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#4104 - Tuesday, December 14, 2010 - Editor: Jerry Katz 

The Nonduality Highlights - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NDhighlights   

 Jerry Wennstrom was my guest today on Nonduality Street radio. Listen to the show here: 

http://nonduality.com/nondualitystreet_14december2010wennstrom.mp3 

(if the recording stops after a few seconds, like it does on my computer, just reload the page.) 

Jerry Wennstrom is an artist living on Whidbey Island in the state of Washington. His website is http://handsofalchemy.com. In the late 70s Jerry was a renowned artist/painter who produced an abundance of inspired art. He reached a point where a sense of change was in the air, which would demand that, instead of dabbling with tastes of creative inspiration, that his whole life become inspiration. Out of this came the destruction of his entire body of art. The interview begins with Jerry talking about that event.

 Here are some quotes, near quotes, and summary statements from the interview: 

You can take a risk and maybe destroy what you've done and ... inspiration comes through  ... it's a new creation beyond your will and intelligence. 

~ ~ ~ 

I got my art form down, but the gods upped the ante and said now do it with your whole life, which was sheer terror. 

~ ~ ~ 

Destroying his art was the most important thing he ever did with his life and remains so. 

~ ~ ~ 

If we do what we really do with all our heart and soul we get to a place where we can't do any more and that metaphoric death is going to have to happen to us. I knew that if I didn't do it, it was coming to me anyway. I knew that everything in life pointed to this new inspiration that would have inspired my whole life, not just my art. 

~ ~ ~ 

Transformation begins where you give your all and have nothing else to give. 

~ ~ ~ 

A creative act is always inspired. I had to give every aspect of my life the same attention I was giving every painting in my studio. ... With no money or job, I learned to be present with what came. every imaginable experience came. I was present with each one as though dealt from the hand of God, there was always this inspired resolved. I learned that inspiration was everywhere. There's either a god of everything or a god of nothing. 

~ ~ ~ 

Letting go of a thing is not a death but a sancitfication and gets returned to us. 

~ ~ ~ 

Today there's no way that great art is going to come out of anyone who hasn't been through that metaphoric death/rebirth, that's my belief. 

~ ~ ~ 

View Jerry Wennstrom's art and find out about his books and a movie that is being made based on his life: 

http://handsofalchemy.com 

Some of Jerry's sculptures are shown in the poster below:

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