Stu Jenks' Fezziwig Press

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

 

"Al Foul, Desert Agave, Arizona" (c) 2022 Stu Jenks. Not for sale.  

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. 

 

"Guy Clark, Dogwood, North Carolina" [Extended Family Series]

“Guy Clark, Dogwood, North Carolina” © 2021, 57 inches tall.

Price: $125, shipping included. Simply contact me via my email address at [email protected] or Facebook message me, if you would like to purchase one of my pieces. Payments can be made with Paypal, Venmo or credit card with Square. All pieces are signed with its title, and can be hung from the wall.

 

I was fortunate enough to see the singer-songwriter Guy Clark perform at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, in San Francisco, in 2010. I even video taped him with real live gear. I knew who he was from songs like LA Freeway and Desperados Waiting For A Train but I really didn't know how remarkable he truly was. Until that day.

An old and ailing man, he still put his back into every song. I am blessed to have experience that performance.

Here is the link to YouTube of Guy Clark performing "Let It Roll" that day.

Dogwood seems like the perfect wood for a country gentleman like Guy.

Rest in peace, Mr. Clark. You touched many.

#guyclark, #extendedfamilyseries, #stujenks.

Humble Hearts Hymnal

"Humble Hearts Hymnal, The Blue Ridge Music Center, Virginia" (c) 2021 Stu Jenks.

Along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Galax, Virginia sits the Blue Ridge Music Center. If you love Mountain Music and the roots of Americana and Bluegrass, the visitor center's museum is something to experience, from old instruments and archival film footage, to hymnals and photographs. If you are close by, I would recommend visiting. It ain't nothing.

“Johnny Cash, Saguaro Rib, Arizona” (c) Stu Jenks 2021 [Extended Family Series]

“Johnny Cash, Saguaro Rib, Arizona” (c) Stu Jenks 2021, 54 inches tall.

Price: $195, shipping included in the price. Simply contact me via my email address at [email protected] or Facebook message me, if you would like to purchase one of my pieces. Payments can be made with Paypal, Venmo or credit card with Square. All pieces are signed with its title, and can be hung from the wall. Love y'all, Stu.

 

Except for a few tracks here and there, I was late to the game regarding Johnny Cash. Now, I'm all in. He did so much for music, both with his own tunes but also with his promoting of others' music of all genres on his TV show. And I'm so happy he didn't die young from amphetamine addiction. He came close.

But it was Johnny's American Recordings that eventually slayed me. How could they not?

The Man In Black had to get a dark, strong, mysterious saguaro rib in his honor. Had to.

#johnnycash, #stujenks, #extendedfamilyseries.

“Buddy Miller, Tulip Poplar, North Carolina” © Stu Jenks 2021 [Extended Family Series]

“Buddy Miller, Tulip Poplar, North Carolina” © 2021 57 inches tall.

Price: $175, shipping included in the price. Simply contact me via my email address at [email protected] or Facebook message me, if you would like to purchase one of my pieces. Payments can be made with Paypal, Venmo or credit card with Square. All pieces are signed with its title, and can be hung from the wall. Love y'all, Stu.

 

Buddy Miller, along with his wife Julie Miller, have been fixtures in the Americana Music scene for decades. But that's not why Buddy gets a stick. It's because he is my favorite guitar player and one of my favorite singers. And from everything I can tell, he is beloved by everyone he has ever worked with, from Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, and Robert Plant, to name just a few. And he is a wonderful record producer as well. But it's his singing and his guitar playing that gets me. Top five desert island albums? His record Universal United House of Prayer.

And a personal highlight of my life was videotaping him at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in San Francisco in 2010. If you want to watch one of those songs, click on the link and marvel at his playing and singing.

And feel free to play "Wide River To Cross" at my funeral.

Live love, Buddy. You mean the world to me.

Photograph of Buddy Miller by Ron Miller (c) 2010

#buddymiller, #stujenks, #extendedfamilyseries

"John Prine, Water Tupelo Wood, North Carolina" (c) 2021 Stu Jenks [Extended Family Series]

“John Prine, Water Tupelo Wood, North Carolina” 60 inches tall. (c) 2021 Stu Jenks.

 

Price: $150, shipping included in the price. Simply contact me via my email address at [email protected] or Facebook message me, if you would like to purchase one of my pieces. Payments can be made with Paypal, Venmo or credit card with Square. All pieces are signed with its title, and can be hung from the wall. Love y'all, Stu.

 

 

John was one of the first we lost to COVID.

Damn, I miss the guy.

 

 

"...Give my feet to the footloose, careless, fancy free.

Give my knees to the needy. Don't pull that stuff on me

Hand me down my walking cane. It's a sin to tell a lie.

Send my mouth way down south and kiss my ass goodbye.

 

But please don't bury me down in that cold cold ground.

No, I'd druther have 'em cut me up and pass me all around.

Throw my brain in a hurricane and the blind can have my eyes.

And the deaf can take both of my ears If they don't mind the size." - John Prine, Please Don't Bury Me.

#johnprine, #stujenks, #extendedfamilyseries

 

"Snow: A Christmas Album" is here!

"Snow: A Christmas Album" by Stu Jenks is here! The physical Hi-Fidelity CDs can be purchased through my store at www.stujenks.org. Digital downloads will soon be available at CDBaby, Apple Music, iTunes, Amazon and other digital stores worldwide. I'm very proud to bring this music to you all.

Yes, on a few tracks I wish my improvisation had gone in a different direction but overall, it's the best music I've ever made. What I really enjoy about this album is its humanness. You can tell that a real live human being is laying his hands on the instruments. I like that. A lot.

And I've learned how to write a pretty good melody which makes me smile.

And from that magic process called "Practice, practice, practice", my playing is good. Funny how that works.

Anyway, may this music brighten your spirits doing the Holiday Season and throughout the coming year.

Ho, ho, ho, y'all,

Stu

www.stujenks.org

www.stujenks.org

All photographs and music by Stu Jenks. All CD cover designs by Gail Cross of Desert Isle Designs.

Windswept Snow Across The Two Lane...

Windswept Snow Across The Two Lane, a track for the upcoming Christmas album SNOW by Stu Jenks.

Windswept Snow Across The Two Lane (Jenks)

(It takes a little while to download it being over 6 minutes long. Enjoy this little taste.)

 

It's a 110 in Gila Bend. In Buckeye, it's a 102. Summer's here and I just can't find a way to stop loving you...

It's a 112 in the shade in Tucson right now, and I'm almost done the initial recordings of my Snow album, an Christmas/Winter Solstice CD of original ambient and instrumental pieces. I'm keeping the music under wraps for now, but here are some images for the front and back covers of Snow and other winter images too. Visual air-conditioning, don't you think? Also below are some other photographs from the last month or so.

Snow will be available on CDbaby, Bandcamp and iTunes in early Fall. It'll also be available as a physical Hi-Fi CD as well. It's coming along nicely I think. A very odd experience recording Christmas music when it's 112 outside. Living the life in the Sonoran high desert.

"It's a 110 in Gila Bend. In Buckeye, it's a 102. Summer's here and I just can't find a way to stop loving you..." - Heatstroke by Dusty Chaps.

All Snow images by Stu Jenks (c) 2017

  

Images from the recent Dragoon Fire, Dragoon Mountains, Arizona. (c) Stu Jenks 2017

 

Memento #5 by Kerry James Marshall, MOCA, Los Angeles. Image capture by Stu Jenks. (c) 2017 Kerry James Marshall.

  

John and Harriet Tubman by Kerry James Marshall, MOCA, Los Angeles. Image capture by Stu Jenks. (c) 2017 Kerry James Marshall.

[Needless to say, the photo images of Mr. Marshall's work is not for sale. Not from me at least. All other images and rights of my work are, as always, for sale. Needless to say too.]

 

"Dragoon Fire Spiral, Arizona" (c) 2017 Stu Jenks.

 

"Nannie's Mirror, Coalmine Canyon, Hopi Reservation, Arizona" (c) 2017 Stu Jenks.

 

"Nannie's Mirror, Rural Alabama" (c) 2017 Stu Jenks.

The books Nannie's Mirror and A Chair In The Wilderness are at the book designers now. Expect them to be released, as hardbounds and as ebooks, in the early Fall too.

 

"Newly Dead Saguaro, Owl's Head, Arizona" (c) 2017 Stu Jenks.

 

"Right Mitten In Fog, Monument Valley, Utah/Arizona" (c) 2017 Stu Jenks.

 

"1960's Postcard, Washington Monument, D.C." Photographer Unknown. Image Capture by Stu Jenks.

 

Stay cool and hydrated out there folk. It's a hot one.

 

My current art, book, and music resume...

Stu Jenks
Born: Richmond, Virginia, USA, 1954

Education:

1997, Photography Studies, Pima Community College, Tucson, Arizona.
1979, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Studio Art: Sculpture, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Selected Solo Exhibitions:

2016, “20 Years: 1996-2016,” Wee Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
2015, “The Little Ones,” Wee Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
2014, “The Ancients,” Wee Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
2009, "At-One-With," Jewish Community Center, Tucson, Arizona.
2008, "Nine Prayers," Hotel Congress, Tucson, Arizona.
2007, "A Very Large God," Unity of Tucson, Tucson, Arizona.
2005, "If There's a Heaven...," Endicott West Art Foundation, Tucson, Arizona.
2004, "Mystery And Magic,” Metroform Limited Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
2002, "Circles and Spirals," Tohono Chul Park, Tucson, Arizona.
2001, "Analog and Digital," Safehouse, Tucson, Arizona.
2001, "Circles and Spirals," The Image Gallery, The Screening Room, Tucson, Arizona.
1998, "Sacred Spaces," Hercules Florence Gallery, Pima Community College, Tucson, Arizona.

Books:

2016, Victor Mothershead: U.S. Secret Service by Stu Jenks, Fezziwig Press
2015, Step Zero (The Special Edition) by Stu Jenks, Fezziwig Press.
2014, Balthazar and Zeeba: A Christmas Novella by Stu Jenks, Fezziwig Press.
2014, A Rolodex Of Haikus by Tunafish Smith (Edited by Stu Jenks), Fezziwig Press.
2014, Air & Gravity by Stu Jenks, Fezziwig Press.
2013, Pamela’s Baby Rocking Chair by Stu Jenks, Fezziwig Press.
2012, Step Zero by Stu Jenks, Fezziwig Press.
2012, The Fatal Figures (Or How I Got In Trouble With The Law In Art School),
by Stu Jenks, Fezziwig Press.
2011, The Transpersonal Papers: 1861-2010 by Stu Jenks, Fezziwig Press.
2011, Bozo In Love by Stu Jenks, Fezziwig Press.
2011, Dementia Blues by Stu Jenks, Fezziwig Press.
2009, Hoop Dancing: More Journeys Through Nocturnal Photography,
by Stu Jenks, Fezziwig Press.
2008, Flames Spirals: Journeys Through Nocturnal Photography by Stu Jenks, Fezziwig Press.

Music And Audiobooks:

2003: The Three Surrenders: Soundtracks for Photographs, Vol. One, Fezziwig Press.
2005: West Of The Fires: Soundtracks for Photographs, Vol. Two, Fezziwig Press.
2008: Gladstone Mothershead: Soundtracks for Photographs, Vol. Three, Fezziwig Press.
2010: Hoop Dancing (The Audiobook), Fezziwig Press.
2011: Deaths & Injuries, Fezziwig Press.
2013: Pamela’s Baby Rocking Chair (The Audiobook), Fezziwig Press.
2014: Balthazar & Zebba: A Christmas Novella (The Audiobook), Fezziwig Press.
2015: Angel Ghosts, Fezziwig Press.

Selected Group Exhibitions:

2016, “Into the Night: Contemporary Art and the Nocturne Tradition,” Tucson Museum Of Art.
2016, “In Full Bloom,” Tohono Chul Park, Arizona.
2015, “Small Works,” Tohono Chul Park, Arizona.
2015, “Dia de los Muertos,” Tohono Chul Park, Arizona.
2015, “The Photographers,” Contreras Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
2015, “The Sky Above,” Tohono Chul Park, Arizona.
2014, “The Trees: Myth, Symbol and Metaphor,” Tohono Chul Park, Tucson, Arizona.
2012, "Vicios y Virtudes" (Vices & Virtues), Raices Taller 222 Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
2010, "Night Moves: After-Dark Images," Tohono Chul Park, Tucson, Arizona.
2009, "Print Pop," Lulubell Toy Bodega, Tucson, Arizona.
2009, "Curious Camera," ArtsEye/Photographic Works, Honorable Mention, Tucson, Arizona.
2008, "La Celebración y el Sufrimiento," Union Gallery, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.
2008, "The September Show," Point Of View Gallery, Raleigh, North Carolina.
2008, "Big Ideas, Small Frames," Dinnerware Artspace, Tucson, Arizona.
2008, "Darkness, Darkness," Three Columns Gallery, Harvard University,
Cambridge, Massachusetts.
2007, "Salon Des Refuses," Dinnerware Contemporary Arts, Tucson, Arizona.
2006, "Big Deal 13," SOMarts Gallery, San Francisco, California.
2006, "Transcending Boundaries," Point Of View Gallery, Raleigh, North Carolina.
2006, "Tough Lovelies: Agaves and Yuccas in Art," Tohono Chul Park, Tucson, Arizona.
2006, "The Art Of Photography,” Lyceum Theatre, San Diego, California.
2005, "Día de los Muertos: Contemporary Expressions," Tohono Chul Park, Tucson, Arizona.
2004, "Hotshoe Salon" Studio 455, Tucson, Arizona.
2004, "Wildfire!", Tohono Chul Park, Tucson, Arizona.
2003, "First Annual Winter Group Exhibition," Metroform Limited Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
2003, "Small Works Invitational," Metroform Limited Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
2003, "46th Annual International Awarded Exhibition," San Diego Art Institute, San Diego,
California.
2002, "Rocky Mountain Biennial," Museum of Contemporary Art, Fort Collins, Colorado.
2002, "Spite: Ten Years of The Toole Shed," Museum of Contemporary Art/Hazmat Gallery,
Tucson, Arizona.
2002-2004, "Saguaro: Popular Image and Cultural Icon," Arizona Commission of the Arts
Touring Exhibition (with Tohono Chul Park), Arizona.
2001, "Response," Tucson/Pima Arts Council, Tucson, Arizona.
2001, "In God We Trust," Zahorec Hughes Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio.
2001, "Michael Cajero, Stu Jenks, and Rudolph Nadler," Jewish Community Center's Fine Art
Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
2000, "La Petite VIII," Alder Gallery, Coburg, Oregon.
2000, "44th Annual International Awarded Exhibition," San Diego Art Institute, California.
2000, "Visions VI," Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington, Kentucky.
2000, "Nocturnes 2000," Pacific Media Arts, San Francisco, California,
Curator's Choice Award.
2000, "Tucson/Pima Arts Council Fellowship Exhibit," Tucson/Pima Arts Council, Tucson,
Arizona.
1999, "43rd Annual International Awarded Exhibition," San Diego Art Institute, San Diego,
California.
1999, "La Petite VII", Alder Gallery, Coburg, Oregon.
1999, "Visions V", Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington, Kentucky; Jury's Award.
1999, "Arizona Biennial '99," Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, Arizona.
1999, "Photowork '99," Barrett Art Center, Poughkeepsie, New York.
1999, "Miniatures," The Galleria, Bisbee, Arizona.
1979, “Bachelor of Fine Arts Show”, Ackland Museum, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Installations:

2012, “Open Circle for Pamela,” Glow Festival of Lights, Oracle, Arizona.
2009, "Open Circle Plus Seven," Metanexus Conference, Tempe, Arizona.
2004, "Ancient Spirit, Modern Voice: The Mythic Journeys Art Exhibition," The Defoor Centre
Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia.
2002, "The Open Circle Cairn Project," Museum of Contemporary Art, Tucson, Arizona.

Grants & Fellowships:

2000, Tucson/Pima Arts Council, Visual Arts I Fellowship Awards (Honorable Mention).

Selected Lectures, Juries & Workshops:

2011, Juror, Third Annual Curious Camera Competition, ArtsEye, Tucson, Arizona.
2010, Co-Executive Director, "All Souls' Procession 4th Annual Photography Exhibition
Competition," All Souls' Procession, Tucson, Arizona.
2009, Juror, "Blue Nocturne," The Nocturnes, San Francisco, California.
2006, Presenter, "The Rhythm of Mythic Journeys '06," Mythic Imagination Institute, Atlanta,
Georgia.
2001, Juror, "A Little Night Music," TheNocturnes.com, Pacific Media Arts, San Francisco,
California.
1998, Guest Lecturer on Sepia and Selenium Toning, Photography Program, University of
Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.

Representatives:

Baker + Hesseldenz, Tucson, Arizona.
Fezziwig Press, Tucson, Arizona.

 

Image: "Callanish With A Plastic Brownie 127 Camera, Isles of Lewis and Harris, Scotland" (c) 2016 Stu Jenks.