Stu Jenks' Fezziwig Press: Nature

June 28, 2022

Circles and Spirals: Stu Jenks' Newsletter #7: 6/28/2022

1) Just horrendous. You know what I'm talking about. The over-turning of Roe v. Wade. So much has been said already, and perhaps the last thing we need is a man bemoaning what I believe is a woman's primary right to her own body. Or maybe more men do need to speak up. I don't know. But I will say this. The steady march to a New American Theocracy, a nation ruled by religious beliefs rather than by laws, worries the fuck out of me. Vote in the Fall for all Democrats, no matter how wimpy or conservative they are, and register others to vote as well, so we can hold onto state houses and perhaps hold the U.S. Senate and U.S. House as well. All this makes me so angry and sad. That being said, I have to remind myself that America has only been a 'true' democracy since 1964, since The Civil Rights act.

So Rest In Peace, American Democracy (1964-2022). Adios muchachos. Hopefully a New Democracy will be reborn in the future.

One outside hope I have is that corporations will be less willing to invest into anti-abortion, anti-women states, not sending new offices and factories to those places. That along with the slim hope that Democrat politicians will eventually grow a pair and learn how to fight. I pray for the former to happen but have little hope for the latter. I just feel awful for all the women and girls in my country right now. Just awful.

2) My radiation oncology has begun on the salvage/killing of the little bit of cancer that remains in my pelvic floor. Not fun. The feeling of having to pee all the time, not every day, but many days, sucks. But truly, the hardest thing about this daily process is walking from the parking lot to the cancer center on my bad left leg, and then the massive fatigue that hits me an hour after treatment. But I don't want to die before my time. The docs seems hopeful that this will kill the cancer that's still left. I sure hope so.

3) I tried to sell some of my walking sticks and photographs at my local farmer's market last Saturday. Had very few sales but I met some very nice people, mostly the other vendors and a few shoppers. And of course, like my other Open Art Studio type events over the years, I had the odd person who said really weird things to me (I'll leave it at that). I may come back in the Fall after my radiation, when I have more energy. The people were quite sweet, but this really isn't my crowd where my art will sell, I'm afraid. People are there for the fruits and vegetables, not the rocking chair photos and high end walking sticks. But they were still very nice people.

4) I went to my nephew Will's high school graduation a few weeks back. It was a hoot. I hadn't been to a high school graduation since I graduated from Sanderson High School in 1973. Got a couple of good shots with the long lens. So much fun. Congrats Will McIntyre, and good luck in the fall as you attend the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

"Harriet Tubman by Arron Douglas, Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill, NC" (Image capture by Stu Jenks 2022)

5) I've been to some fine local art shows lately, and I'm still trying to get into other art shows, here and in Tucson, but it's been slow going. Both having a bad leg that's not healing very quickly, and this fatiguing oncology radiation and I'm a bit hobbled. I'm not liking it at all. But it is what it is and it ain't what it ain't. Acceptance is the key and all that good shit. Keep me in your thoughts and prayers, to heal up from this cancer and this torn leg muscle, and that I sell more art, music and books so I can continue to keep the wolves away from the door. Love you all. Stu. P.S. Alexa says hey.

Posted at 10:38 AM in Arizona, Art, Cactus, Circles, Fezziwig Press, Flame Spirals, History, Love, Nature, North Carolina, Other Artists, People, Politics, Relationships, Social Justice, Spirals, Spirituality, The Ocean, The South, Trees, Tucson, Virginia, Walking Sticks | 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)

February 03, 2021

"Eterally Grateful" (c) Stu Jenks 2021

Assemblages are tricky pieces of art. They usually end up looking like "shit on a shingle" created by a first semester art student or an old retired guy who thinks he's making something pretty. Hopefully this piece isn't crap.

I believe my job as an artist is to take the personal and make something that expresses the universal. That's true whether you are a singer/songwriter, a filmmaker, a comic, a writer, or a guy like me who takes photographs of chairs, nightscapes and whatnot, hangs sticks and things off a wall, and who, on occasion, lays his hands on a musical instrument. I feel very strongly about this. Self-indulgent, hey-look-at-me Art is a thing, but it ain't my thing.

That being said, a lot of things in this old Playskool wooden wagon, that hangs off the wall, are very personal to me. I don't know if it'll translate to you, my audience, but I'm trying to make something bigger than me.

So I'll just list the individual elements and leave it at that. I like how my eye moves threw this piece. I'm OK if it doesn't float your boat, but I hope you like it. Some artists say they don't care what other people think, but that's a load of shit. We all care. Just some don't admit it. Don't tell me John Prine didn't care if we liked Angel From Montgomery. Of course he did. Rest in peace, John.

OK. I'll shut up and list what's here.

1) A 1950's Playskool wagon. This used to be filled with colorful woodblocks but only a few are left and I don't know where they are. I do remember playing with this when I was 4 or 5. It was fun.

2) A smooth piece of drift wood found on the shores of the Rappahannock River below the old home place on Mothershead Neck Road in Virginia. Mom sold the place in 2003, a year or so after Dad died. Dad didn't believe in life insurance or having many investments so Mom had to sell it to survive. Yeah. Dad fucked up. No big surprise. I still love the place though. The current owner lets me go down sometimes and walk on the pier.

3) A large piece of crude crystal picked up while walking around Coalmine Canyon on the Hopi Rez in Arizona. Coalmine Canyon is a personal spiritual space for me for almost 35 years. It's gotten a little overrun by tourists in trucks the last 20 years but you can still find a isolated spot to pray and meditate. It's a groovy place. If you ever go, be kind to the land.

4) A rusty old railroad spike found on the tracks near The Cienega Creek Trestles in Southern Arizona. Another holy spot for me, that part of the Arizona trail. I didn't pull the spike out of the tracks. It was just laying there. I swear.

5) A piece of tree fungus harvested just north of the Smith-McIntyre farm in Ashe County, North Carolina. That's Alexa's family old summer home place. The Smiths and McIntyres are generous enough to allow me to occasionally go up there to hike the hills around their property. I recently found 2 new holy spots there since I moved back to North Carolina, one, an old stone cairn across the state line in Virginia, and the other, a piece on a high ridge south of the house. Can't tell you how grateful I am to them, and to the land.

6) A broken gold watch given to me by Alexa a few years ago. It be broke. It don't run. Ain't going to pay to get it fixed, but it came from my wife and it sure is purdy. Just like her. It's set at 12:03, for no particular reason. It just look cool.

7) A XXXII sobriety chip from AA, received at my old home group Smoke Free Nooners in Tucson. God willing and the creek don't rise I'll have 36 years on February 7th of this year.

8) A blue heavy Fender guitar pick. I don't play guitar. I play the mandolin. Poorly.

9) An aluminum Mexican heart given to me by my good friend Mark this last Christmas. We've known each other since 1985. It's a big deal.

10) A tiny piece of wood scrap from the top of a walking stick/wall piece that I'm currently working on. Been doing this series the last few years called The Extended Family, featuring pieces named after family, friends and people I admit and love. This piece is called Bono, Beech Wood, Uwharrie Mountains., North Carolina. Bono, for those you living under a rock, is the lead singer of U2.

11) A 23 year sobriety chip from Cocaine Anonymous. This fellowship and its members have meant the world to me over the last 35 plus years. We're here and we're free, as they say.

12) The absence of anything in the upper left-hand portion of the wagon. The lack of something is a thing to me. I love spaces.

and 13) A special three-spiral chip from CA entitled Eternally Grateful. It's created for those members who have died but we still wise to honor. I placed it here for my friend Chris R. from Atlanta, who died of COVID in 2020. He was a wonderful man who helped many people.

I hope this small thing speaks to a larger truth. It now hangs back in the Jenks' garage where I see it often. Needless to say, it's not for sale. Unless you are talking a shit load of money.

Love you guys.

Stu.

Posted at 11:56 AM in 12 Step Fiction, Arizona, Art, Cancer, Circles, Cocaine Anonymous, Dying, Good Folk, Love, Nature, North Carolina, Sculpture, Spirituality, The South, The West, Wall Pieces | Permalink | Comments (0)

December 07, 2020

Images From The Holiday Season.

Posted at 11:22 AM in Alexa McColl Smith Jenks, Ancestors, Arizona, Art, Beachs, California, Churches, Colorado River School, Deserts, Good Folk, Love, Mountains of North Carolina, Nature, Night Photography, Nocturnal Photography, North Carolina, Prayer, Rivers, Rocks, Sky, Snow, Stones, Stu Jenks, The Road, The Sky, The South, The West, Virginia, Women | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 09, 2019

Spirals, Gods, Love & Light.

Some new images are in the post, some old and a couple of my beautiful wife, just because. And yes, in the summer, it rains in Tucson and if we are lucky, we see rainbows.

It hurts to be temporarily away from my sweet wife. She lives in North Carolina, but I have to make a living and so does she. Just the way it is for now. But I'm grateful beyond words that I got to spend a week with her at my little casita here in the Tucson Mountains. Love you madly, baby.

An old image that I recently fiddled with, using new technology. Originally printed in a chemical darkroom.

Was clearing up some space on an old hard-drive and I found this RAW file. Made it all fancy and new and spiritual and shit. A magical night on the plains of England in 2013.

Nope. I wasn't in any danger of falling while photographing this. Not really. But my tripod bag blew over the edge into a hole that night. I thought of climbing down to get it, then realized I may not get back out. One of my rules: Don't die dumb.

Got lost in the fog that day. Found my way home but it was a little tricky. Another rule: Don't wander on the moors when it's fog as shit.

Bad road of mud and sand. A long hike from the truck, but worth it to see this little man petroglyph and a Gila Monster off to my left. The pudgy little fellow ran away before I could take a photo of him. Gila Monsters are fast.

These students are too far away to identify, which is exacted what I wanted. Don't want to get anymore in trouble. Marijuana is illegal in North Carolina, don't you know. I just thought it was a sweet photo of an activity I used to do. Hmm. How many times did I do drugs along the railroad tracks? A lot.

I used to hate LA with its traffic but no more. It's the land of 1000 villages. You just have plan your visits to the villages. Highland Park is one of my favorites, and Downtown LA too. This image makes me said. Not sure why. I hope Becca is OK.

One of my favorite young emerging photographers is Alexis Helms from Raleigh, North Carolina. She has chops. And I feel blessed to call her my friend. Keep seeing, Alexis. Keep shooting.

I still take the PBRC out and about. It was a lovely little hike last weekend. Good place to watch the light fade. RIP Pamela, Mary and Stuart Jenks.

And if you are interested, there are two Pamela's Baby Rocking Chair books out there: Pamela's Baby Rocking Chair (The Deaths of Pamela and Mary Jenks), Fezziwig Press, 2013 and Cherry Picking Leviticus, Fezziwig Press, 2018. You can purchase them at the usual places online or from me at www.stujenks.org.

A few times a year I travel an hour south to Mexico, to get my teeth cleaned, to buy my medications for half price and to pray at this humble Catholic church a few hundred yards south of the border. I love Mexico and its people. They remind me of my southern brethren: Polite, kind, humorous and religious. Via con Dios. Go with God.

Another place I go to pray. I tell people often that you don't have to believe in a God to pray. Just think loving thoughts about the people you cherish, and maybe throw in a few prayers toward the people you have problems with. I can promise you, you'll feel better for it.

We don't really need another photograph of saguaros in the world, but the light was awfully nice yesterday, the angle was great and yes, they are kind of magical plants, aren't they. Fun Fact: I first hiked to this spot in December, 1982, soon after moving to Tucson from North Carolina. Yep. That's almost 37 years ago. I was 28 I think. I'm 64 now. And not much has changed, at all, on the primitive trail heading up to this hill. Most people go across the road, to walk, kiss, screw, drink, and lollygag about. Not over here, and that makes me happy. I try to find gratitude in many things, both big and small. This is both a big and a small blessing to me, the peace and beauty of this place.

Love, light and luck, y'all. Keep the faith, however you do that, and keep your lamp trimmed and burning. Your light in the world matters. More than you know.

Stu

Posted at 03:14 PM in Arizona, Art, Black & White Photography, Chagford, Fire, Flame Spirals, Good Folk, Love, Mountains, Nature, North Carolina, Other Artists, People, Raleigh, Religion, Sex, Sexuality, Sky, Stones, Stu Jenks, The Arizona Trail, The West, Travel, Trees | Permalink | Comments (0)

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 18, 2019

Pamela's Baby Rocking Chair, entangled on the side of a tobacco barn...

Posted at 02:26 AM in Buddhism, Nature, North Carolina, Pamela's Baby Rocking Chair | Permalink | Comments (3)

January 17, 2019

Nannie's Mirror on the south bank of Lake Townsend.

Posted at 12:16 AM in Art, Greensboro, NC, Nannie's Mirror, Nature, Water | 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)

November 02, 2018

Welcome to North Carolina.

Well, Alexa and I are here in North Carolina now. My studio is all set up upstairs. My art work hangs in the same house as a Rembrandt, an Utrillo and a Whistler. I'm looking for fuller employment. Alexa has a job she likes. I'm getting my bearings around town. Beautiful town, beautiful wife. I'm loving this small city of Greensboro.

My new P.O. Box is 10583, Greensboro, NC 27404. Email, phone, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, my store, my bandcamp, my patreon, all the same. Fezziwig Press is back open for business.

And look for my 14th book for sale later this month.

Cherry Picking Leviticus (Pamela's Baby Rocking Chair, Vol. 2). Here's the cover for the premium paperback. It'll also be available as an affordable ebook.

I'll keep you post on it's release. You'll have it in your hot little hands by Christmas. Promise.

And vote on Tuesday, November 6th, my birthday. Give me the gift I really want. A Democratic U.S. House of Representatives, no Republican super majority in the North Carolina General Assembly, and good Progressives down ballot in many states.

Below are some recent images.

Have a great Autumn.

And keep hope alive.