Fezziwig Press & Photography by Stu Jenks

"Hoop Dancing" is here!!!

My long-awaited (at least to me) book "Hoop Dancing: More Journeys Through Nocturnal Photography" is now available. Simply click on the above link and it will take you to my website, where there are instructions on how to purchase it. I'm very proud of the book and very happy with the quality of the lithography. And many, many thanks to Gail Cross, master book designer, for her beautiful work, for her guidance on the bumpy road of publishing, and for her continued encouragement, as we prepare to print more good books at the newly formed Fezziwig Press publishing house. And of course, thanks to all of the supporters of my art, my photography, my writing and my life. Both well-known and virtually anonymous; both those with money and hope, and those who only have the gift of Love and Song to give. I thank you.

Love, Light, and Luck,

Stu

P.S. All books will be shipped Priority Mail, now and forever, so needless to say, I can get copies to you before Christmas. And a Happy New Decade to everyone as well.

[Image: "Hoop Dancing at Studio BR-549, Tucson, Arizona" (c) 2009 Stu Jenks]

"Hoop Dancing" to be shipped on December 7th

That's right! Those of you who have preordered and who have been so patient (We had a little problem with the spine foil), "Hoop Dancing" will be in my hot little hands either this Friday or Monday, the 7th. I'll will be shipping out books on Monday for you all. And for those of you who haven't ordered, I can get them to you by Christmas with ease. Thanks for your support.

Love and Light,

Stu (Somewhere in New Mexico, on his way back from Chicago)

"And then I began to see..."

"And then I began to see...", A press check of a signature of "Hoop Dancing", at Arizona Lithography, Tucson, Arizona (c) Fall 2009 Stu Jenks.

["Hoop Dancing", the book, should be available for shipment upon my return from Chicago. Go to my website at www.stujenks.com to order the book. And may all of you have a Happy Thanksgiving.]

(Meditation for the day: "It is what it is, and it ain't what it ain't")

Geoff Notkin on the 2009 Tucson Open Studio Tour

    Goeff wrote a very nice piece about last weekend's Open Studio Tour. For me, it was the best experience I've had in the eight years I've been participating. Everyone (and I mean everyone) who visited my studio was smart, funny, interested and interesting, and downright great to be around, old friends and new visitors alike. Very different from the horrors of a couple years ago. It might just be me, but I don't think so. With Mary's dementia and all, I'm pretty stressed these days, so the joy (and cash in some cases) that the patrons brought was very welcome. Thank you all, and hope to see you all soon, either in person, online or through my books. Here's a link to Geoff's Article on the blog he writes for the Tucson Citizen.

[Photos of Elizabeth Frank's work and of me in my studio by Geoff Notkin. I didn't even know he took that shot of me. Very sneaky, Geoff]

"Hoop Dancing" by Stu Jenks is available for pre-sale!

"Hoop Dancing: More Journeys Through Nocturnal Photography: Book Two" is now in the pre-sale stage. The book has been beautifully printed by Tucson Master Printers Arizona Lithography and is now at the book binders in Phoenix. It will be ready for shipment by December 1st if not earlier.

Simply go to my website at www.stujenks.com, and pre-order the book there. You can use Paypal or if you wish to pay by check, just send me a check to my P.O.Box, listed on my site, and send me an email at stujenks@gmail.com to let me know you have bought a book and I'll reserve a specific numbered copy for you. If you pay through Paypal, I'll get all of your information for shipment through them.

The first 30 numbered edition can be ordered and reserved, by a specific edition number.

I tried to keep the cost as low as possible to y'all, but I am publishing this book through my own house at Fezziwig Press, and beautiful lithography costs money. You truly get what you pay for, when it comes to print quality. The book is not coffee-table size but rather an intimate 6 x 9 inch book, cloth-bonded, and dust-jacketed, with a 4 x 6 inch signed photograph included with each book. All books are numbered, signed and shrink-wrapped.

This is the first in a series of at least five books by me, from Fezziwig Press. Not to beg, but the more I sell, the greater chance of I have of producing the other books. My first book, "Flame Spirals" is no longer available through Lulu.com (The print quality was not up to my standards.) but will hopefully be available as cloth-bond, lithography book, in the Summer of 2010, God willing and the creek don't rise. Master Book Designer Gail Cross has almost finished the book design of "Flame Spirals" and it looks stunning, if you ask me. And she designed "Hoop Dancing" and I've been brought to tears, more than once, from the amazing care and love she has taken with my images and text.

So, just in time for Christmas, you can purchase 'Hoop Dancing". Truly, it would a great gift for anyone on your Christmas list.

And it goes without saying, that I appreciate all of y'all's support: financially, emotionally, and spiritually.

Love and light,

Stu Jenks

p.s. I got Mary some Scotch last night. She had a bad day. She either thought I had died, or suddenly remember that her husband Stuart was dead. We're not sure. But her seeing me did help. And a wee dram of Dewer's really did the trick as well. Two fingers, over ice, with a splash. After taking a long draw on the straw from her bed, Mom opened her mouth, said "Ah..." and then said, as clear as a bell, '...Now that's good!"

"Infrared Bozo at 'I Love Teryyake & Sushi' "

 

"Infrared Bozo at 'I Love Teryyaki & Sushi', San Francisco, California" (c) 2009 Stu Jenks

The Bozos: "Bozo, West of Pie Town"

The Bozos: "Bozo, West of Pie Town, New Mexico" (c) 2009 Stu Jenks

(A chapter from the book, "Dementia Blues")

Mary sleeps a lot now. I walk into her bedroom, wake her, and raise the head of her hospital bed so we can talk more easily. She’s happy to see me.

All her past hurtfulness and narcissism are gone. Those parts of her brain have shrunk to nothing, I suppose, leaving a sweet old lady who is kind, giving, understanding and compassionate. Or maybe I should give Mom more credit. She knows death’s only months away. She’s made her peace with Death, with God, with almost everything. She’s ready to go. Maybe that’s changed her.

And today is a good day. She can speak a little, and form words, and she listens intently to what I’m saying. (On bad days, she can barely speak at all, and nothing she says makes any sense.) We talk of lost love and found love. We talked about good friends and our family. She shows great empathy while I talk about my past broken hearts, and listens with excitement while I talk about my present career change, to being a full-time artist. Then we talked about Dad, dead since 2001.

“Did Dad tell you that he loved you a lot?” I ask.

“All...the...time,” she says. (It takes a while now, for words to leave her mouth.)

“Did he say it first, or did you say ‘I love you’ first?”

“Oh...no......He...would...often...say...it...first....

I...would...too......

he...told...me...he...loved...me...a...lot....”

“Dad told me he loved me a lot, too” I say, “I remember when I would come home from college for a meal and a check and when I would leave, he would walk me to my car and always tell me ‘I love you, son.’ Always.”

My words come out haltingly now, since I’m close to tears.

“I bet I learned from him how to say I love you to people. I say it all the time. Well...to the people I love, at least,” I say.

“I...bet...you...learned...it...from...him...too.”

She looks so sweet, so lovable, so helpless.

“Stu,” she says, “I...want...you...to...know...”

She paused and gathers her words.

“...that...I...have...always...loved...you...

and...I....always...will...”

She smiles.

“I love you too, Mom. I do now, and I’ll love you after you’re dead.”

“I’ll...love...you...too...after....”, and then she loses track of the sentence and slowly stops talking. Or maybe she just thinking of Death. She turns her head slightly and give me this sweet little smile. I’m more than misty now.

“I could cry, Mom.”

“It’s...OK...to...cry...,” she says.

"Mary's Dream"

“Mary’s Dream”
Summer, 2009

    “Last night I had a dream.”
    It’s taken her about twenty seconds to say those six words. The dementia is now effecting her speech. She hasn’t been able to stand, much less walk. for months. She can’t hold a fork and she needs help to go to the bathroom now. Half the time, she just does in her Depends. But the caregivers at Crossroads love her and take great care of her, and she’s very happy with them and the place, however...
    “Last night I had a dream,” Mom says again.
    “I dreamed I was dying...and then I woke up... and I was so disappointed.”
    She smiles weakly at me. I smile back.
    “I know Mom,” I say, “I hope you’ll die soon, too.”

The Flame Spirals book is now for sale.

"Flame Spirals", the book, is now live and for sale, at lulu.com. Just hit the above link and it'll take you there, or go to lulu.com and enter my name. I'm very happy with the book, and again, many thanks to Julie Unruh for designing it.

And coming soon, "Hoop Dancing", the book.

Love, light and luck,
Stu

"The Foosh"

[Introducing The Foosh: the new logo for my little publishing company, Fezziwig Press. Thanks a million to Julie Unruh for her design. And if you are wondering, it's derived from the flame spiral in my image, "Solstice Rock, AZ."]