"Almond Orchard Star Circle, California" (c) 2012 Stu Jenks
Again, going for a cross between the British Aesthetics and the Arts & Crafts Movement of the 19th Century and the American Contemporaries of the 21st.
And I love serendipity, that Dada moment where the meteorite crosses near The North Star during shooting. Blessed accidents.
"Wolf Creek Wood, Colorado" (c) 2012 Stu Jenks
"New Mexico Wood" (c) 2012 Stu Jenks
I'm just going to put these images up on the StuBlog and say very little. Some are good, some not-so-good, some in-between. Some from last week, some from last year. Enjoy.
All images copyrighted by Stu Jenks, 2012.
And may tender arms keep you warm this winter.
"Grand Canyon Hoop Dance, Arizona" (c) 2012 Stu Jenks
There's a story to tell with this image, but I'll tell it another time. Let's just have the image speak for itself for a change.
Fun Facts: This photograph was taken around 4:30 this morning. That's about as fast of a production turnaround as you'll ever get out of me.
And I wasn't in much danger shooting this. A little, but not much. I tend to be careful and heights don't scare me.
My Heart is ravisht with delight,
when thee I think upon;
All Grief and Sorrow takes the flight,
and speedily is gone;
The bright resemblance of thy Face,
so fills this, Heart of mine;
That Force nor Fate can me displease,
for Old long syne.
Old Long Syne, by James Watson (1711) [This is not the Robert Burns version of the song. The Image is Snow Dead Trees by Stu Jenks]
Happy 2012. I do not expect the world to end this year, as some say some Aztecs predicted, but this mortal world would end for me if I die in 2012, but I don't expect that to happen. But you never know. Life is fragile and fleeting. All I know for sure is I'm alive today, listening to my wind chimes ring in the mid morning wind while I type. Happy 2012.
"Twelve Foot Aspen, Red Ridge Trail, Catalina Mountains, Arizona" (c) 2011 Stu Jenks
Long story short: Eight years ago, a forest fire destroyed 90% of the trees on one of my favorite trails in all of Arizona. It saddened me so that I didn't walk that trail for two years. But good news. The Aspens have returned. Pictured above is a twelve foot Aspen from the Red Ridge Trail. Touching its bark the other day made me very happy.
Merry Third Day of Christmas, y'all.
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.
"Juniper Bozo Angel, Santa Rita Mountains, Arizona" (c) 2011 Stu Jenks
A new Bozo image, taken this afternoon in a light drizzle, near a high road below Mt. Wrightson. And not to brag but mostly to clarify, this is not an image made from sandwiched negatives. Everything you see is on one digital neg. I just made the blacks blacker and the reds redder.
A Bozo Angel for my deceased family, Stuart, Mary and Pamela. Thanks for walking beside me in the rain today.
And Happy Thanksgiving, y'all.
"The Empty Kitchen Chair: Raleigh, N.C. & Haw River, N.C." (c) 2011 Stu Jenks
It's been a month since the Amherst House sold. This is the last photo I took of the place before leaving town.
Word is the new owner has cut down every tree on the property, for no particularly good reason. I didn't like the man before I heard this. I like him even less now.
Before leaving the Triangle Area, I stopped the Penske truck at the Haw River Bridge on U.S. 64, east of Pittsboro. A few friends and I used to visit the Haw pretty often, near that bridge, during our college days at Carolina. I've walked along The Haw, a few times, in the past few months. When much around me has changed, The Haw is not one of them.
I carried a 50-pound river stone away from the Haw, back in 1977, to use in a sculpture. Toting a old kitchen chair into the forest, in 2011, was much easier.
Saw no eagles that day. Did, however, find a nice place to sit for a while.
[Contemporary Art Note: To view this little piece as I intended, drag and drop the two empty chair images onto your desktop, placing the house photo on the left and the Haw photo on the right, so the energies move outside of the frame.
Guess I need to print and frame it at some point, but not today. I need hit the desert soon, and smell the wet creasote from yesterday's rain.
A raven's outside my window, calling for me to come. I will obey.]
