Stu Jenks' Fezziwig Press: History

March 11, 2019

Cherry Picking Leviticus, as a pdf and as an ebook for only $2.00

My new book Cherry Picking Leviticus is available for only $2.00, at the Fezziwig Press store, both as an pdf and as an epub file. You can also buy other Stu stuff there as well.

And below are some recent images from me. Hope you like. Have a wonderful day, and keep the faith baby, however you do that.

Love and light, Stu.

"Nannie's Mirror: Town Creek Indian Mound, Mt. Gilead, North Carolina" (c) 2019 Stu Jenks. [This structure is a re-creation of the religious building that stood here centuries ago, so I wasn't damaging anything by placing my grandmother's mirror within its ropes. Quite a spiritual place to visit, with the creek over there, the temple up there on that mound and the woods all around. Check it out if you are in the area.]

"Deer Skull along the Ararat River, Virginia" (c) 2019 Stu Jenks. [I found this white-tailed deer skull on the other side of the river from where I took these photos, not far from the grave of J.E.B. Stuart's great-great-grandfather who was murdered (not killed in battle but murdered in his home by a Torie), during the Revolutionary War.

This pristine skull sat atop a tall bluff, near a rusty old Model A Ford car door, both I'm guessing washed down stream during hurricane flooding. It was just sitting, on some grass, like it had been placed there. A lovely and welcome surprise.

"House on Rt. 831, Virginia" (c) Stu Jenks 2019

"The grave of the poet Randall Jarrell, a Quaker Cemetery near Guilford College, Greensboro, North Carolina" (c) 2019 Stu Jenks. [Randall Jarrell's poetry inspired me to be a writer when I was in high school. And yes, I place those flowers there. RIP Randall.]

"Confederate Water Skiers, Mt. Airy, North Carolina" (c) 2019 Stu Jenks [A clandestine image capture of a postcard in a consignment store. Was I going to pay $10 for this creepy postcard? No freaking way.]

"Nannie's Mirror at Turn Four, looking down the front straightaway, Martinsville Motor Speedway, Martinsville, Virginia" (c) 2019 Stu Jenks. [Holy ground to you gear heads out there. And when they aren't racing, you can drive right up to the fence. I kid you not.)

"A Fatal Figure on the wall, after 40 years, Art Lab Building, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill" (c) 2019 Stu Jenks [After all these years, it's still there. Then again, I did spray paint this onto a porous brick wall in 1978, but still.]

Posted at 11:31 AM in Ancestors, Art, Black & White Photography, Books, Business, Civil Rights, Clouds, Current Affairs, eBooks, Emotions, Faith, Fezziwig Press, Good Folk, Greensboro, NC, Highways, History, Hope, Humor, Love, Memoirs, My Grandmother Nannie's Mirror, Nannie's Mirror, Native People, Nature, Night Photography, North Carolina, On The Rez, Other Writers, Pamela's Baby Rocking Chair, Performance Art, Photography, Politics, Prayer, Rivers, Rocks, Sculpture, Spirituality, Stu Jenks, The Road, The Sky, The South, Trees, Trouble With The Law, Virginia, Weather, Wildlife | Permalink | Comments (0)

January 02, 2019

Two things I resolve to do in 2019...

Two things I resolve to do in 2019.

Stay sober. Stay alive.

Other things are of course important in my life: gainful employment, producing more income so I can support myself and my family; gradually getting out of the hole of debt; being sweet and loving to my beautiful wife; continue to make art, music and books; being kind and compassionate to my friends and family and even to those I do not like; being of service to my community and to the world; bringing social justice to my country, in my own small ways.

But without breath in my lungs, a heartbeat in my chest, and a head clear of mood-altering chemicals, none of the above is possible.

Stay sober. Stay alive.

It's really that simple sometimes.

"The Rev. Dr. William Barber II of the Poor People's Campaign, during the Watch Night Revival, Dec. 31st, 2018, at Pullen Baptist Church, in Raleigh, North Carolina" (c) 2018, 2019 Stu Jenks and The Poor People's Campaign.

Posted at 11:04 PM in Ancestors, Angel/Ghosts, Arizona, Art, Birds, Black & White Photography, Books, Canyons, Christmas and Winter Solstice, Churches, Civil Rights, Death, Earth Spirals, Emotions, Faith, Fezziwig Press, Fiction, Flora & Fauna, Forgiveness, Fun Facts, Good Folk, History, Love, Memoirs, Metaphysics, Money, Mountains, Nature, Nocturnal Photography, North Carolina, Photography, Politics, Raleigh, Religion, Science, Sepia, Sickness & Health, Snow, Spirituality, Stones, The Moon, The Poor, The Sky, The South, Travel, Trees, University Of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Virginia, Water, Women | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 17, 2017

Mom's Bowl...

1993: Mark Hewitt threw this bowl. My sister Pamela bought it for our mother for Christmas.

1993-2008: Mark's bowl sat on Mom's dining room table for years, a vessel where Mom put old greeting cards and this month's bills.

2008: Mary Jenks moved to Arizona and quickly became very demented and very ill. She moved into an adult care home within months. She could only take a few things with her. The bowl came to live with me.

2011: Mary and Pamela Jenks died that summer, within three weeks of each other. Yeah. I know. It was tough but a blessing. Life is complicated.

2017: Maybe I'm starting a new series. Maybe not. But I seem to be traveling hither and yon with Mom's bowl, taking photos of it in pretty and interesting places. And it's not just for the memory of Mary Jenks or as an acknowledgment of Mark Hewitt's body of work. It is partly that, but it's also a walking prayer of sorts, for a woman I love very much who is going through some tough times.

So those are the ideas around the bowl. Remembrance, respect, love and prayer.

(Oh. And at some point, this bowl is going to break. It is clay. Pottery breaks. And I am trucking it around rocks and hard things. Pottery is not fond of rocks and hard things. But the plan when it breaks is to glue it back together and keep photographing it. We all have cracks. We all have wounds and scars. It's what makes us interestingly and lovingly human. This bowl will have scars too. But I'll be careful until that happens. Promise.)

#pottery, #stujenks, #markhewitt, #maryjenks, #ceramicbowl, #remembrance, #love, #prayer.

Posted at 04:46 PM in Arizona, Art, Black & White Photography, Canyons, Ceramics, Current Affairs, Faith, Family, Forgiveness, History, Love, Mary Jenks, Mountains, Nature, Pamela Jenks, Pottery, Relationships, Rocks, Spirituality, Tucson | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 08, 2017

From the road, south, east, and west...

[One of the best images from my trip south I think, because you can make up your own story about this woman and this chair. Mystery and magic are good things in art and in life.]

[John B. was largely unbanked, and had much hidden gold or so folks thought. I couldn't find his small headstone, but I think John would have found this image amusing, given his views on God, the financial markets, and the world at large. Rest in peace, John B.]

[I worked as a magician at Tweetsie Railroad, near Boone, in 1981. I lived in a mice-infested house just up the hill from Noah and Effie's graves. My old house is still there, looking about the same. Still kinda shitty.]

[Note to those wanting to be professional landscape photographers: Sit in one spot and wait for the light to come to you, and take tons of images. I took around 30 images to get the desired depth of field and to get those green pine needles in the mirror in proper focus. It just takes time, like all good things.]

[A rare moment at the Lincoln Memorial, when there wasn't a ton of people. Perhaps it was because it was late in the day and raining. One of my favorite spots in the District. Fun fact: My mother saw them building the Memorial when she was a child, living just across the river in Alexandria.]

[I bought these silk flowers at a Walmart in Oklahoma expressly for my mother's grave. My mother liked the color purple for it was the color of royalty. Been thinking many kind thoughts about my deceased, very complex mother. She was mostly a pain in the neck, don't you know, but she taught me some wonderful things when I was a kid, and frankly, she, along with her mother Nannie, were the only family members who gave a damn about Little Stu. Fun fact: Mary gave me $30,000 in 2008, before she got sick, so I could quit my day job and be a photographer and a writer full time. It was 10% of her worth at the time. That was very generous. The money is gone now but it gave me a very good kick start. Rest in peace, Mary. The Nannie's Mirror series is now as much about you as it is about your mother.]

[Was this image photoshopped? You bet your sweet bippie it was.]

[An incredibly tragic thing happened here. Google it and read all about it. Ghosts wander these plains.]

[I trespassed and spent all of ten minutes at John's house. The property is now owned by the man who owns K3 Lumber. K3. Get it? A very strong unwelcoming vibe was all around me, both at the house and all throughout the town. I'm guessing they has all heard the S-Town podcast by now. The property felt especially haunted and I don't use that word lightly. Everything is gone from John's house and his clock workshop. I didn't even go searching for the hedge maze, I was that spooked. I said a prayer for John, took photos of a lonely wooden chair on the porch and the three old chimneys and made my exit. As I drove away, I blew a kiss at the South Forty Trailer Park sign and made my way to the Cahaba River. Rest in peace, John B. and much love to all the folks in Shit Town, the good, the bad and the in-between.]

Posted at 07:28 PM in Alabama, Angel/Ghosts, Art, Birds, Black & White Photography, Blues, Buildings, Clouds, Current Affairs, Dying, Emotions, Flora & Fauna, Good Folk, Highways, History, Hope, Love, Mary Jenks, Money, My Grandmother Nannie's Mirror, Nannie's Mirror, National Parks, Nature, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Other Artists, Pamela Jenks, Pamela's Baby Rocking Chair, Rivers, Sexuality, Sickness & Health, Sky, Spirituality, The Poor, The Road, The Sky, The South, Travel, Trees, Trouble With The Law, Virginia, Water, Women | Permalink | Comments (0)

July 20, 2016

Beginning to speak my political mind on the StuBlog...

Heading out tonight to shoot, equipped with battery-powered Christmas lights and with my grandmother Nannie's mirror. Wish me luck. I always go with some plan, that I tend to throw away once I'm in the space. Hope plan B works out, but you never know. I have high standards for my stock photography work. If it's crap, you won't see it here.

Also, I'll be talking more about politics on my blog.

One of the unspoken rules of being a working artist or musician or writer, who isn't rich to begin with, is to not to speak your political mind because a good 1/3 of our customers are conservative folk, that we don't want to insult, so they don't then buy our work. Well, screw that. There is too much going on in 2016 for me to keep quiet any longer.

Arizona is in play this election. Polls show Thump is only up by four points in Arizona, a Republican Goldwater state, mind you. Senator McCain might lose his re-election bid to a very competent Democratic woman. And a narcissistic businessman with orange hair wants to be the king of America.

No matter what any of the talking heads on TV says, there are really no undecided voters out there. It's all about turnout. If progressive people of colors, forward-thinking women, hopeful young people, and liberal and moderate white folk don't show up at the polls in November, Donald Trump just might win. If however we show up in force, it will be a landslide of biblical proportion. Ann Kirkpatrick will send John McCain back to Sedona, and we might actually get the U.S. Senate back in Democratic hands. (Sadly, due to gerrymandering, the U.S. House is pretty hopeless, but who knows. Maybe.)

So vote, ye moderates and liberals. The other side, those conservative white folks out there? They will show up, no matter how much they dislike Trump. They will vote for him. We need to vote for our side.

And if you hate or distrust Hillary Clinton and are a progressive, you need to get over that, hold your nose, and think of the greater good.

Three words, people.

The Supreme Court.

I frankly don't want to see one of the guys from Duck Dynasty on the Court. Or freaking Chris Christie either. Abortion needs to stay legal, Obamacare need to not be overturned, and voting rights needs to be restored, just to name a few important issues.

Politics may be athletics for ugly people, but policies matter. Laws matter. The Social Contract matters.

Vote.

So here endeth my political message for today. If you disagree with me, fine. Just don't be a jerk and type troll shit back to me. It's not polite.

Wish me luck tonight. Hopefully I'll get some good images that I can make a little coin with, and that will make y'all smile.

I'll listen to what the land and the sky says to me, and I'll bring those voices back home.

To you.

Love, light, and luck,

Stu.

Posted at 03:59 PM in Arizona, Art, Chagford, Current Affairs, Elections, History, Nocturnal Photography, Photography, Politics, Stu Jenks, The Road, The West, Travel, United Kingdom, Washington, DC | Permalink | Comments (0)

December 29, 2013

A free ePub download of The Transpersonal Papers (1861-2010) by Stu Jenks.

I was just at a Starbuck's buying an Egg Nog Latte, when a homeless woman came in and asked the clerk, "Do you have anything for just a dollar?"

I'm not struggling like her obviously, but as my father used to say, "It's not what you make but what you spend." And having my own business, Fezziwig Press, costs money and my little company isn't making enough money right now.

So I'm doing an Amanda Fucking Palmer thing. If I don't ask, you don't know to give.

Fezziwig Press and I have been struggling financially for the last year or so. Namely, I'm not quite breaking even, still a few hundred dollars in the red each month, even with my part time counseling gig and all. I'm making some sales with image rights, book sales, music sales, etc, but not like I did five to ten years ago. So I'm putting out the artistic begging bowl. And I'm giving shit away.

The Transpersonal Papers (1861-2010) was released in 2011. Cost a boat load to produce but I only sold seven ebook copies. (Thank you to the seven, by the way.) So I'm offering it today, to you all, for free.

If you like The Transpersonal Papers, or the StuBlog, or my work, I ask that you give a little money to my Paypal account. My log-in is my email address, stujenks at gmail dot com, spelled like you normally would type it. Donate to my Paypal, or buy some books, or send money to P.O.Box 161, Tucson, AZ 85702. Whatever you like. No expectations, but if I don't ask, you don't know. And of course, if you don't give, that's perfectly all right too. We're all tight these days, don't I know. Or you just might not like my stuff that much. It's all good, as the kids say. Except for my ever-shrinking savings account.

I hope you enjoy the photographs and the stories in this book. Perhaps someday I'll have enough money to print it as a large coffee table book, like it was originally envisioned. Perhaps not, but you can have it right now for free. Enjoy.

And just download the Adobe Digital Editions free software to see and read The Transpersonal Papers: (1861-2010), if you don't already have it on your computer.

Thanks, y'all, and have a Happy New Year.

Love and light,

Stu

Posted at 03:33 PM in Ancestors, Angel/Ghosts, Art, Astronomy, Beachs, Black & White Photography, Books, Bozos, Callanish, Christmas and Winter Solstice, Colorado, Death, Dementia, Emotions, Family, Fezziwig Press, Fiction, Flame Spirals, Forgiveness, Good Folk, Grief and Loss, History, Holotropic Breathwork, Humor, Infrared Photography, Megaliths, Memoirs, Mountains, National Parks, Native People, Nature, North Carolina, On The Rez, Paintings, Photographs Of My Father, Photography, Pictorialist Photography, Pinhole Images, Railroads, Religion, San Francisco, Sculpture, Shamanic Breathwork, South Dakota, Surfing, The Apache Wars, The Border, The Indian Wars, Tucson, United Kingdom | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

January 13, 2013

"El Tiradito" for the upcoming new Fezziwig Press/Stu Jenks website

"El Tiradito, Tucson, Arizona" (c) 1996, 2013 Stu Jenks

The above image was shot with a 1950's Rollei, using Fuji Velvia transparency film. I re-scanned the slide recently, and cropped and fiddled with the color a tad. I like the new photograph even better than the original image, and I like the original quite a lot. A lot, a lot. Why, you may ask? Because this image, this exposure in 1996, started the whole thing.

I had left my creative life behind, even though I had a B.F.A. from Carolina, and had been pretty good at Art. I stopped making art, due to a bunch of reasons, some based in reasonable fears, and others in unreasonable shame. Then my friend Sterling sold me his old Rollei for a song, and I had an idea I would like to get serious about shooting nocturnal photography. So I did, ignoring reason and fear and telling shame to go fuck itself.

After not too long, I thought it would be interesting to bring flame and fire into my night images, not enjoying flashlights and flash that much. And off I went.

Seventeen years later, my life is very different, richer perhaps not in coin but definitely in light, love and with some pretty good artwork too, if I do say so myself. And I own it all to Sterling and that old Rollei and this one image.

Now, I shoot mostly digitally, but I still pull out the old Rollei for those long star circles, and for the occasional hoop dance and flame spiral. Long live film, I say, and the ones and zeros too.

And, friends and neighbors, expect in just a few weeks, a brand spanking new www.stujenks.com website. We will be combining the old Stu Jenks website with the new-ish Fezziwig Press website to make one easy, simple place to buy my wares and see my work. And there will be a lot of new work for you all to see and buy. All eight books will be there, and my four music CDs, and, at this count, close to 600 images. Yes, 600 photographs.

So stay tuned. Film at 11, as we used to say.

Posted at 06:39 PM in Arizona, Fire, Flame Spirals, History, Nocturnal Photography, Tucson | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

December 17, 2012

"The Safeway at Ina and Oracle"

"The Safeway at Ina and Oracle" (c) 2012 Stu Jenks

On my way to the desert the other day, I stopped by the Safeway at Oracle and Ina, and took this image.

What happened in Connecticut last week, happened a few miles from my house almost two years ago. Kinda. Sorta. Pretty much the same thing.

This is the spot where Gabby, Ron and 18 people were shot, and 6 people were killed, one, a little girl.

I know it's kind of odd to take an image like this, but Gabby was my Congresswoman and Ron is my Congressman. And I think about the 33 round clip that the shooter had that day, a clip that was once illegal. I hope for Congress and the President to make that 33 round clip illegal again.

I pray for the reinstatement of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban.

Posted at 01:05 PM in Arizona, Death, Gabby Giffords, History, Tucson | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

March 26, 2012

All 8 1/2" x 11" A/P archival pigment prints by Stu Jenks for $25, shipping, handling and taxes included...

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 [email protected], 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.

Posted at 04:58 AM in Astronomy, Atlanta, Birds, Bisbee, Canada, Death, Dementia, Dying, Eastern Religions, Emotions, Film, Flame Spirals, Good Folk, Grand Canyon, History, Illinois, Love, Metaphysics, Meteorites, Money, National Parks, Nature, Nocturnal Photography, Oklahoma, On The Rez, Other Artists, Paintings, Photography, Politics, Railroads, Rainbows, Sand, Science, Sculpture, Sex, Shamanic Breathwork, Sickness & Health, Snow, Space, Sports, Surfing, Swamps, Texas, The West, Tucson, United Kingdom, University Of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Virginia, War, Wyoming | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)