Stu Jenks' Fezziwig Press: Hope

October 20, 2022

American Democracy (1965-2022)

I dislike long artistic vision statement. In my mind they all should be less than a page long, but this bit of writing is longer than I like. However I have a lot to say.

Fun fact: This piece is named after a catastrophe that occurred in my Step Zero novels. I love looking at it in my backyard. If you want to buy it, let me know.

Here's my vision statement regarding my American Democracy (1965-2022) series.

The Vision Statement for the series,
American Democracy (1965-2022)
August 20th, 2022

    Since the rise of Trump, many people have shied away from using words like ‘Fascist’, ‘Autocracy’ and ‘Theocracy’, myself included.
    Not anymore.
    We’ve only had a true democracy since 1965, with the passing of the Civil Right Act.
    We lost our democracy for good, with the overturning of Roe in June of 2022.
    American Democracy (1965-2022).
    Rest in peace, buckaroo.
    We only have two political parties now. The Democrats, made up of liberal and moderate Democrats, Independents and wayward Republicans, and The Republican Party. inhabited by grifters, bullies, racists, fascists, theocrats and wannabe dictators. That’s it. The Republican Party of my father is no more.
    It’s not only because of Trump and his minions. Trump was just the most recent permission slip to behave badly in public. For the entire history of The United States, a good 1/3 of the men have been anti-democratic assholes. They want what they want when they want it. They see women at best as necessary objects in their lives and at worse, property that they can do with as they wish. They don’t care about majority rule and rights and privileges of a working democracy. They just want to make as much money as they can, acquire as much power as they can, and have as few people get in their way as possible. They believe in a God, but it’s an Old Testament God, spiteful, hurtful, down right mean. They are not true Christians who believe God is Love. They are weird cherry-pickers from the Old Testament, to justify their greed, their hurtful righteousness, and their power over others.
    They are assholes, a neglected diagnosis in the DSM-5, if you ask me. Most are men, but there are some women in their ranks.
    So what can I do?
    Not much. Continue to vote Democrat in every election, even for candidates that we barely agree with on policies. Some Democrats are hypocrites, just wanting power and position too, but at least they aren’t fascists. At least they aren’t theocrats. We will hold our noses and vote D.
    And we can talk about what’s happening. Make art about it. Make songs about it. Shake my fists at it.
    But that’s about it.
    Making these sculptures, these fractured pieces of wood, symbolizing the brokenness of my country, helps me a little. Just a little. I enjoy the process of finding, molding, sanding and oiling this wood. I love the smooth feel of their surfaces, as I stroke those that hang from my studio walls. I love sharing them with others, selling some, giving many away.
    But does it change politics, policies and the majorly-fucked-up-country I live in?
    Nope. Nada. No.
    But will all do what we can, don’t we? I try to be kind to all, but frankly, I’ve had enough. If a stranger comes up to me and starts talking some ridiculous mendacious fascist bullshit, he or she is going to get an earful. I’ll be civil in my tone but I done being quiet.
    Sorry I didn’t bring the funny today. My sense of humor is still here. It’s just under a profound fear that the American Dream that I was born into is quickly slipping away, and I’m pissed off and scared about it all.
    But don’t worry. Self-deprecating humor will return. I promise.
    However.
    American Democracy (1965-2022)
    Life in wartime, baby.

Posted at 10:41 AM in Air & Gravity, Art, Civil Rights, Emotions, Ethics, Grief and Loss, Hope, Inequality, Love, North Carolina, Novels, Politics, Social Justice, Step Zero Series, Step Zero: A Sober Love Story in 2076, Wall Pieces, Wood | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 18, 2022

"Al Foul (Alan Lewis Curtis), Desert Agave, Arizona" (c) 2022 Stu Jenks

Al and I didn't know each other well. (For a profoundly personal article regarding Al's death, from his widow Hannah Levin, click on this link.) Only met him and talked to him a few times, but I loved his spirit and his rockabilly music.

Here's my favorite Al Foul story:

Al was performing for an art opening I was attending. It's wasn't my art opening, some other folks'. Al was the night's entertainment, playing guitar, stomping on his bass drum and singing his sad but rowdy songs. At the set break I went up to him and thanked him for the music. I introduced myself and shook his hand. "You're Stu Jenks?" he said. "I love your work. Great stuff man." "Really?" I said. "Well, thank you Al. That's very nice of you to say. I love your work too." We both smiled, spoke a little more, shook each other's hands again, and I went back to the art work and the patrons . That's it. My first time meeting Al. Genuine, kind, excited. That was Al. God, I miss him.

In his honor, I made a wall piece from six pieces of desert agave, gently linked together by bright brass hooks. I think Al would have dug this new work of mine. At some point, I'll ship them to his widow Hannah, but I don't want to let go of it just yet. Soon, but not yet.

I'm so sad and angry Al, that you suffer so much those last months with cancer. For a good soul like you, I just hate that Hannah and you had to go through all that. You should have lived to be a hundred.

Miss you, Al. Heck, the whole town of Tucson misses you, and it's not because of just your music. It's because of the wonderful man you were. Love you, buckaroo.

Posted at 04:51 PM in Arizona, Cancer, Desert Agave, Deserts, Good Folk, Hope, Music, Prayer, Tucson | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 07, 2022

Circles & Spirals: Stu Jenks' Newsletter #12: October 7th, 2022

1) Just a short newsletter. I'm having pretty terrible post-radiation side effects. I'll spare you the literally shitty details, but I'm a little concern something else might be wrong. I'll be seeing my GP on Monday and I may be getting a referral to a gastro guy. It's been very painful and unpleasant for the last two months. Keep those prayers and good thoughts coming.

2) I have not gotten around to photographing the new red cedar wall pieces, but I will. I promise. Look for them in future posts.

3) Alexa is slowly healing up for her abdominal surgery. She's still in some pain. Long roads for both of us, I'm afraid. Pray for her as well.

4) And lastly, the mid-terms are in a month. Go online, if you need to, to make sure you are registered. Vote like your life depends on it. If you are a woman of child bearing age, your life may depend on it. We are on the edge of Federal autocratic rule in America. But if the Dems win big, we can push the fascist bullies back, just a little bit.

5) Thanks for all the prayers and good wishes. It means the world to both Alexa and I.

Love, light and luck,

Stu.

Posted at 09:34 AM in Art, Cancer, Circles, Current Affairs, Death, Home, Hope, North Carolina, Pamela's Baby Rocking Chair, The South, Virginia | Permalink | Comments (0)

June 03, 2022

Circles and Spirals: Stu Jenks' Newsletter #6: 6/3/2022

1) Good news, bad news. The CyberKnife radiation treatment for the tiny bit of prostate cancer I still have is unavailable and ineffective, so say the good folk at UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill. So I'll be getting old-school-hopefully-it-doesn't-tear-me-up-too-bad radiation here in Greensboro. Shit. I was really hoping to get the less invasive radiation but alas. I did hear though that Dr. Matt Manning here at Cone Hospital is one of the best radiation oncologist in the country, so I have that going for me. Fingers double crossed.

2) Went to the races in Charlotte over the Memorial Day weekend. The ARCA cars and the trucks on Friday night were something, literally shaking the ground as they passed the start-finish line on restarts. And there are some up and coming black NASCAR drivers now too, and there are some black folk in the stands in Charlotte Motor Speedway. Made me very happy to see a more diverse crowd than what you might see at the little tracks in rural Virginia. Things have changed, a little bit.

3) Reluctant capitalist plug: The ebook of the 10th anniversary edition of Step Zero is now up on Amazon. Just click this link and it'll take you there. It's free if you already have the Kindle Unlimited or $2.99 is you buy it. Baby needs a new pair of shoes, so hit those buttons. The paperback edition will be coming out soon. If you want to pre-order the book book or be put on the list for a copy, just email me. [email protected]

4) Finished up the remainder of the Arizona images from my recent trip. The Painted Desert Project in particular is one of the best public art projects I've seen in years. Real, gritty, beautiful, meaningful. You can see it if you are driving from Flagstaff to the eastern entrance of The Grand Canyon, in Gray Mountain. It is stunning.

5) I visited dead relatives over the Memorial Day weekend. Mom, Dad, & Pamela. Dad's parents and my murdered great aunt Bertie too. (To read the sad story of Aunt Bertie and her children, clink on this link). At Bertie's grave in Richmond, the candle I placed there months ago was still there. I had an extra U.S. flag with me and I placed it at her grave. She wasn't a veteran of the armed services, but she certainly was a veteran of sorts, of the violence against women. I know it's a stretch but it seemed right to decorate her grave with something. It was nice to visit Stuart, Mary and my sister in Lancaster County. Sit on the OK-God-Let's-Do-It bench. Play a couple of songs for them on the bouzouki. Walk through the woods. Reminding myself that I have forgiven them (mostly) for what they did or didn't do. It's different everything I see them. They haven't changed. They're dead, but I'm different each time. This time, I really embraced what my mother Mary Jenks did for me. Of all my family members, Mom and her mother Nannie were the only two who really got the odd little boy who was me. I really appreciate them for that. Yes, it was $125 in gas just to hang there for a hour or so, but it was worth it. Life is short.

6) So that's it for now. I'm slowing healing up from COVID. Still have some congestion but the sinus headache has mostly gone away. If you want to help me out financially, buy the new Step Zero e-book, or some music or prints or sticks or whatever. Alexa is doing well. It's hot and sticky here in Greensboro, but we have a bunch of bunnies in our backyard, and birds, birds, birds. Alexa figured out if she put vegetable oil on the bird feeder pole, it makes it so the chipmunks can't raid the birdseed. Smart woman, my wife. Love you all, Stu.

Posted at 11:27 AM in 12 Step Fiction, Angel/Ghosts, Art, Beachs, Cancer, Churches, Death, eBooks, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Fezziwig Press, Hardwood, Hope, Love, Making Money, Mountains of North Carolina, Nature, North Carolina, Photography, Spirituality, Step Zero: A Sober Love Story in 2076, Stu Jenks, The Civil War, The Ocean, The Rez, The Road, The South, The West, Travel, Trees, Tucson, Virginia, Women, Women Artists | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 06, 2020

Images From The Fall of 2020.

Well, I finally made it into the loving arms of my wife in Greensboro, North Carolina. Looking for part time work. Loving the people and the food. Even the mosquitoes are biting me too bad. Wish I had more money than I have right now, but I am truly rich in love.

Got behind on putting images up here but I have some time tonight. Alexa sleeps downstairs. I'm typing from my new studio in the garret of our house. I mowed the yard today and I actually enjoy that. I'm hiking in the deep woods, only downside is you don't hike alone on the weekends. Working on some new walking sticks/wall pieces. Newest one is a piece in honor of Ruth Bader Ginsberg. I've been visiting with some old college friends and making new ones here too.

Botton line: Except for the thin checking book, I couldn't be happy.

Hope you dig the new images.

Stu

Religious images, in Nogales, Sonora; Tucson, Arizona, and on the T.O. Reservation, Arizona & Mexico.

Pamela's Baby Rocking Chair and a curtain in a window, in Henry, Virginia.

Black lives do matter now, on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia.

Pamela's Baby Rocking Chair in Lancaster County, in the Rappahannock River in Virginia; on a wall in Bladen County, NC; on the tracks at the Bean Shoals, along the Yadkin River, NC; more tracks at Brown's Summit, NC; by the Tin Man wall in Greensboro; in front of a movie theatre in Yanceyville, NC; surfing at Wrightsville Beach, NC, near the Blue Ridge Parkway, NC; and at Table Rock at Linville Gorge, in North Carolina.

"Legs For Days #2 (A Portrait of Alexa Jenks), sculpture made with batik fabric, eye bolts & a crab pot buoy, our back yard in Greensboro, North Carolina, [Colorado River School photograph]" (c) 2020 Stu Jenks.

Prism Red Maple, our front yard, Lindley Park, Greensboro, North Carolina. (c) Stu Jenks 2020.

Portrait of me by Tom Whittington, with Looking Glass Mountain in the distance, North Carolina.

Posted at 10:54 PM in Alexa McColl Smith Jenks, Angel/Ghosts, Arizona, Art, Black & White Photography, Business, Cactus, Canyons, Churches, Colorado River School, Current Affairs, Deserts, Faith, Forgiveness, Good Folk, Greensboro, NC, Hope, Love, Marriage, Mountains, National Parks, North Carolina, Oceans, Pamela Jenks, Pamela's Baby Rocking Chair, Plants, Religion, Sculpture, Spiral Sticks, Stu Jenks, The Road, The South, The West, Valleys, Women | Permalink | Comments (0)

April 12, 2020

Images from the time of the Coronavirus

Been a little behind on getting recent images up on my website, with my pending prostate surgery pre-op stuff, my recent employment and money challenges due to the Coronavirus, and I'm missing the living crap out of my wife too, but that's no excuse really. I just haven't made the time to upload until now.

So on this Easter Sunday, here are some images from the past few weeks. And as always, prints and images rights are for sale.

Much love to you all. Stay home, stay safe and be well.

Love, Stu.

"Pamela's Baby Rocking Chair, Tehachapi Loop. California (New Version)" (c) Stu Jenks 2020.

This wall piece and other walking-stick-inspired pieces are part of an ongoing series called 'The Extended Family'. Along with these sculptures, I have more traditional walking sticks for sale for $80, made from aspen, saguaro, agave and other natural materials. Just send me a email and I can shoot you some jpegs of what is currently in stock. And I will ship.

Posted at 12:45 PM in Angel/Ghosts, Arizona, Art, Buildings, California, Churches, Circles, Current Affairs, Death, Deserts, Emotions, Faith, Family, Flowers, Forgiveness, Good Folk, Grand Canyon, Greensboro, NC, Hope, Love, Marriage, Moon, Mountains, North Carolina, Pamela's Baby Rocking Chair, People, Photography, Prayer, Public Art, Relationships, Religion, Spirals, Spirituality, Stu Jenks, The Border, The Moon, The Road, The South, The Sun, The West, Tucson, Walking Sticks | Permalink | Comments (0)

January 22, 2020

Images from the Winter of 2020.

"Peter the Sexton, at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Nogales, Sonora, Mexico" (c) 2020 Stu Jenks. (Peter led me upstairs, a few years ago, to help me shoot the photograph of the Virgin Mary that he holds in his hands. I brought him a print of Mary as a thank you, a couple of weeks ago. A very sweet man. A true man of God.)

"Wasp Nest and Christmas Ball, The Jenks Residence, Greensboro, North Carolina" (c) 2020 Stu Jenks. [Mark, from across the way, convinced me to not knock down this nest. Glad he did. It's a beautiful structure]

"Happy To Be Hiking With My Wife, Uwharrie National Forest, North Carolina" (c) 2020 Alexa and Stu Jenks. [I'm typing this on January 22nd, 2020 in Tucson, Arizona. Alexa is in Greensboro, North Carolina. I'm here. I miss her madly. The good news is she misses me terribly too. True love is a wonderful thing, a precious thing, but sometimes it hurts like hell.]

Posted at 09:28 PM in Alexa McColl Smith Jenks, Ancestors, Arizona, Art, Black & White Photography, Canyons, Christmas and Winter Solstice, Churches, Current Affairs, Emotions, Film, Fire, Greensboro, NC, Grief and Loss, Hardwood, History, Hope, Love, Marriage, Mountains, New Mexico, Night Photography, North Carolina, Paintings, Prayer, Public Art, Sex, The West, Utah | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: art, love, nightphotography, stujenks

November 25, 2019

As the Holidays approach...

[Some new images for y'all as we approach the Holidays. By the way, if you want any fine art prints from me, it's best to order them before Dec. 16th. 8.5 x 11s are $40 plus shipping (around $50) and 13 x 19s are $80 plus shipping (around $100). All images on this website are for sale, they're signed, and printed to order. Just give me the title and I'll print them up for you.

Hope your weird uncle Charlie behaved himself at Thanksgiving, and I pray your Christmases and Holidays are filled with wonderful times with family and friends, and many joyous mysteries and blessed certainties.

P.S. I'm having an open house at my studio, where I'll be showing my wall sculpture/walking stick series "The Extended Family." Sunday, December 15th, 2019. Email, message, text or call me for directions.

Ho, ho, ho...

Stu

Posted at 07:24 PM in All Souls' Procession, Arizona, Art, Cactus, Christmas and Winter Solstice, Current Affairs, Earth Spirals, Fezziwig Press, Flora & Fauna, Home, Hope, Love, Marriage, Mountains, My Grandmother Nannie's Mirror, Nannie's Mirror, Photography, Prayer, Sky, Spirals, Stones, The Arizona Trail, The Border, The West, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0)

August 10, 2019

Obelisks, Hoops & Chairs

"Obelisk, Washington, DC" (c) Image capture by Stu Jenks, from a 1961 postcard.

Posted at 01:56 AM in Ancestors, Arizona, Black & White Photography, Canyons, Dartmoor, Emotions, Faith, Family, Fezziwig Press, Forgiveness, Home, Hope, Humor, Love, Marriage, Nannie's Mirror, Native People, Nocturnal Photography, North Carolina, Pamela's Baby Rocking Chair, Prayer, Sepia, Spirituality, Stu Jenks, The Arizona Trail, The Border, The Indian Wars, The Poor, The Road, The West, Travel, Tucson, Valleys, Virginia, Washington, DC, Women | Permalink | Comments (0)

August 09, 2019

Fine Art Walking Sticks By Stu.

For those of you who know me, you know that I like to walk. A lot. A lot a lot. Hiking hither and yon, happily up high desert hills and down rocky western valleys. Then in October of 2018, my wife and I moved to North Carolina. (I've since returned to Tucson. The short story? I couldn't find work. Financially strapped I became. My wife is still there, surrounded by family. She and I hope to reunite soon. We miss each other terribly.) Though I traded cactus and high desert for beech trees by still waters, and rolling hills they call mountains there, I continued walking. And walking.

As a kid and a young man in North Carolina, I marveled, as I strode through Southern forests, at those small spiral trees, that became beautifully deformed, because vines choked them into those shapes. Soon after I arriving back in the South last year, I saw such a spiral tree while hiking beside a creek. The tree was dying now. I cut down its ailing trunk. I took it home and I began to make a walking stick out of it (Or wizard's staff perhaps, since it came in at over 61 inches tall.) It took grinding and whittling and sanding and oiling. It took a long time. It turned out well. But one stick just wasn't enough. I want to make more spiral walking sticks. I went hunting for them, work gloves in my back pocket, a small saw in my hand. I hunted spiral trees like a sportsman stalks a deer. I learned about different types of wood: Hornbeam, a low tree but very hard, where I spied many a spiral; Red and Black Oaks, tough carving but beautifully red when finished with Tung oil; Beech wood, almost too soft at times to carve but lovely none the least, either with or without a spiral. I learned about grinders and sandpaper and steel wool and the very best of oils.

I got a BFA in Studio Art at Carolina in 1979, in sculpture, ceramics and weird conceptual art. I was a half-ass sculptor back then but not a terrible photographer or art filmmaker, but I had no steady vision, little discipline, no patience. But now, I seem to have the patience for hours of carving and sanding. OK. I'm not always patient, but I am practicing the artistic adage of "You must be in love with the process of making art, otherwise you will eventually stop doing it." Mike Cindric, my art professor at UNC, taught me that. I love the carving with my sharp pocket knife, the grinding with a soft wheel before sanding, the 220 grade sandpaper and the final 400 grade, then the oiling, one coat, two coats, up to four coats, depending on if I want a glossy or matte finish, and then the final polishing with super fine steel wool.

I've become a sculptor again. A pretty good one this time, if I do say so myself.

Then I moved back to Arizona in April. I brought my stock of hardwood sticks with me. There is no Hornbeam, no Red Oak, no Beech trees here, but there are lovely Cottonwood and Sycamore trees in the washes with their bright white wood, Aspen trees way up high in those mountains, and Saguaro ribs down below. And a friend or two are now gifting me their old sticks to carve. Isn't that nice? Not many spirals trees here but sweet, strong sticks nonetheless.

So on my website, there will be fine art walking sticks for sale. Most will be expensive but some of the simpler designs will be cheaper, around $125 or so. I don't need to tell you they are one of a kind, unique in the truest sense of the word, made with love and that-patience-thing-I-mentioned, finished as finely as I can possibly make them.

Not to be too highfalutin, but these are more sculptures than walking sticks. Signed on the bottom. Cataloged and photographed. Sure, you can use most of them to balance your stride on the trail, but I envision these pieces leaning against living room walls as much as helping you climb the next big hill.

Lastly, if you are in Arizona, it's much easier to buy them by coming by my studio (contact me at [email protected] for the location.) or me bringing them to your place. They are expensive to ship, but I will ship them. And you can pay me via Paypal, using [email protected] or at my store at www.stujenks.org

So that's my story. Look for more sticks up here over time. I'll mark ones that have sold and I'll put up my new sticks as soon as they are finished.

Keep your lamps trimmed and burning, y'all. And as always, thank you for your financial and emotional support over the years.

Love, light and luck,

Stu