Jesus, Joseph, Mary, three camels and others she sculpted at a pottery class at the Federal Prison Camp in Alderson, West Virginia. Martha said:

"Even though every inmate was only allowed to do one a month, and I was only there for five months, I begged because I said I was an expert potter, ceramicist actually, and could I please make the entire nativity scene."

Her creations were all fired and glazed at the prison. She completed the effect with tiny artificial palm trees imported from Germany by a New Jersey distributor. Martha could have used her skills to dig a tunnel back to her home where she could have spent the day, and returned to jail at night before the prison guards even knew she was gone.