"Garden Of Air Delights by Flam Chen (with The Missing Parts) at Barrio Brewing Company's Tea Room, May 17th, 2012, Tucson, Arizona" (c) 2012 Stu Jenks
Flam Chen playing with their food.
Would have liked to have tasted that fiery dessert but I was busy at the time.
Thanks to Paul for the all access pass, and to the owners and managers of Barrio Brewing for letting me shoot from behind the bar.
After a long wait, The Shifting Light: A selection of sixteen stories taken from The Transpersonal Papers: 1861-2010; Flame Spirals; Bozo In Love; Hoop Dancing; and Dementia Blues is now available on Apple's iBooks. It's also available on Barnes & Nobles Nook and on Amazon's Kindle.
And best of all, it's only $2.99. I'm very happy with this sampler and it includes an introduction written by mythic fiction author Charles de Lint. Thank you, Charles.
P.S. Apologies to those who don't have digital access. The Shifting LIght isn't yet available as an analog book book, but hopefully someday.
Image: "Queen Esther Baptist Church, Lancaster, Virginia" (c) 2011 Stu Jenks (Just down River Road from Victoria's house. Love that luscious red carpet. And for you nocturnals out there, it was handheld. Rare for me.)
In this time of making photos on iPhones and Macbook Pros and only looking on screens, I forget I'm a old-school guy. I make a 8 1/2 x 11 work print on archival paper of EVERY image I make. EVERY one. It's the only way, for me, to accurately check for color shift, density, composition, etc. I really like my iPad screen but it's no way to make a good print.
And I have hundreds, if not thousands, of work prints artist proofs at my studio.
If you see an image of mine on The StuBlog or on my old website or on the Fezziwig Press Store or in any of my books, there's a beautiful small print in a box somewhere, perhaps with your name on it. And since I'm organized, I can find it.
Many of you can't afford my larger prints. I understand. I don't have an extra 50 or 100 lying around either. But I do have an extra $20 for stuff I really like.
So if you see an image of mine on any of my sites or in any of my books and you want it, it's yours for $25, shipping, handling and tax included. (I believe in paying taxes, sales and otherwise.)
Just email me at my facebook page or through the StuBlog or at stujenks@gmail.com, and tell me what print you would like or just pull the jpeg and send that to me.
I was just watching the Tarhells lose today in basketball, working on images at my computer when I thought, 'I bet people don't realize I have boxes of work prints here.'
You all do now.
Love and light,
Stu
p.s. Ignore the catagories belows. The computer went wacky. Another reason why I prefer a print in the hand as opposed to an image in The Cloud.
The first draft of the novel is done!!! It came in at 149,000 words, 552 pages in my document. Yeaaaa! I can't tell you how good it feels. The ending made me cry, as I hope it does you. (Last word in the novel, which won't change in revision: Sighs.) I want to jump right back to the beginning and start revisions, but Mary Ann suggests I take more than just a couple days off. OK. I'll take off three or four days. LOL. But then it's fixing this and revising that, then off to the editors. And I have ideas for the next novel in this series, too. I have some pretty great characters, I think, and I want to see what they will do next. But first things first. Get this novel to print.
One serious note: It took about a year to write this novel, but it almost didn't get done. With Mary and Pamela dying and all, I didn't work on it for about six weeks and it was so hard to get my momentum back. But I did. But it was difficult. If you are working on a novel or a large work, I recommend you plow through, even if the field is frozen. I've been told I'm very lucky to have gotten back on track.
Speaking of track, good luck to Danica Patrick tomorrow in the Daytona 500 and in the rest of Sprint Cup and Nationwide races this season. I might just have to go up to PHX next Saturday to watch her race.
By the way, did I mention I finished the freaking first draft of the novel?
Yeaaaaaaaaa!
Been a long time coming for The Transpersonal Papers (1861-2010).
Three editors, two proofreaders, two designers, four printers, and hours, days, weeks, months, years, lifetimes, (I know I'm overstating), of writing, traveling, shooting, editing, remembering, hiking, and more writing, shooting, and editing, but I'm not complaining. No, no, no.
And apologies for not having the dough right now, to print The Transpersonal Papers as a coffee-table book as I had originally planned. ($10,000, it would have cost. Maybe someday.) But you now can buy it, for $14.95, as an Ebook on the Apple IPad, and I expect it to be available within a couple days on the Nook and the Kindle as well.
I just looked at it on my new IPad. The photos, text and design look grand.
And as an extra surprise, Bozo In Love is now up on IBooks too, ($9.95), as well as the rest of my catalog: Flame Spirals, Hoop Dancing, and Dementia Blues, on IBooks, Nook and Kindle.
Just in time for Christmas.
And don't worry. All but The Transpersonal Papers can still be bought as a book book through Fezziwig Press. I have plenty. Just go to www.fezziwigpressonline.com, for the hardbounds and paperbacks, but go to ITunes, today, (and Kindle and Nook, soon) for the ebooks.
Heavy sigh from my third story apartment balcony. I look out onto the Tucson city lights in the valley below. Cold, dry air embraces me. I inhale deeply. Exhale.
A very good night in the desert.
Think I'll make a cup of coffee with egg nog and play some Angry Birds on my new IPad.
Time to celebrate.
Flame Spirals: The Second Edition is now available at my studio in Downtown Tucson, at Tucson Touch Therapies, and at Fezziwig Press Online.
I'm extremely happy with how well Taylor Publishing printing the book. It's a lithograph book, printed in The United States, hardbound, and reasonably priced (as opposed to the lulu.com First Edition, that was digitally printed and a bit too expensive for many.)
In this, The Second Edition, I've added a couple new flame spiral images, some new Thanks You and a new dedication to "Ghost Dad, Ghost Mom and Ghost Sis."
And I can't say enough about how wonderful Bill Homan at Taylor Publishing in Texas was, as well as Gail Cross, my amazing book designer.
The price is $29.95 plus shipping and handling, or you can pick it up at Tucson Touch Therapies, or catch me at BR-549 Studios.
Finally, expect an ebook version of Flame Spirals soon, on the Kindle, Nook and IPad platforms. We are hoping for Christmas but it may be early 2012.
And thank you all for your continued support.
Love and light, Stu.
"A Painting at Manora's Thai, Folsom Street, California" (c) 2011 Stu Jenks
"Nude Athena, Owlry Studios, Tucson, Arizona" (c) 2011 Stu Jenks
Flame Spirals: The Nocturnal Photography of Stu Jenks:
Chapter Nine: “O.K. Street, Bisbee, Arizona"
© 1998, 2008
Annie and I have driven down to Bisbee for a night. We checked into The Copper Queen Hotel late this afternoon and just now finished a pretty good meal at a cafe nearby. It's quiet tonight and delightfully cool. Standing in front of the hotel, we lean against each other in that comfortable way that lovers often do.
"Mind if we go for a walk and I shoot a bit?" I ask.
"Not at all," Annie replies, with a bit of a come-hither look in her eyes.
I grab my camera and tripod and we walk up Brewery Gulch, past St. Elmo's Bar and a number of closed little shops filled with bad Hippie art. [I used to make bad Hippie art myself. I was great with the details but bad on the Big Picture. Came from smoking too much dope, if you ask me.] We walk a good ways up the Gulch until we are out of the bars and into the houses. We marvel at the quaint little homes as we walk past them and then, after a while, we head back down toward Central Bisbee.
We come down Brewery Gulch a different way this time, past the old Bisbee Jail, and I spy this wonderful alley.
"Wow, that's great,” I say, looking into the space. “I wonder if I can pull off a spiral in there?"
"That'd be great if you could," says Annie.
"I think I'll give it a try."
The Rollei sits on the tripod. Shutter set. Lens focused. I then open the shutter.
I walk into the narrow alley and paint a flame spiral with my Zippo. I then stroll out and spontaneously give Annie a big wet kiss. She grabs a hold of me, pulls me close and kisses me back, just as deep and then some. Time passes. We break the kiss and I go and close the shutter.
"Now, that was fun," I say, as I advance the film, looking back at her.
"Yes it was," she says.
I open the shutter again and repeat my light painting. I also repeat the long deep kissing with Annie. I take about another two exposures. Seems like the length of the exposures are getting longer and longer. I wonder why. After exposure number four, I suggest to Annie, that we head back to our room.
"Sounds good to me," she replies, with a shy grin.
I pack up the gear and walk toward Annie. She hooks my elbow with her arm and pulls me close. Then, side by side, we walk up the hill to the Copper Queen Hotel.
Flame Spirals: The Nocturnal Photography of Stu Jenks:
Chapter Seven: "Millennium Eve, Arizona"
© 1999, 2000, 2008
“I’ve got to go out and shoot” I say to Angie.
It seems like we have been in bed for months. Now that I think about, we have been in bed for months, at least since July. Well, not every waking moment, just from when the sun goes down to when the sun comes up. Problem is, that’s the usual time I’m out shooting.
Angie just looks at me and smiles. Does that smile mean ‘Yes, it’s OK, honey. Go out and shoot?’, or does that grin mean, ‘You silly boy. Who do you think you’re fooling? I’m beautiful, half your age, and willing to have sex with you anytime you like. Do you really think you’re going out into the desert tonight and shoot photographs?’
“I really got to go out and shoot, Angie. You don’t mind, do you?” I ask.
“Of course not. Go.”
She smiles again. It doesn’t help matters that she's naked.
“I’ll go tomorrow night,” I say. “The moon will still be pretty full then.”
“Okay.” She says, and reaches out for me.
