Jennifer's Art and Words

Red Dot Gallery

In April I had an art show at the Red Dot Gallery, in midtown Sacramento. The space is a lovely to showcase art work and the owners go all out for the artist to make a great show. I hope you’ll stop by the gallery located at 22rd J Street. Red Dot Gallery link

The Writing Life …each week we (my writing group, The Writers' Circle) meet and share our poetry, memoir, stories and prose. We put the words on the table. We read, we hear the why we like this work . Then we hear the how it can be improved . This is often an uncomfortable segment of the process for me. But I think it has become an easier listen as I become more and more comfortable with my own writing voice. I listen without throwing up walls. I listen with attention. I am supported, and improve. I support others on their writing journey. On Feb. 20th the Writers' Circle has the honor to be reading at the Sacramento Poetry Center. I say honor because there are many voices wanting a specific space for live spoken word and the live spaces are limited. I hope you will join our circle. Bring your voice share your poem at the open reading. Support living voice, will its imperfections. Hear you there. 25th and R Complex 1719 25th St. Sacramento, CA, 95816

Come hear and see Sacramento writers who are also, artists carry on the tradition of Jack Kerouac, Patti Smith, and Frederico Garcia Lorca at the Sacramento Writer's Brush held at the Sacramento Poetry Center, 1719 25th Street (corner of R and 25th), January 14, from 5-9. Reading of work is from 7-9pm. Featured artists and readers include: Maceo Montoya , a graduate of Yale University in 2002 and received his MFA in painting from Columbia University in 2006. His artwork has been exhibited throughout the country as well as internationally. His first novel, The Scoundrel and the Optimist , was published in 2010 by Bilingual Press. He is an Assistant Professor in the Chicana/o Studies Department at UC Davis. Sandy Thomas whose photos have appeared in Medusa's Kitchen, Ophidian One, Poetry Now, Poetry Now Presents, Primal Urge, Sacramento Press and WTF?!. Tim McHargue has published three books of prose poetry, Typography of the Flesh: Thirty Prose Poems; Bali Rain Psalm: The...

Today we are off to San Sebastian, Spain (only a few miles away). I wish you were all here to share our trip and hope you all have a wonderful fourth of Juliette. Adios y au revoir, Jennifer San Sebastian-is a bustling ciudad. Riding to the city we passed through small cities and suburbs consisting of mostly unattractive block style high-rise apartments, many whose walls are covered in graffiti. It looks as if frustration among the people is high here. You would not think you are in Spain, but rather in New York or perhaps even Sacramento on highway 99 along the freeway wall. Here we are on the train following the protective wall between these high-rises and the train. From the balconies hang the Basque flag of independence. The Basques have been trying to gain independence from France and Spain for centuries. Their language is one of the oldest and has been spoken continuously since Neolithic times. In these border towns the directional signs are written in Spanish, Basque, and Fren...

The trip through central France is farm country with fields of wheat and sunflowers between small villages and towns. I’ve seen no vineyards yet. We pass houses with tiled roofs and white stucco walls. St. Jean de Luz-Juliette 1 This little town hugs the coastlines. It has a beautiful long sandy beach. Our apartment is 2 blocks from the beach and very comfortable. It has 2 separate sleeping rooms, a kitchenette, plenty of light, is on the 2nd floor, and has a small terrace with a table and chairs. The windows are all French style windows. We have a long oak table with rattan chairs in the dining area and a large carved armoire. All this for 33 Euros each a day. As it doesn’t get dark here until 10pm we went to the beach late in the afternoon. Most of the young women sit topless on their towels and the older ladies lay down topless (like me, are more modest). I went to the marche this morning and bought empanadas with pomme de terre and champignone (mushrooms). I may have misspell...