Stu Jenks' Fezziwig Press

American Democracy (1965-2022)

"The 41 Nights, Red Cedar, North Carolina (part of the American Democracy 1965-2022 series)" (c) 2022 Stu Jenks. Price upon request. 

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.

Circles and Spirals: Stu Jenks' Newsletter #3: 4/21/22

"PTSD" by Clarence Heyward, acrylic and gold leaf on canvas, 2020. Image capture by Stu Jenks. 

 

Hello everyone,

1) Currently some of Clarence Heyward's work (pictured above) is being shown at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University in Durham, NC. This show is shunning, presenting the work of 30 emerging artists. Entitled, "Reckoning and Resilience: North Carolina Art Now", it'll be up until July 10, 2022. I've been three times already to visit this show. I can not recommend it highly enough. 

The featured painting is very large, guessing 5 feet tall at least. And yes, that is the Pledge of Allegiance in gold leaf behind the figure. 

2) Maundy Thursday service at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, here in Greensboro, was as good as it gets. Washing of the feet. Reminding the congregation of Jesus's last commandment, "... to love one another...", the stripping of the altar, all very nice. (And to be clear, I'm not a Christian but I was raised in this Church. I do believe in a God of sorts, cosmic muffin or intuitive thought, but I don't believe in the Risen Christ. I'm more Buddhist and Deist than anything else. And yes, I believe in the ghostly presence of my ancestors in my life. Got that belief from a Native American friend years ago.) But what made me cry was a professional singer, a lovely baritone, singing "Where you there...", that old powerful slave song from almost 200 years ago. Just wonderful.

3) Not so wonderful, my prostate cancer has returned, but only a little bit. Probably the size of the head of a pin. It's a long story but the type of radiation that one cancer center planned for me was very destructive to the good surgical work of Dr. Juan Chipollini 2 years ago. Currently, I don't poop nor peed on myself and everything is working great down there, if you know what I mean. The shotgun blast radiation would change all that, possibly making me permanently incontinent, messing up my colon, and destroying my current sexual function, also maybe for good. This depressed me a lot as you can imagine. Until I remember that great medical school at my alma mater, UNC-Chapel Hill, just an hour to the east. There, I found a new urologist and radiation oncologist who does a very pinpoint radiation using a machine called the Cyber Knife. Great name. Appointment is in early June for this second opinion consultation but I'm already sold from what I've read. And my new doctor is more patient oriented in her care. I'm much more hopeful. Quality of life, baby. Quality of life.

4) The tenth anniversary edition of my first novel, Step Zero is completed and being converted to e-book-ness and soon to be uploaded to the book printer. I'll be making some book-books, but they are expensive. Soon, you'll be able to buy the e-books for either $1.99 or $.99. Attached here is the new cover art for the book. (Thanks to Michael Joplin, for turning me on the the null set symbol. That was brilliant.) 

and 5) lastly, here are some images from recent print sales of mine. I have a big inventory but I'm always, always interested in what people buy. Perhaps you are too.

Love you guys.

Thinking about y'all, and holding you in white light, as the Woo-Woo man says.

Stu. 

All images (c) Stu Jenks 2022, except for "PTSD," (c) Clarence Heyward 2022.

 

 

Circles and Spirals: Stu Jenks' Newsletter #2: 4/7/22

Hey everyone,

1) Went to SECCA recently (The Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem) and saw an amazing show entitled. Black@Intersection: Contemporary Black Voices in Art, curated by Duane Cyrus, a prof at UNC-G. So much great work from all over the world. One of my favorites is "Cupid" by Wolly McNair, out of Charlotte. (A jpeg of this is above) I reached out to Wolly and he is a very sweet and spiritual man. A delight to chat with him on Instagram.

I also went to the Nasher Museum of Art over at Duke a few weeks ago and saw a show about North Carolina Artists Today, many if not most were Black artists.

In three words, It's fucking time.

When I was in art school the big thing was, "Let's promote women artists. The time of white guys only making art and getting it seen should be over." And for the most part it is. It appears in my absence from North Carolina since the early 80's, they have decided it's time to promote artists of color and women artists too, beside just the white guys. I couldn't be happier.

Except for this one little thing. The work by these younger artists is so good and so thoughtful, it makes me want to stop making stuff. That feeling only lasted a day or two, but in the back of my mind, do we really need more me? Perhaps yes, perhaps no, but I'm happy as a clam in cool sand that the art world is including the other 70% of the American population now, not just the white guys.

2) Went to the Dean Dome to watch the NCAA Championship game, but mostly just to see the building from the inside. It is amazing to sit in the stands, for free no less. I left early in the first half of the game, for a number of reasons, a) I really couldn't see the game that well on the four big screens, b) I could hear well either, and c) I had a gut feeling we were going to lose, and I could tell that if UNC lost, it might get ugly here. Not by the students but from the middle aged guys who came that night, who were already angry it appears, I don't know why. I drove home to Greensboro and watched the second half on my TV. Carolina lost to Kansas but it was OK. We beat Duke in the semifinal game and Hubert Davis and all the guys had a great end of their season. Fun fact: I'm now a born again U of A fan. I'm loving me some Tommy Lloyd. Excited about the future of Arizona basketball. And of course I love the Zags. A good year of college basketball. Now onto the NBA. Go Suns.

3) Being poor sucks. Really sucks. I get a small retirement and I'm working part time being a Legal Zoom Monitor but I don't make that much money really. And image and sculpture sales are way down, but I'm still making a little coin from the music online. I'm just poorer than I've been since the 1980's. I have everything I need but I'm not sure where I'm going to get the money to print the new Step Zero book. And I need new glasses. And new shoes. And a tune up for the truck. Heavy sigh. I know as we get older, we live more on fixed incomes and such, but Jeez Louise. I'm not trying to manipulate anyone into giving me money. Just being transparent about what it's like to be a creative person in my late 60s and not having a lot of extra cash and not selling that much. And baby needs a new pair of shoes or rather hiking boots. But if I talk about it, I'll be less depressed about it. I know that. And it reminds me to be grateful for what I have. Unlike the Talking Heads song, this is my beautiful house. This is my beautiful wife.

4) Speaking of beauty, about half of all the houses on our little street have dogwood trees. The street's ablaze with white and pink flowers. It's really nice. I've been more of a Fall and a Winter person in the past, but I think I get Spring now. The trees and flowers and birds are waking up and having sex with each other, so to speak. The robins and bunnies in our backyard certainly are. It's sweet. I've actually named two of the bunnies, who have scars on their bodies so I can identify them. Bruno and Roberta, They are hard to photograph but I'll try and get some pics of them for you in the future.

5) and lastly, I've visited an undisclosed part of the Haw River a couple of times, harvesting some dead Red Cedar wood for my Late Stage Capitalism sculpture series. Don't think I'm on private property, hopeful it's county or state property and I'm just salvaging dead wood and not that much of it, but I do see those no trespassing signs way over there and it doesn't make me happy. I'm positively Native about land ownership. It's good to have a little piece of land to live on and to ranch or farm it, but to individually own large tracts of land for no other purpose then to make money, drives me a little nuts. 42% of the state of Arizona is owned by the federal government, which means I can walk and hike almost all of that. (If you add the AZ Land Trust Land, it's way over 50% I'm sure.) I know I'm on the east coast where white men have owned land, property, women and Africa-Americans for centuries. I know the history. Women? Less ownership for the past 50 years. Blacks? Well, lynching doesn't happen anymore, but we don't get points for that. I digress. No Trespassing signs just piss me off, particularly when I'm in the middle of nowhere, near a river, having walked through spider webs and stickers to get there. I'm a Westerner, a desert rat. I know I'm not in Kansas or the Sonoran Desert anyway. Just trying to find my way in a land that really isn't my home. Gathering four or five cedar sticks, then bringing them home, cutting, sanding and oiling them, and making art from them, helps me get through. Makes me quite happy. And I like giving walking sticks away to people I love too. It does not suck. And boy doesn't my workshop/garage smell great after I"ve been stripping some cedar bark. Lovely.

Life is good, unless I start to think about it too much, but it's good if I feel it. Just feel the feelings and let it go and all that good shit. But that does work. I'm feeling it right now and in the here and now, it's all good.

I have love and life and dogwoods. 

Love you all

Keep your lamp trimmed and burning.

Stu

Matt Antone: Elder Brother (The Late Stage Capitalism Series by Stu Jenks)

“Matt Antone (Elder Brother), Desert Agave, The Road to Sonoita, Arizona” © 2022 Stu Jenks, $225 (Shipping included in the price.)

[See the vision statement in my March 28th, 2022 post. It's all things falling apart, but we still have each other.]

 

 

The Late Stage Capitalism Series by Stu Jenks

 

Elton “Ellie” Swann, Spiral Red Oak, North Carolina” (c) 2022 Stu Jenks, 38 inches tall, $295 (Shipping included in the price.)

 

 

The Vision Statement for the Late Stage Capitalism Series by Stu Jenks.

 

"Late capitalism is a pyramid racket on a global scale...getting the suckers to believe it's all gonna go on forever.” -Thomas Pynchon, Bleeding Edge, 2013

Things are falling apart.

I can go through the litany of all the broken things, but you all know what I’m talking about: Greed and avarice are the new religion; The world is heating up, storms worsen, ice melting, CO2 increasing and it’s mostly the fault of old white men, who have money, power and who don’t give a shit about you or me or the future; Racism, sexism and classism had a few years of being on the wane, but now they’re back, shameless and in the forefront of our national and global politics (or perhaps it’s always been there); and the gap between the have and have-nots is greater than during The American Gilded Age, the rich get richer and the sick stay poor.

Botton line? I think it’s all coming apart, slowly, profoundly, fatally.

As an artist, I think it is my responsibility to show the hard things in the world as well as to make pretty things.

So…here is my new series of wall pieces. They started out whole, some as functioning walking sticks, some just as works of art. Now, I’ve cut them into pieces, to be hung like trophies on the wall, wildlife skulls of a dying world.

Each piece is named after a character from one of my four post-apocalyptic Step Zero novels. The world these people live in is only 50 years in the future, but I think it’s quite possible that our world too, could almost come to an end if all the oil goes away in a nuclear flash. And I also think it’s possible, that in that aftermath, we Americans would rebuilt our country, valuing the simple things: love, generosity, justice, humor, music, sobriety, feelings, consideration, and family. At least that is my prayer.

I pray also that I fulfilled the paradox of addressing a heavy subject here, and also making beautiful objects for you to enjoy.

It’s tricky, don’t you know. All of it.

Arthur "Artie" Saum, Desert Agave, Arizona (c) 2022 Stu Jenks, 59 inches tall, $200 (Shipping included in the price)

 

Balthazar "Balth" Stone, Mountain Laurel, North Carolina (c) 2022 Stu Jenks, 54 inches tall, $250 (Shipping included in the price.)

 

 

Step Zero: The Special Illustrated Edition for free, right here.

Right here, a free pdf download of my novel Step Zero: The Special Illustrated Edition.

Yep, I'm giving shit away.

Sometimes I have to do that for people to buy my other work, but in this case, I just want people to have this. I worked hard on this, and I think this is a pretty good book. Plus the hardbound book is way too expensive for most people to buy, and the paperback Step Zero edition doesn't have the groovy graphic pen images in it.

So here you are. All 688 pages of images and words. Hope you dig the book.

P.S. This is a hard R-rated book, with drug use, graphic sex and brutal murder. Just so you know. It also has sweet songs, funny lines and touching relationships. It's not all rough, but parts of it are.

Love y'all.

Stu.

Again, here's the free pdf download of the illustrated Step Zero novel.

 

“Susan Tiss, Red Oak Wood, North Carolina” © Stu Jenks 2021 [Extended Family Series]

“Susan Tiss, Red Oak Wood, North Carolina” © 2021 Stu Jenks, 56 inches tall.

Price: $195, 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. Love y'all, Stu.

 

Susan is a major woman-about-town in Tucson, Arizona, even though she's too humble to admit it. She has been involved with Tucson's All Souls Procession since its humble beginnings, being one of the first photographers to document it. She has been a patron of the arts in many ways, from the giving of her time to buying us creative folks' work. She is smart, kind, funny and sweet. Susan has lived through her own life challenges and has come out the other side, still hopeful yet wiser because of it. When I think of the Tucson Art Scene, the late Crane Day first comes to mind, and the second person is Susan Tiss.

Much love, sweetheart. Kiss the dog for me. And thanks for writing the foreword to Step Zero: The Special Illustrated Edition. I just reread your intro and it made me cry. It's a wonderful thing when a friend gets what I'm trying to do.

 

(Susan's foreword is at the bottom of this post. And you can buy Step Zero, and my other books, wherever you buy your books and ebooks.)

Foreword for The Special Illustrated Edition of Step Zero

Stu is my friend.

You might be thinking that I bought the original release of Step Zero in 2012 because Stu is my friend. You might be thinking that I’m recommending you read it because Stu is my friend. You are not wrong, but, as with the best of things, that isn’t even close to the whole story.

When a friend tells you that they’ve written a novel, you buy the novel because you want to support them, because you care about them, because they are your friend. Then, perhaps, you put that novel on a shelf and have a long debate with yourself about reading it. What if it isn’t good? What if they ask you how you liked it? Wouldn’t it just be better to tell them you haven’t had a chance to read it yet?

The thing is, I’m a reader and a book can’t sit on one of my shelves for long without being read. So, not too many weeks after buying a copy of Step Zero, on a quiet afternoon at home, I opened it up and started to read. Some hours later, the sun was setting, the dog was staring me down demanding a walk, and I was ready to cancel my plans for the rest of the weekend so that I could try to finish the book.

As a kid, I used to spend hours sitting under a tree, or in a big lawn chair, or sprawled on the grass, reading until it was too dark to see. On family road trips my dad would plead with me to put the books away and look at the scenery flying by the car window, but I wanted nothing more than to get lost in the internal scenery I created around a good story. As an adult, I don’t get the opportunity often to do this, but every once in a while, I find a story that is so good that I just have to stop the clocks for a bit and immerse myself in someone else’s world.

Step Zero is that good a story.

It is good because it is rich with deeply believable characters and relationships.

It is good because there is magic in the way Stu writes these people into life.

You can hear their voices in your head: talking, singing, crying, laughing, and telling their own stories.

You can’t help but care about them.

You can’t help but want them to learn and love and live.

You can’t help but want to know what happens next.

Susan K. Tiss
Program Manager,
Knowledge Management
Intuit. Inc.
Tucson Arizona
April, 2015.

 

#susantiss, #stujenks, #extendedfamilyseries, #stepzero

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.

Dear President Barack Obama, and First Lady Michelle Obama...

Below is a cover letter I sent to The White House with a handbound copy of my new book Victor Mothershead: U.S. Secret Service. Some of you will like this. Some of you will think I'm naive. Some of you will hate this letter. Do me a favor. Keep your negative internet opinions to yourself. I'm a sensitive soul who hurts easily, and when I get hurt, I get mad or sad. I'd prefer to just feel happy about sending a nice note to a President I voted for twice. If you want to talk politics with me in person or on the phone, great, but don't type shit to me, all right? All right. Enjoy the letter. Or not.

Dear President Barack Obama, and First Lady Michelle Obama and First Daughters Sasha and Malia Obama,

Enclosed is the fourth book in my Step Zero series in which I write about The United States in the years 2079-2080. In this and in previous books, I created a fictional character named Sasha Obama Fulbright. I’m simply honoring the good work you and Michelle have done for our country, by making that character, a tough, sweet, elder, female President who has helped America also return from very tough times. I’m not crazy nor dangerous or anything. I’m just a writer and an artist with a good imagination. Hope you like the book.

Thanks again for the thank-you note and the lovely photo of you all and the girls, that you sent a few years back when you received the first book. (By the way, Mr. President, you make a brief appearance in the first book, Step Zero, as a loving ghost. Just saying.) The photo and note are framed in my house and are one of my most priced possessions.

Maybe in 2017 you might be able to read this book, after you leave office, but it’s not a big thing if you don’t. What is a big thing is the true and loyal service you have given to our country. I too believe, like you, that change is incremental, that justice and progress often happen slowly. But you have done much, Mister President, to kick the can of American Goodness down the road. Thank you for that.

I’ll miss you a lot, Barack, come January. I think Hillary will be a fine President, but frankly, she can’t tell a joke as well as you. She just doesn’t have your timing.

Much love and thanks again for all you have done.

Sincerely,

 

Stu Jenks
P.O.Box 161
Tucson, Arizona 85702
[email protected]

 

All photos by Stu Jenks (c) 2016. Top photo is a kaleidoscope image taken in front of The White House. Bottom photo was taken off my TV of the President crying after another mass shooting, in which children were killed. Again.

Book design of Victor Mothershead: U.S. Secret Service by Gail Cross of Desert Isle Designs in Mesa, Arizona.

"A cautionary note from the author..."

Yippee-ki-yay, buckaroos.

Victor Mothershead: U.S. Secret Service is now for sale, both as a handbound book-book and as an e-book. E-books are at the low, low price of $2.99, at Apple's ibook store and on the Amazon Kindle (just search 'Stu Jenks' in those stores and you'll find me.) The hardbound editions can be bought locally at Tucson Touch Therapies and through my online store at https://squareup.com/store/fezziwig-press/.

Below is the introduction/cautionary note to the readers of Victor Mothershead: U.S. Secret Service. My previous Step Zero novels have produced, how can I say it, some interesting and unexpected emails. ("Stu Jenks, you suck."). This intro was written to help quell some of nastier emails, if that's at all possible in the digital online wasteland of people with personality disorders. But I try.

Enjoy this little excerpt and buy my books if you are a reading-kind-of-person. And if you want to simply support my creative work in general, just click on this link and go to the bottom of the webpage, and you can donate $5 or more to the cause.

And if you steal the ebook online, by striping out the code and putting it on a pier to pier site, to hell with you. I ain't going to pray against you, but I ain't going to pray very hard for you either.

Bottom Line? The new novel is out, and I'd like you to buy.

Thanks guys.

Love y'all,

Stu.

A Cautionary Note From The Author:

You hold in your hot little hands, either as an e-book or as a real-live-book-book, the fourth installment in my Step Zero series, but I believe some polite warnings to readers are needed here, given questions and concerns I have received in the past.

This is a stand alone novel but if you haven’t read Step Zero, the first book, or Air & Gravity, the second book, some of the plot twists, suspense reveals and arch conclusions here may spoil some of your enjoyment of those two previous books, if and when you read them. (Balthazar and Zeeba, the third book in the series, is a Christmas novel with its own individual side arch, which will not be affected by reading Victor Mothershead.)

Victor Mothershead: U.S. Secret Service is a hard R rated book as are Step Zero and Air & Gravity. There is a ton of cussing and a bit of sex in this book. Victor himself is a polite, soft spoken man who rarely speaks profanity but in the Step Zero world of 2079, particularly in the American Southwest, folks cuss like sailors on drunken leave and have sex like they will never ever screw again. It’s just how my characters roll. So if foul language and hot sex upset you, thanks for buying this book but you might want to give it to your college nephew to read. (Regarding the age appropriateness of this book, 17 years old and above seems about right. Use your best judgment. You know your kids.)

Many of my characters in the Step Zero universe believe in a spiritual force called God-Goddess-All-There-Is or GGATI. It’s a made up higher power by me, not affiliated with Wiccan or Pagan faiths (Not that there is anything wrong with those.) I was simply trying to expand the spirituality and religiosity of 2079 to include a specific feminine side as well as the masculine and universal aspects.

The politics of many of these characters is progressive and in some cases, specifically Democratic. The Presidents mentions in the Step Zero series are all Democrats. If you are a Republican or an Independent, and don’t agree with some of the policies mentions in this book, relax. It’s OK. This is speculative fiction. It’s the United States in the year 2079. I’ve just made this stuff up. Sasha Obama of course is a real young women today, but President Sasha Obama Fulbright and Vice President Florence Biden are completely made up people. You don’t have to agree with the politics here to enjoy this read. The characters are fun, the story I think is strong, and did I mention there is sex in this book?

Lastly, 12 Step fellowships play a major role in many of the characters’ lives in Victor Mothershead, U.S. Secret Service; one, a real program, Alcoholics Anonymous, the other, a fictional one, Mormon Tea Anonymous. None of the characters here represent any living or dead members of Alcoholic Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Cocaine Anonymous, Al-Anon or any other 12 Step groups. That being said, I have talked with many clean and sober members of these fellowships over the years and I have attended a few 12 Step meetings myself, but I will neither confirm nor deny if I personally belong to those groups. There are by-laws regarding anonymity of members speaking publicly. The problem is, if you thought I was in A.A., or C.A., or N.A., and you hated this book or disliked me personally or think in any way I poorly represent a particular recovery program, you might feel reticent to seek help from those 12 Step programs if you ever needed it. They tell me these by-laws or ‘Traditions’ are there to protect the fellowships from its own members’ mistakes, yet recovering people want very much to be available and to help everyone, regardless of gender, race, color, creed, economic situation, and political leaning. Bottom line is no one in this book is any one person in A.A., but the views of some of the characters do reflect the beliefs of some members of those Fellowships.

I truly hope you enjoy this book. I’ve enjoyed making it for you.

Keep your lamp trimmed and burning, and as President Fulbright often said: “Be nice.”

Stu Jenks
Spring, 2016
Studio BR-549
Tucson, Arizona

All photographs by Stu Jenks. Book design and layout by Gail Cross of Desert Isle Designs, Mesa, Arizona.