Have you ever heard those stories about people that get married... get divorced... and then fall in love all over again many years later... only to live out their days in bliss? I know 2 such couples. But always found the idea curious to say the least. I think this just happened to me today. Not with a person... but a thing. A thing I love.

I have no idea why. Or how. Something I fell in love with... turned me off a while back... and then like some sort of weird miracle... caught my eye cross the room by surprise and took hold of me. As if no time had passed at all... only I discovered that all those days without that love... I was learning how to love it better than I knew how to before. How do we learn how to do something while not doing it at all? The human experience is so amazing. We are so much more than we realize. 

I think it's such a gift that my old brain is where it used to be... without me giving it due diligence. Like a shiny ring I forgot I owned. It was always there... just waiting. 

There is an intense comfort that comes from remembering something you used to love. 

It's been a while. A long while. My last blog was over a year ago... and just after my return from Spain. I had hoped to use my trip last summer to get back to my painting. But, really, I spent most of it scared-thrilled-overstimulated-in awe.... truth is I just spent it living. I don't regret that.

I haven't done much painting over the last couple of years... maybe longer. When I first started painting and doing shows (about 10 years ago) I became totally obsessed with it. All I could think about was how many hours I had to work and how much I could finish... I loved the feeling of being lost in the colors and the process. It is truly one of the best addictions a person can have. I would spend all day just thinking about what I was going to work on. I think I overdosed on painting and shows. A boyfriend told me once I should be careful of diluting it. He was right.

I haven't stopped being a creative person... I don't think that's a thing I could ever turn off. But, instead of painting... the last few years my creative juices have been flowing in other directions. I run a music club with monthly themed mix exchanges... the people in the group take it very seriously and I have truly been delighted by the response I received from this project. I also spent much of last year working as a co-founder of MPLS CREATES a website that features local artists doing what they do best. And, I started a polaroid photography club called Polaroid Picnic... it is what it sounds like. Also, tons of fun.

I have been spearheading all of these projects and becoming ever more involved in my day job... that I love. But... for some reason... the feeling I have that I need to painting again... came to a head this week when I was offered a few different shows/projects all within a few days. It's time!

So, I will be announcing some fun things coming up this fall. It was exciting today to dig through stacks of paintings and rearrange my painting space. I found some things I forgot were there. The painting above was one of the first self portraits I ever did... it's dated 2006. And the collage below is from 2010. I love the feeling of finding old pieces of yourself that still seem to represent you. I have a stack of old mixed cds in my car. One from 2005 and another from 2009 and others without dates at all. I still love every song... good job old self! Funny enough the one cd is titled "Some things Never Change... Don't be some thing"

I feel, often, that my life is quite blessed. Today is one of those days. I have had so many experiences this last month that only serve to remind me how extraordinary the people on this earth are. I am endlessly inspired by the friends, clients and colleagues in my life. How lucky I am to know you. In case you missed it... here's some of the work I was doing in Spain last month.

http://whyharrelson.weebly.com/jens-blog/jorge-vistel

Dear Spain,

To call you dear seems so inferior. You are more beautiful than I have words for. I think you know deep down just how gorgeous you are so I hesitate to gush over you. And yet... it seems impossible to stop myself. I loved you from afar for so long. Your food, your music... oh, your wine. I had no idea what mystery lurked beneath your surface. 

How could you torture me so... sitting in your own corner of the world... knowing so well that we would be so good for one another. The depths of your character are staggering. 

You have seen such riches and yet you are unassuming. You are so free and full of life... but deep down you cling to your family and your history. Which is so hard to turn away from because it is real and amazing. I feel a fool for you. You probably think I have no idea who you are. I guess maybe you are right. But I want to know you. 

You know of course that I have always been easily seduced by those souls that are older than myself. I like to learn. I long for a teacher. You lured me in... feigning youth. It only took a week or so to call your bluff. You are a quiet elder. Touche! I am a willing fool. You are the most beautiful seductress one could hope for. Call me a babe Your international open heart has won me. Lets dance!!!

I guess all I wanted to tell you dear Spain... is that no matter what happens between us... I am better for knowing you. And thanks for the lessons learned. You are beautiful. 

I guess the thing I keep thinking is that we have so much in common. You are older and wiser than me. That is easy to see. But, like you, I am a free and happy entity with a rich past. I think it is this that draws me to you and makes me love you so. I feel lucky to have known you... even if just for a brief moment in time. 

One last thing Spain... even if things don't work out between us... I think I am in love with your friends... so I hope you realize I will keep them. Even if we fall apart.

For the last few months I have worked harder than I have in my entire life. I have been busy at work with an influx of clients and a momentum like a tidal wave. It's been very exciting. But so much to think about. At the same time I have been working to ready for my trip to Spain next month. I am taking a month to explore and paint. Taking time to be me again... and just see what it feels like to have time and space to think and create. But, that trip has required a lot of planning and plotting. I also have been meeting once a week and working on a very special project. MPLS CREATES is the brainchild of myself and Kristina Perkins. We have both long felt like there is more we can offer the arts community here in Minneapolis and so today was the official launch of our website www.mplscreates.com ... it's been a labor of love so far... and I can only imagine the full scope of this beast... here's some more info directly from the press release:

Today, MPLS Creates, an organization focused on bridging the gap between the creatives and the
public, announced the official unveiling of their website. MPLS Creates is the beginning of a movement to celebrate the
creative side in all of us. The website, www.mplscreates.com, will be a platform where a stream of interviews and 
behind-the-scenes look at creatives around the Minneapolis area can be experienced. 
Founded by Kristina Perkins and Jennifer Sandquist, the two set out to make a difference in how the creative 
community is viewed and motivated. Their online platform strives to display how creatives arrive at their final product, 
instead of the emphasis being solely on the final product. They hope to engage both emerging and established creatives.  Perkins and Sandquist are passionate about sharing the creative process as well as providing resources on how to make creative ideas happen. Join them in celebrating all of the local creative talent coursing through this city by visiting their website at www.mplscreates.com. If you or anyone you know is creative, MPLS Creates asks that you reach out to them. They are constantly searching for new creatives to feature and interview, no matter what their medium.

In addition to all of that... I am also showing at Art-A-Whirl this weekend... I have stuff up at Grumpy's and at Vesper College (first floor of Casket Arts Bldg) ... I will be out and about Saturday and Sunday. Please come say hello if you see me! 

Further to fly... 

I feel like sometimes when you "work" on art... it feels like work... or there is a clear goal. A beginning, middle and end. Although there isn't a lot of right and wrong in art in general... there can be when you paint something realistic. Like a neon sign for example. So every now and then I break free from the constraints of lines... or of any real goal at all and that is where my collage work comes from. A place that is free of requirements. I happen to like my collages more than anything else I do. I think they say more than any of my other work. And they are more colorful (although I use a lot of color in all my stuff) and more free. They make me feel like I am reach beyond myself into something new and unexpected. I am going to focus on collage while in spain. I have already begun loading up my suitcase with supplies. Here are some of my favorite collages.

You can still find a few of them here: http://www.jenniferdsandquist.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html

This month I feel like I am doing an elaborate ballet on a tight rope... one thing that amazes me is how much a person can accomplish when they have no time. It seems tasks that used to take me hours are now accomplished in minutes. I should apply this sort of regime to my normal tasks... maybe laundry and grocery shopping could be honed down to mere seconds. seriously though... no time. anywhere. Today the painting was inspired by my friend Oliver Kriston's photography. She did a lot of photography for Burlesque shows a while ago and this photo of Trixie... I found to be totally captivating... as http://www.jenniferdsandquist.com/store/p115/Magic.html   so one day I sat down with a hand full of those black and whites and did a few fast paintings... the results I liked quite a bit. Most of those sold... but this one  is still available... if you'd like to see more of her photography you can on flickr under oliverkriston


hoping to make a event for the art-a-whirl festivities... and I will be blasting a bunch of information on you about my other project MPLS CREATES here in the coming days... launching in 3.... 2... 1... stay tuned!

Although the idea with these recent blogs has been to showcase the paintings I have for sale in my online gallery: http://www.jenniferdsandquist.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html the painting above is already sold... or it sold today. If you've spent any time on the west bank you know exactly where this is. I think this is the 3rd or 4th painting or interpretation I've done of The Riverside Towers. I guess you could say they fascinate me. That whole neighborhood holds a romantic spot in my heart. I spent a lot of time there. Wandering from a show at The Cedar to the rooftop of The Bedlam (so sad to think that place is gone)... to Palmer's for Spider John ... to Hard Times for a plate full of cheap and delicious food at 2 am. I saw more music in two years than I had seen in my entire life. And it's the multitude of amazing moments and the cast of characters that will forever make the west bank a sweet spot in this city for me. Sorry, but all of these paintings are already sold... I think I am not the only person that has a love affair with these timeless places.

I finished printing up hang tags for my show at Grumpy's this afternoon and loaded all the paintings in my car. Excited for Art-A-Whirl again this year. I've been so busy I haven't even looked at the line up for music... but I am sure it will not disappoint. 

These little devils were conceived in my old apartment in Uptown... on a sleepless night... and were intended to go into a show that was timed around halloween... but then was switched... so I never did show them... but yet a few have sold over the last couple of years... they're pretty cute if you ask me. That was such a dramatic shift for me... painting in that space. My old studio was an entire living room in my old house... but in my apartment... all I had to work on was the radiator... my place was a constant mess... but I loved the giant windows and how it felt like I was living with the squirrels. 

http://www.jenniferdsandquist.com/store/p88/Little_Devil_4.html

A couple other things really quick... I hung paintings earlier this week at Sisters Sludge Coffee House in South Minneapolis... so if you're biking Nokomis this weekend and need a little go juice... stop in and say hi. 

https://www.facebook.com/SistersSludgeCoffee

And I am getting organized for Art-A-Whirl. I will be showing at Grumpy's and Vesper College... I'll also be out and about talking about the latest creative project I've been focusing on... Minneapolis Creates... we are officially launching the website the weekend of Art-A-Whirl... you'll be hearing a lot about that later... but check it out: 

https://www.facebook.com/mplscreates

AND! Last but not least... I am excited because at my day job... Harrelson Trumpets, I am working on a campaign to collection musical instrument donations for an organization in New Orleans called The Roots of Music. This is a fantastic cause... and I couldn't be happier to tell you about it. Check it out: 

http://whyharrelson.weebly.com/5/post/2014/05/may-09th-2014.html

When I sit down to think about this painting...                        http://www.jenniferdsandquist.com/store/p114/The_Ferry_To_Hoboken.html ...        and the story behind it... I realize that time goes by so quickly. I was about to write that this painting is from about a  year ago. Seems I always think everything happened about a year ago... when in fact this is from a trip I took to New York to visit my friend Laura in Ocotober of 2011... that means it was in fact almost 3 years ago. Man... how does that happen? When I flew in for that trip New York was under siege by a sloppy ice storm. We had plans to go to Transmission... but the prospect of making our way across the city seemed ridiculous. So, we stayed in and drank tea and caught up on life. I've known Laura for about 5 years now. About half of those she's been living in New York. This trip was fun because I stayed at her place in Brooklyn and she had to work daytime hours most of the time I was there... so I had those hours free to wander the city with my camera... one of my favorite things to do. In the evenings we would explore together... I was there for Halloween and so we donned our scary and went to a fun little bar down the street... we sipped hot toddies and in the center of the room there was a spooky man with frighteningly spider-like fingers playing a grand piano. It was very relaxing and sort of the opposite of any halloween I've ever had before or since. It has since become one of my favorite halloween memories. I took a lot of pictures on that trip... here are a few of my favorites.

The day I took the Ferry to Hoboken... I got terribly lost. New York can seem bigger than it is at times... my sense of direction is actually really good but sometimes all those buildings make me dizzy and I get turned around. I phoned a friend that guided me to the Ferry and finally I made it there. I spent the afternoon wandering and when I came back across... we passed not far from Ellis Island. I was reading a book at the time all about it. It's a really intimate book that you should look up if you're interested in that kind of stuff at all. There are hundreds of interviews. Each begins with the persons name... the year they were born and where... sometimes they included a photo. Then each person told their story about the life they had in the old world... then their passing into this country... and the life they had after. Many of the interviews made me cry. So many of the people coming to America back in those days were more poor than you could ever imagine. I recall one account where a woman said that each day she and her brother got to share one egg. That was their meal for the day. Half of an egg. Most of the people that came here sold everything they owned... many times everything their entire family owned simply to afford passage. Many had never owned a pair of shoes before in their life... but their parents would sell a goat or a watch to buy them shoes to wear to America. There was no google. Many immigrants couldn't speak or write a word of English. Once they arrived... they had no idea what to expect or where to go. Countless thousands would never go home again. What must that have felt like? It's something I can't even imagine. We take so many things for granted today. Words are one of them. 

Words that people would pay money and wait months to receive via a letter from a loved one. Words that just a few years ago... would cost a small fortune with a "long distance call" ... something that I can still remember. Hurrying to get off the phone because of the financial implications seems like a figment of my imagination now. I think about this again... because I leave for Spain in just 19 days. I have had a few anxious moments in the past few weeks considering what lies ahead. The unknown of course is more frightening than reality. But my mild adventure pales in comparison to the one so many of our ancestors did on blind faith. With little money. And almost no plan or help. We are so spoiled. How quickly we have forgotten what it feels like to truly miss someone. To be alone. To be afraid. To do anything at all simply because we hope for something. Or trust that something good will come of it. When I tell people I am going to Spain for a month all by myself... I get one of two reactions.... "Good for you! How exciting" or... "Oh my god are you crazy? Why would you want to do that?"... Well... just like any journey I have ever been on... I trust that there is something to see... something to do... and something to learn by being alone... somewhere far from home... and I am not the first person to believe so.

And... this is a painting of my friend Laura... that I did a couple of years before I went to visit her in New York.

http://www.jenniferdsandquist.com/store/p57/Laura.html