I can't wait to skip town for New Orleans...
Last night one of our clients (Kermit Ruffins) played two shows @ The Dakota... here are some of my photos from the gig... and my work blog if you're interested.... http://whyharrelson.weebly.com/5/post/2013/07/sing-a-bing-a-bang-a-bingo.html
I can't wait to skip town for New Orleans...
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I am home visiting my parents this weekend... sometimes I forget how quiet it is here. I woke up this morning and realized the window next to my bed had been open all night... but I didn't hear a single car. Or airplane (I live in South... there are a lot of airplanes in my neighborhood)... Last night dad and I went fishing... on a lake we used to go to quite a lot when I was a kid... we drove past a house with Llamas in the yard... my dad said they keep them there to eat their grass... I think there were 3 Llamas... the next house had a bunch of tiny horses... About art stuff... I booked 2 art shows in the last week that are coming up in August and September.... one at Gingko in St. Paul (I've shown with them before) and one with RAW Artists.... we've been going back and forth a lot for a while... trying to find a month that will work... I think August it is... Also... I submitted some photos to MPLSzine.... two were accepted.... see mine on page 9 and 19. The meat photo is from a night I was visiting my parents and my sister and I went to see them bowl.... they had a meat raffle.... my sister won.... that was her prize... and the second photo is from Loyola University... after a trumpet lecture... I liked the way the orange desks looked lonely on the blue carpets... This painting hangs in my mom and dad's bathroom.... one of mine from a long time ago. The first photo.... of the Tonka trucks needs a little explanation I guess...
when I was a kid my parents both worked at the Tonka Factory... last night when we were talking I was telling them that I remember there was a paper bag full of trucks we weren't supposed to play with above the dryer in our old trailer... my mom walked over to the closet and pulled out a bag and said... you mean this bag? hahaha.... we did have trucks we could play with of course... my favorite were the big yellow dump trucks.... I had a commission to finish that I have put off for (admittedly) waaaay too long.... often times the barrier between me and my art... is physically starting... it seems obvious that you can't do anything unless you start it... but starting is the hardest part of all I find.... once I start... I never want to stop. I am omitting the commission because it's very similar to another piece I did in the past with a slight alteration... but here are the other things I worked on today... and a few sketches for things forthcoming... and my very glamorous work space this afternoon
I sold another painting from matchbox... doesn't it look much sexier above this painting? The new owner sent me this photograph... I am guessing beer is the theme here. I love seeing where people put my art. these are in a kitchen! I bet there is a lot of beer consumed in this kitchen :) it's kinda funny. I have been thinking a lot lately about interpretation. making a cover song a great precursor to this blog. I like the way things you know can be rearranged. giving them a new meaning all together. I feel like many things I have known... or thought I knew... have taken on new meanings this past year. driving home tonight from work I was overwhelmed with the feeling that I am still learning... about myself and about everything. when I think back I am oft times impressed by my own gusto. I think... who was that brave person... so many years ago... that did those things that I would never brave now. I am headed back to New Orleans again in a short while... and it can't come too soon... I love new Orleans because it reminds me to be real... and at the same time inspires me. endlessly... it may be the most beautiful place in north America. I have traveled more than most people are fortunate enough to. I don't take one second of that for granted... but I think I have the authority to proclaim new Orleans to be a magic place. nola is dirty and kinda gross. people aren't fancy. it's sweaty and a little too real. god! how awesome that is. I love it there. don't trust my words... trust this... I can't believe that I found myself in the fortunate non accident... that I am currently in. I would like to say I haven't worked for it but that would be false... instead I will say I am very excited to just do something I love... with people I love... in a place I love.
see you soon new Orleans! It's been a good week for selling paintings! The two above both sold... one at Matchbox and the other online. Painting is a lot more fun when people actually hang your paintings... or better yet... buy them. You can imagine watching them pile up in your basement is less exciting... I am fortunate enough to have sold many paintings in my little art career... but still... each time one goes out the door... i feel like there's a reason to paint more. I also donated 2 paintings to a benefit via my mom's work on Saturday... these two... nevermind... i guess I don't have a photo of the canoe painting after it was finished... but here's how it looked as it was being painted... I found an email inviting me to participate in a show next week... that somehow went to my spam box... sadly.... i might still be able to swing that last minute... and also booked a show for next spring... at a coffee shop right down the street from me.... i also have shows coming up at palmers and moxie salon this fall.... more info on those as they get closer... and don't forget... you still have a couple of weeks to check out my northeast signs at Matchbox Coffee House: 1306 2nd St. NE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55413
Oh... and I am doing my best to update my online art store here: http://www.jenniferdsandquist.com/buy-art.html So, check back periodically if you're in the market for some artwork... don't forget... I am always ready to take custom orders too :) yesterday a little bird sent me this photo of my art hanging at matchbox... which was so nice because I have been out of town and have yet to see it in it's glory... . it is so lovely to have people that know you. I know I have been waxing poetic about all of that stuff a bit excessively lately... but today I spent hours just catching up with another good friend. this independence week seems as if it has gone on forever and yet I wish it would just keep going after 100000 months of winter I think we all deserve a month of pure sunshine.... Minnesota should really consider just closing down for the month of july to preserve the sanity of the lifers that live here. I can't even believe that I have been on hiatus for over a week and tomorrow I have to return to work... without windows.... when I started to write this I sat for a while trying to google a poem I wanted to share... but i guess that google doesn't always work after all... sometimes you just have to do things the old fashioned way... i had a book many years ago and based on the cover page... now after searching for it frantically (and finally finding it) in the basement... one that i have owned for at least 15 years... the book is titled "a fine frenzy" it is a collection of poetry.... and every few pages are ear marked... highlighted or paper clipped because they struck me back then... when i was 1 9 years old... here is the poem "I have come to the conclusion, she said, that when we fall in love, we really fall in love with ourselves- that we choose particular people... because they provide the particular mirrors in which we wish to see. And when did you discover this surprising bit of knowledge? He asked. After I had broken a few very fine mirrors... she said" ~ Nelle Fertig I know I run the risk, as writing this... of appearing self serving or self centered or conceited.... but I assure you I am none of those things. but I have learned a lesson lately, that I find it necessary to discuss.... about images of your self. I am not photogenic. I have had countless friends and strangers alike tell me something to the effect of... "wow, you're really great in person but damn you can ruin a photograph".... my friend magnus in Sweden some odd 7 years ago told me that I have an innate ability to destroy any picture... it's not a joke. it takes a loving eye to figure out how to catch me while not mid conversation or closing my eyes. my self esteem has taken a hit more severely this last year in a way i don't really want to elaborate on... I have tried my best not to take it to heart that I always manage to appear disgusting in pictures- my sister's wedding is a good recent example of me turning every family photo into something you just want to toss in a drawer. maybe I am just too fast for film. I would like to think so... ... but I do know that I have learned there are very few people that know me enough to figure out how to capture something about me that is real. I am spouting all of this off in my art blog because I am going to be severely self aware and tell you honestly.... that I despise my own image. as an artist... I love the best and worst parts of all humans on this planet. I find scars sexy. I like weird noses and bad hair. I revel in people watching... some of the most unattractive people have a beautiful soul that i can't turn my eyes from... but sadly I don't wrap my self in that same love... so it takes someone special to capture me... the way I think I really am. which I hope can explain the poem quoted here earlier... it's paramount that you are wrapped up in people that bolster your potential and see the wonderful things about you that even you can't. lets be honest with ourselves and admit that without an audience... there is no reason for much of anything. mirrors (disguised as people) are so very important... because they teach us who we are. there are just some things you can't do all on your own.... no matter how hard you try
there is a little resort on a pretty lake just out of grand rapids Minnesota... there are only 3 cabins there.... my grandparents went there in 1977 I believe for the first time... I guess my dad and his brothers fell in love with the place because my family has gone back EVERY year since. I will admit to the fact that I haven't been back in many years... when I pulled on to county road 51... off of scenic 7 this week.... I almost started crying because the dusty washboard gravel road I remembered had been paved.... and judging by the potholes the size of small planets... it had been paved for many many years.... I made my homecoming to a place I have so many memories in... and I love the fact that the only way to get a phone signal is to walk half a mile up the road. the weather this week was... in a word... perfect... I don't think I can recall a single visit to that lake that didn't at least involve one day of rainy card playing... or poncho wearing fishing.... but every day was 80s and sunshine from morning til night... when I arrived my aunt, uncle, sister, brother in law, mom and dad... one of my cousins and one of his friends... were all waiting for me... with a fish fry... my sister ran up the hill and said... come on and eat we're having this fish fry in you honor so I hope you're hungry... my days this week have been filled with sunshine and swimming... fishing and fun. we had an impromptu fishing contest... my dad and I almost won for best team but he took the most inches... 34" northern (that chomped the tail of his lure and nearly destroyed his fishing net) .... mine was only 25". the great thing about family traditions... is the touchstone effect... it's a way of checking in... of seeing yourself grow and change... of realizing where you come from and where you have gone since you started. I realized I have missed a lot of wonderful things by skipping the cabin these past years. and I realized my family has evolved... the last time I was there... my cousins were children... this time one couldn't come because he had to work this week to save money for college and the other is practically an adult... my sister... is now married and my parents stay in the cabin I used to stay in ... things have all rearranged... but they are all still there. which makes me think of something my mom told me many many years ago... when I was 19... I got engaged and moved to las vegas.... I was distraught to say the least... this small town girl really does love home... my mom said... Jennifer... it's your life... you have to live it the way you want to.... your family will always be here. and guess what... they are... I've missed them a lot. my dad liked to stay out of the sun... during the hottest part of the day... when my aunt, my sister, my mom and I are all sunning ourselves on the dock... he goes about halfway down to the part where the shade from the trees still shelters him... sets up his chair and his little radio... and reads outdoor life.... I love my dad this is sally. the world's most well behaved and human dog. she and I were fast friends... sally belongs to these two amazing people... my aunt and uncle... I think that they're dog is just like they are... sweet... kind... and calm. more proof I DO know how to fish. every night we go on a crappie run... and that's what we eat... the northerns are all catch and release... my adorable and amazing parents! my cousin and his friend relaxing after a hard day of relaxing my favorite uncle... al... that asked me after snapping this next photo... if this was going to be in my blog. I guess the answer should have been yes. alden always wants to know how I am doing. genuinely... from the time I was a little girl.... he has always made time for me. that's what my grandma would do... and that's why he reminds me of her... she would stop and and look you in the eyes and really ask how you were. and so does he. all I can say about this picture is that sometimes people remind you of your past and your future all at the same time. and when that happens you owe it to yourself to really listen. my cabin experience this week is probably not unlike any you have had. there is no magic formula in my family or anything really all that special about it... except that it is mine and is special to me. so thanks for listening to me once again just saying what we all think and feeling what we all feel. happy independence day to everyone... and happy homecoming.
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the past
October 2015
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