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" 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!"

"Love, Let Go, Love Some More"

"Love, Let Go, Love Some More; Cathy's Fault, Arizona" (c) 2009 Stu Jenks

Artist's Talk for "@1w/"

[Photograph of yours truly, taken by Annie Gordon, at the Artist's Talk for my show "@1w/". This show runs for another week at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Thanks to all who came to the opening, to all who came to see it at other times, and to all of y'all, for your help along the way.]

"At One With" [@1w/]: Opening this Thursday at TJCC

"@1w/" [At One With]: Opening this Thurday at TJCC

This Thursday, October 1st, from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm at the Tucson Jewish Community Center at River and Dodge, I'll be having a little art party; an opening, a gathering of good folk, with sweets and all, to celebrate my new show "@1w/: At One With". I would love to see you there. A little art talk will be happening around 7. Below is the Artist Statement from the show. Come if you can. I'll have a big hug waiting for you (and some rugalah too.) See you soon.

Love, light, and luck,

Stu

“@1w/”
[At One With]
by Stu Jenks,
High Holy Days, 2009.


    With the High Holy Days and the Day of Atonement upon us, I thought about what the word “Atonement’ meant to me. To make amends with G-D. [Maybe.] To make right and correct the harms I’ve done to the people in my life. [Absolutely.] To forgive others. [Yes.] To forgive myself. [Harder to do.]
    The original Middle English words, for Yom Kipper were ‘At Onement”, meaning to be in harmony with G-D and his community. I thought about my own work, and saw, that on one level, that is just what I’m trying to do. I go to these places: the mountains, the deserts, the sea. I bring along Zippo lighters, Hula Hoops with Christmas lights, and small inflatable Bozos, to create a bit of magic, mystery and humor in these landscapes. But I always try to be ‘At-One-With” these places, to not impose myself so greatly as to harm or mock the land, to come with some reverence, even when I’m throwing a miniature Bozo punching bag in the air near some ancient petroglyphs.
    And then, like the mystic who travels deep into the forest to find a vision, not for himself primarily but for his people, I bring the images of the Hoop Dances, the Flames Spirals, the Bozos back to town, and display them for the community, showing the people the wonders I’ve found.
    And perhaps, by going on these lone spiritual sojourns into the wild, I am a better man: A man who will continue to make amends for his wrongs, and maybe, just maybe, becomes a less harmful, more loving and kinder human being.
   

"Flame Smile" by Dustin Libby

[A fun night photograph taken in Japan by Dustin Libby, a photographer who recently wrote me to thank me for inspiring him. Thanks for your kind words, Dustin, and keep on shooting.]

"The Maritime Museum, San Francisco, on the Fourth of July" by Cathy Spann

 

"Maritime Museum, San Francisco, California" (c) July 4th, 2009 by Cathy Spann

[This images were taken by Photographer Cathy Spann, last night, in San Francisco. Great stuff. As she said, "Very Francis Scott Key." Very much so. Both ancient and modern at the same time. Lovely.]

 

 

"Flam Chen at Arcosanti"

"Flam Chen at Arcosanti, Cordes Junction, Arizona" (c) 2009 Stu Jenks

"Chihuly at Desert Botanical Gardens, Phoenix, Arizona"

"Chihuly at Desert Botanical Gardens, Phoenix, Arizona" (c) 2009 Team Chihuly and Stu Jenks

I know it's not a very spiritual/nice thing to do to make fun of others' ignorance but I can't help myself. Here are a few quotes I overheard while seeing the Dale Chihuly show in Phoenix.

"That's not blowing! That looks like a rock," said a annoyed white woman, viewing a floating piece of glass (that was creating by blowing glass into a mold, by the way.)

"It's amazing that he can do this with just one eye," said an older white woman, not knowing that there is a Team Chihuly, not just Dale alone. I cut her some major slack for not knowing about Team Chihuly, but it did make me laugh anyway.

I mention the above people's race for I saw not one single Chicano person in the three hours I spent at the Desert Botanical Gardens. No Blacks either, and only one Native American woman. Phoenix is a very rich, white city in some places, and very poor one for people of color in other places. (And some whites too.) I was in one of the rich parts of The Valley. Nevertheless, it was a very cool Chihuly show and I enjoyed our time there. Mostly.

My favorite pieces were the floating blue pieces, the signature piece, "The Sun", as you first enter the Gardens, and the tall radical tower of yellow neon, called by an attractive woman to my left, "The Big Yellow Penis." Yea, boy. She got that right. Dale does have a big creative dick, and we are all happy he does.

The Transpersonal Papers: Chapter Twenty Two: "Teepee #6"

The Transpersonal Papers: Chapter Twenty-Two:

"Teepee #6, The Wigwam Motel, Holbrook, Arizona"
© 2009 Stu Jenks

    Holbrook on a Saturday night. Traffic's light. No surprise. Traffic's always light in Downtown Holbrook.

    Coalmine Canyon was fun this afternoon. In spite of the damage done to its rim by tourists and drunks, its inner depths haven't changed that much in the twenty years I've been visiting it. I know nothing stays the same, but in some things I long for just that: A place unspoiled, something I can count on being Always Good. Luckily, the reason the floor of Coalmine Canyon has stayed so unchanged is because the makeshift trail that descends from the top begins with a long 45-degree talis slope of black coal. It takes a bit of courage to hike into Coalmine.
    The Joseph City power plant was a spectacular sight tonight as well. A hard human creation during the day, it’s transformed into a wizard's playhouse at night. Funny how the night changes things.
    I pop a few more shots of Teepee #6, even though I have good images in the can. Five minutes pass. Another pickup truck drives by. I finish my smoke. I take another image. Another car cruises by. Then long silence again.
    I smile. It's almost as peaceful here as it is in Coalmine Canyon. Almost.