Inspired Heart: An Artist's Journey of Transformation

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This is the extraordinary story of an artist's daring exploration into the source of his creativity. A rising star in the New York art world In the late 1970s, Jerry Wennstrom decided that the ultimate creative leap was to destroy his large body of art, give away all of his possessions, and spend the next ten years wandering, seeking, listening, and trusting God to take care of him. "It was a powerful, holy experience that left me shaken and empty, but exhilarated," says Jerry of the destruction of his art. Mindful that he was choosing a strange and dangerous way, he questioned his own sanity and the existence of any higher power. Ultimately he came to the simple, yet radical understanding that every moment in life requires the artist's creative attention. And with that new perspective, he was able once again to create art without worshipping it as a false idol.

Says Wennstrom, "In the process of letting go, there was a slow build-up to that most important leap. I experienced it as a leap into 'being,' rather than the 'doing' of creating art, or the expression of being through my art. I let go of everything I thought was most 'me.' I felt like I was making a leap into a new relationship with the most direct and creative expression I could give myself to."

The Inspired Heart tells of a life lived by the singular requirement of Grace—to remain fearlessly attuned to the heart. It is an upside-down perspective, where what is generally most sought after is relinquished, and conscious entry into uninhabitable terrain reveals a remarkable truth. Wennstrom sees no event as out of place in his world, where anything, from street-corner violence to the gentleness of a stranger, can become a blessing.

Author Biography: Jerry Wennstrom was born in New York in 1950 and went to art school for three years there. Instead of completing a degree program, though, at age 29 he set out to discover the rock-bottom truth of his life. After years of questioning his own motives as an artist and getting by on next to nothing, he moved to Whidbey Island and re-emerged into the current art scene with his wildly inventive sculpture.

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