Ta-daaah! My new book is out!

Water and Stone: Ten Years of Art and Haiku, by Annette Makino, is published by Makino Studios and available to order on Amazon.

Since I was a child I have dreamt of publishing books. In third grade I even wrote and illustrated a rhyming alphabet book about books and being an author: “A is for ARTHUR (sic), It’s a him or a her. B is for bookstore, just go in the door . . . ”  It wasn’t exactly deathless prose, but the enthusiasm was genuine.

Fast forward fifty years, and I am thrilled to share that my new book, Water and Stone: Ten Years of Art and Haiku, is now available to order via Amazon! This softbound book of my watercolor art is 8x10, full color, 124 pages, and priced at $24.99. I’m also planning to get it into some local stores next month—stay tuned!

I’m honored that four luminaries of the world of haiku and haiga have lauded my book. Here’s the full Amazon description with their comments:

This beautiful book by award-winning haiku poet and artist Annette Makino provides a welcome dose of Zen wisdom and humor for our fractured world. Through vibrant paintings and evocative poems, Makino finds beauty and meaning in the everyday world, be it the rhythm of ocean waves, the bittersweet joys of parenting, or a traumatized rescue dog.

Spanning a decade of painting and writing, Water and Stone features fifty haiga—artworks combined with haiku—painted with Japanese watercolors and sumi ink. Sprinkled throughout the collection are fifteen haibun—autobiographical prose pieces that include haiku. While deeply personal, these touch on universal themes such as the quest for meaningful work, finding love, raising a family, growing older, and considering our place in the world.

By turns joyful and poignant, this full-color collection of Makino’s paintings and haiku is a treat for lovers of Japanese poetry and art. Reading Water and Stone lifts the spirit while helping to deepen awareness and appreciation of the present moment.

Praise for Water and Stone

“Since haiku has become the world’s most popular and practiced form of poetry, it should not be surprising that it has led to fascinating fusions with other arts. Adding to the spirit of the poem without trying to explain it in words is difficult, but when well done it offers a special combination of charm and depth. With the publication of Water and Stone, Annette Makino takes her place among the leaders of haiku painting (haiga).”

—Stephen Addiss, author of The Art of Haiku

“Water and Stone is a joyous kaleidoscope of color with deeply felt art and words. Stories captured in succinct moments and longer prose that resonate in the very best tradition of simplicity and brevity. Makino has produced a wonderful collection.”

—Ron C. Moss, Haiga Editor of Contemporary Haibun Online

“Annette Makino offers a rare combination of excellence in both art and haiku. Water and Stone celebrates selections of the best of her work over the past ten years, documenting an impressive flowering of her aesthetic commitment and deep, playful exploration of these arts.”

—Michael Dylan Welch, founder of National Haiku Writing Month

“Water and Stone is a wonderful book of haiku, haibun, and haiga. Makino’s personal artistic voice centers on haiga—in this collection watercolors in a unique style inspired by Japanese woodblock prints. Water and Stone is a reminder that the best haiku are about really seeing the small, obvious, or not-so-obvious things in daily life.”

—Linda Papanicolaou, Editor of HaigaOnline

P.S. If you enjoy your copy of Water and Stone, other prospective buyers and I would very grateful if you would post a review online!

P.P.S. Amazon says it can take 3-5 days for the book to show up in the international marketplace. Also the “Look Inside the Book” feature will be available in seven days.

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A peek inside Water and Stone. The book features 50 watercolor haiga (art with haiku) and 15 haibun (prose pieces that include haiku).

Makino Studios News

Best Local Artist: There’s less than a week left to vote for Best Local Artist in the 2021 Best of Humboldt contest! Anyone can vote, every day in June, and I’d love your support.

Away next week: I’ll be off on a weeklong creative retreat/vacation next week, so please get your card orders in by tomorrow (Friday) evening. I’ll ship any orders after that the week of July 5. You can shop all my cards here.

Free shipping on cards and prints: Use code FREESHIP35 to get free first-class shipping on cards, prints, or other items on US orders of $35 or more on the Makino Studios site.

“Word and Image: Exploring Modern Haiga”: This session on haiga (art combined with haiku) is now on YouTube. I presented it together with Linda Papanicolaou, Editor of HaigaOnline, at the Haiku Society of America’s annual conference. First I gave a ten-minute slide show of my watercolor art from the book (starts at 3:20), and then Linda explained approaches to linking haiku with art. Finally, participants wrote haiku to accompany the images we provided. We had more than 200 attendees via Zoom and it was a lively session!

The business of art: I wrote a column about “the business end of the paintbrush” for the Business Sense series in the Eureka Times-Standard. It’s supposed to run this Sunday, June 27. I’ll be out of town, so I hope someone saves me a copy!

North Country Fair: This annual fair on the Arcata Plaza is scheduled to take place Sept. 18-19 this year, if COVID-19 safety permits. Makino Studios will be there, and I’ll have my new book for sale!

The worth of this day

“how to measure” is 5x7, made with a sand dollar, a Japanese stamp, hand-painted Japanese washi papers and other found papers on illustration board. © Annette Makino 2021

I’m delighted to share that, for the second year in a row, I’m one of three finalists for Best Local Artist in the North Coast Journals’s Best of Humboldt contest! The others are mural artists Duane Flatmo and Blake Reagan. Anyone can vote, once a day through June. I hope you will take a moment to support me and all your favorite local people and places.

As any working artist can tell you, there are many easier and more lucrative ways to make a living. Vincent van Gogh, now one of the world’s most famous artists, only survived due to financial support from his brother.

Though they may not have a brother like Theo, most of the artists I know rely on additional sources of income like teaching art, a day job, grants or a partner with good benefits. And the most financially successful artists aren’t necessarily the best at making art; they’re just really skilled at self-promotion and the business side of art. Look no further than the balloon rabbit sculpture by Jeff Koons that sold for $91 million a couple years ago.

Unlike Koons’ balloon animals, my creative work brings in a fraction of what I earned in my old professional life. But the freedom and quality of life I enjoy are priceless. 

how to measure
the worth of this day
sand dollar moon

And whether it’s a painting, a poem, or a song, there is a special satisfaction in creating something meaningful that no one else could have made.

art studio
a full day’s work
under my nails

Although it doesn’t clearly show on a balance sheet, knowing that my work touches others only multiplies the rewards. After ten years of running Makino Studios, I’m still quietly amazed to receive checks from stores in the mail, because it means that perfect strangers are willing to pay for my art. Deepest thanks to my customers and fans for your ongoing support.

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“how to measure” haiga published in Modern Haiku, Issue 52.2, Summer 2021

“art studio” haiku published in The Heron’s Nest, Volume XXII, Number 2, June 2021

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“first warm breeze” is 5x7, made with a Japanese stamp, hand-painted Japanese washi papers and twine on illustration board. © Annette Makino 2021

Makino Studios News

Best Local Artist: I’m a finalist for Best Local Artist in the North Coast Journal’s 2021 Best of Humboldt contest! Anyone can vote, every day in June, and I’d love your support.

New artwork: Four of my collage pieces are featured in the Poetry Gallery section of the latest issue of Modern Haiku, including the two shown here. You can view all of them and many others in the Gallery section.

“Word and Image: Exploring Modern Haiga”: I will present this session on haiga, or art combined with haiku, together with Linda Papanicolaou, Editor of HaigaOnline, at the Haiku Society of America’s annual conference. This year’s event runs this Saturday and Sunday, June 12-13, and is free via Zoom. Anyone can register. Our 50-minute workshop is Sunday at noon Pacific time. 

Water and Stone: Ten Years of Art and Haiku: My book is almost ready and I’m hoping to publish shortly! It features fifty watercolor haiga along with fifteen new haibun (autobiographical prose pieces with haiku). This softbound book will be 8x10, full color, 124 pages, on sale at Amazon or select independent bookstores for $24.99.

North Country Fair: This annual fair on the Arcata Plaza is scheduled to take place Sept. 18-19 this year, if COVID-19 safety permits. Makino Studios will be there!

Free shipping on cards and prints: Use code FREESHIP35 to get free first-class shipping on cards, prints, or other items on US orders of $35 or more.

Big changes in the studio

“telephone pole” is 8 x 10, made of paper, acrylic paint and adhesive on illustration board with the words digitally added. The haiku was first published in A Moment’s Longing, Haiku Society of America Members’ Anthology, 2019, Ed. Tanya MacDonald.

With business slowed by the pandemic and time on my hands during these long months of sheltering in place, I have been up to something big in my studio. To be honest, I have felt shy about sharing it while my new work is in the process of being born. That’s why I haven’t written in some months.

But the baby has taken its first breath, so here goes. After ten years of painting with sumi ink and Japanese watercolors, I have set that approach aside to develop a whole new style of art. I have begun making collages from hand-painted and torn washi papers, sometimes combined with old letters, book pages, maps and other found papers. These collages draw inspiration from the natural landscapes of Northern California and from my Japanese heritage.

Although they can take just as long to create as my paintings, these days I am having more fun with collages and finding them to be very rich emotionally. For instance, the woodpecker collage shown here incorporates bits of an airmail envelope from my late grandmother, a score from my old choir and pages of Moby-Dick with my daughter’s high school notes in the margin. 

Traditional Japanese washi papers are made from the inner bark of mulberry bushes and other plants. The papers I use start out white, often with embedded organic bits such as fiber threads and leaves. In a technique I learned from Washington artist Donna Watson, I mix my own colors and apply paint to the backs of the sheets using a brayer. This way, the colors bleed through but the textured bits and any printed patterns are still visible. 

I also embellish grocery lists, canceled checks and discarded sumi ink paintings. In the alchemy of collage, every aspect of life can be transformed into something rich and beautiful.

These new collages will form the basis of my 2021 calendar of art and haiku. I’ll let you know when they’re available, hopefully next month. At that point you’ll also be able to view more examples of this new work.

I am still deciding whether to create card versions of these designs, with card-appropriate words rather than haiku. I would love to get your honest opinion on whether people would buy these, even (especially) if you think they would not hold much appeal. 

With this new collage art in its infancy, I am still working out how to piece it all together, literally and figuratively. I deeply appreciate your support for my work to date and I look forward to your frank feedback on this new direction.

warmly, Annette

P.S. I will continue to offer my most popular watercolor card designs while gradually phasing out the slower sellers. That means supplies of some card designs are limited; everything I’ve got is for sale on my Makino Studios website.

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“mountain switchbacks” is 8 x 10, made of paper, acrylic paint and adhesive on illustration board with the words digitally added. © Annette Makino 2020. The haiku was first published in Acorn, Number 43, Fall 2019.

Makino Studios News

Best of Humboldt: Thanks to everyone who voted for me for Best Local Artist in the North Coast Journal’s annual Best of Humboldt contest! I'm pleased to be a finalist (2nd place), especially in a county with so many talented artists.

Seabeck Haiku Getaway: I will be giving a reading of my haiku and presenting my new collage haiga (art with haiku) at this annual gathering, which is being held on Zoom Oct. 31-Nov. 1 this year. Registration is full but you can still sign up for the waiting list.

Canceled Humboldt events: The North Country Fair, normally held in late September, is canceled this year, as are the annual holiday fairs at the Arcata Community Center and Redwood Acres. You can still find my paintings, prints and cards online here; my cards are also available in select stores.

The other end of the paintbrush

“summer solstice” is 11×14, painted with sumi ink and Japanese watercolors on paper and digitally edited. An earlier version of the haiku first appeared in Modern Haiku. A birthday card version is available. © Annette Makino 2016

Humboldt County is famous for two things: its magical old-growth redwood forests and perhaps equally magical marijuana. But there is a lesser-known feature that makes this area unique: it has more working artists per capita than any other part of California.

Each year in June, some 150 Humboldt artists open their studio doors to the public as part of North Coast Open Studios. Earlier this month, it was my pleasure to be part of the "Seven in Samoa" group that hosted visitors the first weekend. The following weekend, I got to tour nine studios.

In visiting other artists, I was inspired and moved by much of their art. But it was just as interesting to talk with these working artists and learn about what goes on at the other end of the paintbrush. I discovered we are grappling with some of the same issues.

A common theme of our conversations was the tension between making art that purely expresses our creativity versus making art that we know will sell. For instance, one artist is currently drawn to images of melancholy women, but knows there is a much bigger market for her playful pieces of cats.

Another sells a lot of art postcards with inspiring quotes, but her passion project is a scrapbook of sketches and thoughts about silent meditation retreats, though she knows the market for such a book is very limited.

Annette Makino demonstrates her tools and techniques at the Samoa Women’s Club in Samoa, CA as part of North Coast Open Studios in June 2017.

For my part, I sometimes find myself painting simply because it’s time for a new card catalog. Instead of “What do I really want to express about my core being?,” the “helpful” and persistent voice inside my head asks a much less inspiring question, “What would make for a good birthday card?”

Another common theme of my Open Studios conversations was the competing demands on our time: we need to spend time managing and marketing our business, but that cuts into the time to actually create. And it's hard for me to compartmentalize: when I know I have orders to fill or an event to publicize, I can't get into the open, spacious frame of mind I need to paint.

Finally, an underlying issue that emerged from talking with other artists was, what does success mean to me as a working artist? Is it measured by sales? Reputation? Appreciation from buyers? Personal satisfaction from the joy of creating? While it’s surely some combination of all of these, it’s challenging to find the right balance, especially in a culture that confuses money with worth.

Overall, I came away from Open Studios without clearcut answers, yet comforted to know that I am not alone: even the most successful artists struggle with these dilemmas. It was inspiring to meet so many passionate, committed people who have chosen to walk this sometimes difficult path. We may never get rich from our art (though I'm not opposed to that!), but we are certainly rich in spirit.

summer solstice . . .
the skipping stone
all the way across

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Makino Studios News

Seven in Samoa: The Eureka Times-Standard ran this story about the group of artists that showcased our work together as part of North Coast Open Studios.

Summer vacation: Happy solstice! I’ll be on vacation from this Saturday, June 24 until Sunday, July 2. While I am swimming and painting at the Klamath River (depicted in the above image), my Makino Studios Etsy shop will be closed for the week and I will not be filling store orders.

Westhaven Wild Blackberry Festival: Rabia O’Loren will be selling a selection of my cards and prints at this festival on Sunday, July 30, 10-4 at the Westhaven Volunteer Fire Department.

North Country Fair: Mark your calendar for this two-day festival celebrating the fall equinox, taking place September 16-17 on the Arcata Plaza!

Celebrating Haiku Poetry Day

“the grass on this side” is 11×14, painted with sumi ink and Japanese watercolors on paper and digitally edited. A greeting card version is available reading “love you till the cows come home.” © Annette Makino 2014

Popping up in the middle of National Poetry Month, today is International Haiku Poetry Day. To mark the occasion, here is a smorgasbord of haiku I’ve published this past year. Enjoy!

gentle rain
I remind my mother
to buckle up

tendrils of fog
I follow a thread
back into the dream

understory
no punctuation
in her text message

beach vacation
every night between the sheets
a little more sand

sunlit pond
the cattails
chirping

thin ice
the windshield crack
lengthens

Indian summer
the sky the color
of forever

And for a selection of some of the finest haiku of 2016, see the short list for The Haiku Foundation’s prestigious Touchstone Award.

warmly, Annette Makino

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Publication credits:

“gentle rain” - The Heron’s Nest, Issue 19:1, March 2017
“tendrils of fog” - Frogpond, Issue 40:1, Winter 2017
“understory” - Exhaling, Seabeck Haiku Getaway 2015 Anthology
“beach vacation” - Modern Haiku, Issue 47:2, Summer 2016
“sunlit pond” - A Hundred Gourds, Issue 5:3, June 2016
“thin ice” - A Hundred Gourds, Issue 5:3, June 2016
“Indian summer” - Frogpond, Issue 39:3, Autumn 2016

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Makino Studios News

Free shipping for Poetry Month: Since April is National Poetry Month, I am offering free shipping for US orders of $15 or more through the Makino Studios Etsy store. Use code SPRING2017 through April 30.

ukiaHaiku Festival: I will be at the ukiaHaiku Festival in Ukiah, California on Sunday, April 30 at 2 p.m. at the Civic Center in my old hometown of Ukiah, California. Stay tuned for some happy news!

BeeFest 2017: This annual celebration of bees takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 13 at the Adorni Center in Eureka, California. A sampling of my cards and prints will be available.

Open Studios: Mark your calendars for North Coast Open Studios! Once again, I will join silk painter Tina Gleave, plus five other women artists, at the Samoa Women’s Club in Samoa for the first weekend. We’ll kick off from 6-9 p.m. on Friday, June 2 and continue from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, June 3-4. We’ll be showing new art, demonstrating our tools and techniques, and offering free refreshments.