Jerry Wennstrom PO 522 Clinton, Whidbey Island, WA 98236 soluna@whidbey.com www.handsofalchemy.com At age 29 after producing a large body of work, Artist, author Jerry Wennstrom he set out to discover the rock-bottom truth of his life. For years he questioned the limits of his creative life as a studio painter. After destroying all of his art and giving away everything he owned, Jerry began a life of unconditional trust, allowing life to provide all that was needed. He lived this way for 15 years. In 1998 he moved to Washington State, where he eventually married Marilyn Strong and produced a large new body of art. Marilyn and Jerry’s charming Whidbey Island home is now filled with his unique interactive sculptures and paintings. Jerry also built a 40-foot meditation tower on his property, which is featured along with his story in a book by Laura Chester called Holy Personal. Jerry Wennstrom writes a monthly column called Between the Lines on the spirit of the times for Inferential Focus a New York City consulting firm (“Think Tank.”) Read articles on Mythic Journeys Magazine here- http://mythicjourneys.org/guest_wennstrom.html The Inspired Heart: An Artist's Journey of Transformation By Jerry Wennstrom ISBN: 0-9710786-9-6 Soft cover: 200 Pages September Spirituality/Art Sentient Publication www.sentientpublications.com Distributed by NBN-National Book Network www.nbnbooks.com, Ingram, New Leaf, Baker &Taylor & more. Read sample stories on our web site. www.handsofalchemy.com See the web site for Parabola's companion video- www.parabola.org sentientpublications.com In The Hands of Alchemy: The Art and Life of Jerry Wennstrom. In 1979, Jerry Wennstrom, a rising star in the New York art world, intentionally destroyed his paintings and gave away his possessions and money. He spent well over the next decade wandering, seeking, and listening, relying only on his own intuition and an unconditional trust in the Universe to provide for him. In consciously emptying himself of his identity, Jerry was led on an extraordinary spiritual journey and ultimately, a return to creating art. In his new book, The Inspired Heart: An Artist's Journey of Transformation, Jerry tells the story of his metaphorical death and rebirth as an artist and as a man. The Inspired Heart is a self-portrait of the life of a man guided by a desire to connect to the divine, and armed only with an unwavering faith in Grace to sustain him. In sharing the tale of his remarkable survival and his surrender to life experience, Jerry writes "it is important to bring the mystery of this survival back to the tribe as story." Ralph White - NY Open Center's Lapis Magazine www.lapismagazine.org    

The award winning documentary films made about Jerry Wennstrom's art and life have been a favorite at Parabola Magazine's Cinema of the Spirit film festivals, Damah Film Festival, International Film Festival and other venues. He has appeared and presented with Marion Woodman, Deepak Chopra, Mathew Fox,Susan McKeown, China Galland, David Whyte, John O’Donohue, Coleman Barks,Susan Osborn, Laura Simms, Christina Baldwin, Ralph Metzner, Claire Dunne, Laurence Hillman, Vi Hilbert, Phil Lucas, Mickey Lemely, Stephen Simon, and others.