Solving the puzzle

“baby sparrow” is 11x14, made from paper, acrylic paint, pencil, charcoal and glue on birch panel. It is one of two pieces now showing at the Medium Gallery in Ukiah, CA. The image is also available as a card reading, “so happy you were born.” © Annette Makino 2022

First of all, Happy Fourth of July! To celebrate, I’m offering 20% off everything in my Makino Studios shop (except original art) on orders of $20 or more. Just use code 4JULY at checkout before midnight this Sunday.

In the months since I last wrote, I’ve spent a lot of time caregiving for my 96-year-old mother. I’ve also been been traveling—I spent most of April exploring and hiking through the gorgeous, otherworldly Southwestern US (see pics on my Insta and Facebook, links below).

red rock canyon
just a matter
of time

But my main activity of the past few months has been making art. While some artists can create under any conditions, I need everything to be just so to feel ready to work. A cluttered art studio and too many urgent items on my to-do list are creative turnoffs: I need a clean space and a clear mind. Since my artistic urge is such a fragile flower, I try to nurture it whenever it blooms.

After a creative dry spell of several months, conditions have been right for a very productive artistic streak. At the moment I have eleven new collages waiting to be scanned and combined with haiku. With several more ideas percolating, there should be plenty of pieces to choose from for my 2025 calendar of art and haiku. Many of these pieces will also become cards once I figure out the words. I’m excited to share the new work with you this fall!

Sometimes while struggling with a piece, I wonder why I bother making collages. They can take as much time or more as regular paintings. So why bother fiddling with little bits of colored paper to make an image that I could just as easily paint, with more realistic results?

Well, after a decade of making fairly representational paintings in Japanese watercolors and sumi ink, I felt I had come to the end of that approach. My 2021 book, Water and Stone, was the culmination of that ten-year period. Though several notches short of mastery, I had reached a level of ability where there was not enough of a challenge left to interest me. Even though it can be uncomfortable or scary to try something new, I enjoy being stretched.

baby sparrow
the thin line between
falling and flying

I also love solving puzzles. For a couple of years I was hooked on playing the Scrabble-like game Words With Friends on my phone, absurdly spending up to an hour to find the highest-scoring word for each turn. Some years earlier, while staying in a Swiss village with my family, I got so addicted to completing a jigsaw puzzle that I missed out on a magical, snowy New Year’s Eve walk—as my husband keeps reminding me.

a thousand-piece puzzle deeper into winter

Alas, I was denied the satisfaction of finishing that puzzle: the last piece was missing.

thrift store puzzle
the holes
you can never fill

I recently realized that I enjoy making collages because it’s a continuous process of solving puzzles. The challenge: using only torn bits of paper, how can I create the picture I have in my mind? Which collage papers from my stash best represent the colors, textures and sizes I need to create that image? Sure, I can paint papers specifically for a particular need, but that is time-consuming and messy—I much prefer to hunt for the right piece from the collection of papers I’ve already painted.

Process shot of the golden retriever piece.

A couple of weeks ago I was working on a scene of a golden retriever at the beach. I leafed through my collection of painted blue papers for a way to represent the waves. Aha! A sheet printed with slate blue paint in a lively texture obtained by wrinkling tin foil and then rolling paint over it. And a bit of lacy white rice paper that could serve as the foamy edge of the wave. Oh, and for the dog’s chest, a deep gold piece of a map with Arabic place names that could imply long, wavy fur. Puzzle pieces falling into place. And the collage takes form.

rustling paper
          becomes wings
                    becomes wind

I’m looking forward to lots more puzzling ahead as I figure out how to make my collages come alive. Here’s wishing you a fun July 4th weekend and a fulfilling summer!

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Makino Studios News

Fourth of July sale: Cards, notecard sets, prints, books and more—take 20% off site-wide through this Sunday at midnight on orders of $20 and up! Enter code 4JULY at checkout. Offer excludes original art.

Paper, Paste, and Pulp: I have two collages in this show at Medium Gallery in Ukiah, CA. The opening is during First Friday tomorrow, July 5, from 5 to 8 p.m. and the show runs until July 27. The gallery is in the Pear Tree Shopping Center near Bank of America. I can’t attend the show but if you happen to make it, please send pics!

Anywhere But Here: I’ll also be represented in the Medium Gallery’s August show, with reflections on time and place, longing, wanderlust and exploration. The opening is during First Friday on August 2 from 5 to 8 p.m. and the show runs until August 31.

Made in America II: A Humboldt Celebration of Asian Artists: The Humboldt Arts Council has accepted a proposal for a show by thirteen Humboldt County artists of Asian descent, to be held at the Morris Graves Museum of Art in May 2025. I’m honored to be part of the group and plan to organize an accompanying poetry reading and haiga slide show.

Away on retreat: I will be on creative retreat at the Klamath River for the week of July 13-20, making collages and writing haiku. Makino Studios orders will be shipped out on my return.

Obon Festival: The annual Humboldt Obon festival takes place in Arcata, CA on Sunday, August 11 from 4-8 pm. This traditional Japanese festival, which remembers and honors our ancestors, will be held on 9th Street in front of the Arcata Playhouse. Organized by Humboldt Asian Pacific Islanders (HAPI), this is a fun, family-friendly community event. I don’t plan to have a booth there this year but it’s always a good time!

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Publication credits: “baby sparrow” - The Heron’s Nest; A New Resonance 13: Emerging Voices in English-Language Haiku; 2023 calendar of art and haiku by Annette Makino

“red rock canyon” and “a thousand-piece puzzle” - The Heron’s Nest

“thrift store puzzle” - Modern Haiku

“rustling paper” - Kingfisher

Taylor Swift and the Trope of the Tortured Poet

“dawn’s early light” is 8x10, made from Japanese washi papers, metallic gold paper, book pages, paint and glue on cradled wood panel. It is the February art for my 2024 calendar. A card version reads, “you light up the room.” © Annette Makino 2023

I must admit I ignored Taylor Swift for years, thinking a pop star with such mainstream popularity, a pretty blonde beloved by teenage girls, would not be my cup of tea. But with the 2020 release of her folk-pop album Folklore, I took another listen—and became a fan. I belatedly discovered she is a gifted songwriter who writes original and interesting lyrics.

As you’ve probably heard, Swift has announced a new album called The Tortured Poets Department, to be released April 19. So does Swift consider herself a tortured poet? As evidence, there is a hand-written poem she recently posted to Instagram that includes lines like “my muses, acquired like bruises” and “my veins of pitch black ink.” Another subtle clue: it’s signed “The Chairman of the Tortured Poets Department.”

And yes, her lyrics often convey suffering. In “All Too Well” she sings, “you call me up again/Just to break me like a promise/So casually cruel in the name of being honest.” And on “Cardigan” she sings, “You drew stars around my scars/But now I’m bleeding.”

But the pain she describes is just one element of her persona; other songs talk about falling in love or tell colorful stories about fictional characters. I suspect Swift’s use of the “tortured poets” label is at least partly tongue-in-cheek, offered with her trademark combination of confession and self-deprecating humor. I guess we Swifties will just have to wait until April 19 for further clarity on this burning issue!

Meanwhile, the album title raises the question: do poets need to be tortured to write good poetry? The poster child for this stereotype is Sylvia Plath, a brilliant poet of pain and despair who took her own life at age 30. For awhile I found that my darker haiku had higher acceptance rates than my neutral or upbeat poems—proof that such poems are inherently stronger or more compelling? (See my anonymous 2013 letter on this question to the Haiku Maven advice column.) But of course, one can write about hard times from a place of acceptance rather than agony.

Despite the trope of the tortured poet—a corollary to the trope of the starving artist—there are plenty of life-affirming poets. Consider Mary Oliver’s lines, “When it’s over, I want to say: all my life/I was a bride married to amazement.” Maybe it comes from spending a lot of time in nature and learning to notice small details, but haiku poets in particular really seem to appreciate life’s gifts.

“scattered feathers” is 5x7, made of watercolor paper, an airmail envelope, washi paper, a vintage Janaese stamp, feathers, paint, thread, ink and glue on paper. © Annette Makino 2021

Tortured or not, I think the most effective poems come from being present and attuned to the world around you. You don’t necessarily have to suffer to write good poetry, but you do need access to depths of feeling and the gift of observation. This helps you write poetry that is accessible, involving some experience readers can relate to even if they have never gone through that exact event. An example:

dawn’s early light
the neighbor’s peacock
tunes up

Poetry—and I include Taylor Swift’s lyrics in that category—helps us make sense of this shifting world, the major triumphs and tortures along with the small moments that, strung together, make up our lives.

scattered feathers
the weight
of being human

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Makino Studios News

Red Moon Anthology: I am thrilled to have the following poem in Upside Down, the 2023 anthology from Red Moon Press of the best English-language haiku of the year. Editors nominated more than 3000 poems for the latest edition, and I’m honored that mine was one of the 146 haiku that made the cut. My thanks to the anthology editors.

alone at the beach
someone else’s dog
brings me a stick

Mother’s Day and graduation: I’ve stocked up on these cards for Mother’s Day (May 12) and graduation (Cal Poly Humboldt commencement is May 11). Browse all 70-odd card designs.

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Publication credits:
“dawn’s early light” - Mariposa; “scattered feathers” - Modern Haiku.

News story on my art journey

I’m excited to share that this week’s North Coast Journal includes an in-depth article about my creative path! My thanks to Louisa Rogers for the lively and well-researched column—it’s a great holiday gift to be featured. Happy solstice and season’s greetings to all!

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Makino’s “Garden rosebush,” a collage of book pages, a letter and envelope from the artist’s grandmother, handmade and Japanese washi papers, painted, torn and glued onto birch wood panel.

ART BEAT

Annette Makino’s Life in Collage

LOUISA ROGERS, NORTH COAST JOURNAL, EUREKA, CA, DECEMBER 21, 2023

Annette Makino has been an artist all her life but it wasn't until 2010 that she became interested in incorporating haiku into her artwork. For her birthday that year, her Arcata friend and fellow artist Amy Uyeki gave her a book of senryu, a poetic form structurally similar to haiku but with more humor and a focus on human nature. The poems were written by Uyeki’s Japanese grandmother and accompanied by Uyeki’s art.

“This lovely book set me on my current path,” says Makino, whose father is also Japanese. She started combining her haiku with simple brush paintings, which evolved to Asian-inspired watercolors and then collages. A year later, after leaving her 20-year career as senior vice president for communications at the Arcata-based nonprofit Internews, she launched Makino Studios, offering collages, watercolors, prints, cards and calendars.

Annette Makino. Photo by Maya Makino

Currently she works mostly with collage using hand-painted and torn Japanese washi papers, which are typically made from the fibers of the mulberry plant. She also uses other papers from different parts of her life—letters, her young nephew’s scribbles, book pages, musical scores and maps. To make sure the pieces don’t fade over time, she uses acrylic paints to color the white paper, then tears it into the shapes she wants and glues it onto paper or wood, a process that typically takes two to three days. According to Makino, a common misconception is that collage doesn't require much skill. “It’s very labor intensive and can involve as much skill as painting,” she says.

Makino’s most productive periods of artwork happen twice every summer, when she and her husband, Paul, a retired Cal Poly Humboldt geography professor, rent a cabin on the Klamath River in Orleans, a place they've visited for 27 years. In that placid location, free from distractions, she can get a lot of work done.

Makino usually writes the haiku first, before the artwork. “The words aren’t meant to illustrate the art,” she says. “You want a bit of distance, so the reader has a new way to think about the theme.” She often starts crafting the poem while hiking in Ma-le'l Dunes or in Trinidad, where she and Paul walk a couple of times a week.

Makino considers herself equal parts artist and writer. Her book Water and Stone: Ten Years of Art and Haiku was awarded Honorable Mention in the Haiku Society of America's Merit Book Awards and her poetry regularly appears in English-language haiku journals, including Modern Haiku, Frogpond and The Heron’s Nest. She has also won awards for her poetry from the Haiku Foundation and the Haiku Society of America.

Annette Makino’s “All that I am” incorporates book pages, a fern print, a vintage Japanese letter and washi paper, as well as asemic, or made-up, writing by her nephew.

Many of Makino’s haiku have to do with transitions. A few years ago, for example, when her two young adult children started the process of leaving home, she wrote about the empty nest, while the loss of her 16-year-old dog inspired many poems last summer. Her 95-year-old mother Erika, a former Humboldt resident and also a writer and artist, lives three hours away in Mendocino County. Makino visits her about once a month and is keenly aware of her mom’s gradual decline. That, and the earthquake last winter which caused a lot of damage to her home, have inspired her poetry and art. “Whatever life brings me,” she says. 

Makino was one of five local artists granted the 2022 Victor Thomas Jacoby award for “artistic vision and creativity,” provided annually by the Humboldt Area Foundation and Wild Rivers Community Foundation. Winners each received $10,000 to support their work. The award freed her from some of the commercial pressures of running a business and creating mostly marketable art that appeals to the public. Instead, she experimented with mixed media, using materials like charcoal, crayon, ink and pencil in her collages, and exploring oils and cold wax.

North Coast Journal, December 21, 2023

Recently, she’s been incorporating more personally meaningful elements into her collages. Because Paul loves maps, she created a collage for him that included a detailed map of Tibet. Another collage she created with whales incorporated a scrap from her daughter’s high school copy of Moby Dick. For “Garden rosebush,” she says, “I included a letter from my Swiss grandmother when I got married.”

Makino’s Japanese-Swiss ancestry has shaped her creativity. The haiku and Japanese paper may be more apparent to viewers but, “The Swiss, too, are surprisingly very playful in their art and writing,” she says, noting she likes to bring that spirit of play into her work.

Makino’s cards, prints and calendars are available at the Made in Humboldt Fair at Pierson Garden Shop through Dec. 24, and in shops around the county year-round. You can see more of her work at makinostudios.com.

Louisa Rogers (she/her) is a writer, painter and paddleboarder who lives in Eureka and Guanajuato, Mexico.

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Makino Studios News

Made in Humboldt fair: With 300 local vendors, the “Made in Humboldt” event at Pierson Garden Shop in Eureka, CA runs through this Sunday, Dec. 24. There you will find my calendars, books, small prints and boxed notecards.

2024 mini-calendars: I am still shipping out orders through the holidays, especially my calendars of art and haiku! They feature 12 colorful Asian-inspired collages with my original haiku. $12 each.

Free shipping: Earn free shipping on orders for $35 or more; just enter promo code FREESHIP35 at checkout.

On parenting and letting go

“kids all grown” is 8x10, made with acrylic paint, washi paper, book pages, a vintage Japanese letter and glue on cradled birch panel. It is part of my 2023 calendar, and is also available as a card reading, “you make the world a lovelier place.”

This week I am busy packing and preparing for our trip to Ecuador, including the Galápagos! My husband and I are meeting up with our son Gabriel as he completes a fascinating semester-long program in Development, Politics and Languages.

In Ecuador he has stayed with four different host families (two of them Indigenous), snorkeled in the Galápagos, bathed under a waterfall, explored the rain forest with a naturalist, helped out on a farm in the cloud forest, and made chocolate from scratch, roasting cacao pods over an open fire. Oh, and he has studied, of course! He is currently wrapping up a four-week independent study project on efforts to reintroduce native grains like quinoa and amaranth within a Quichua community.

It was hard to say goodbye to my beloved son last August—I worried about Covid, crime and car accidents, for starters. But I’m delighted that he’s having such a rich experience, and am looking forward to seeing the country through his eyes.

Really, once babyhood has passed, parenting is just a long process of letting go and trusting that you’ve taught your child the skills they need to be OK. We miss having our kids at home, but there is also great pleasure in seeing them stretch their wings—and in sharing a bit of their adventures. Here are some haiku on the empty nest stage of parenting.

driving lesson
he practices
leaving home

his absence
its own presence
childhood bedroom

her notes covered
with question marks
philosophy class

empty nest
our son’s old sweater
on the dog

semester abroad
she waves from the far side
of security

childless once more
the farthest ridge line
fades into blue

kids all grown
we train the sweet peas
up the trellis

I wish you all a happy and merry holiday season.

The above haiku first appeared in The Heron’s Nest, Frogpond, Presence, and Visiting the Wind: Haiku Society of America Members’ Anthology 2021

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Makino Studios News

Holiday sale on calendars: My 2023 mini-calendars of art and haiku are just $9.99 through midnight this coming Friday, Dec. 2 (normally $12). No code required—I just want to encourage you to order this week, before I leave town on Saturday! I will have someone filling orders while I’m gone, but shipping may be slower than usual.

Fourth printing of my book: I was down to just two copies of my award-winning book, Water and Stone: Ten Years of Art and Haiku. But thankfully, 150 more copies finally arrived yesterday! This fourth printing includes excerpts from the lovely reviews and judges’ comments.

Made in Humboldt fair: The “Made in Humboldt” event at Pierson Garden Shop in Eureka, CA runs through Friday, Dec. 24. This is the only fair where you can buy my calendars, books, prints and boxed notecards this season. There are 250 participating vendors, all local.

Free shipping: I offer free first-class shipping on US retail orders of $35 or more. Use code FREESHIP35 at checkout.

Cards: Holiday, birthday, sympathy or everyday… right now there are more than 70 Makino Studios card designs to choose from. I also have five different notecard sets, including two holiday designs (but act fast—one of them is almost sold out).

Art prints: Blake’s Books in McKinleyville and Humboldt’s Hometown Store in Ferndale both carry a selection of my matted art prints, ready for gifting. They are among the local stores that carry my books, calendars, notecards and single cards.

Holiday shipping deadline: The US Postal Service advises that for first-class packages to arrive by Dec. 25, they should be shipped by Saturday, Dec. 17.

Torn together

Happy Thanksgiving! This week I’m especially grateful for the gift of right livelihood—creative work that nourishes me and my community. Deepest thanks to you, my customers and fans, who make that possible. In gratitude, I’m offering 15% off everything in my Makino Studios shop thru Sunday with code THANKS22 (details below).

Here’s a glimpse at how I created a recent piece. A few years ago, I tore my left rotator cuff, which was followed by a painful case of “frozen shoulder.” After a physical therapy appointment, I took a walk along the Mad River bluffs overlooking the ocean, admiring the windswept trees. That inspired the following poem:

to love this body
just as it is
twisted shore pines

I decided to create a collage with the haiku, and started with a rough sketch. Next I searched through my collection of painted and embellished papers. Earlier I had tried painting a sunset sky for another piece, which didn’t work at all. But that rejected sheet turned out to be perfect for this piece. I also used washi paper, an old letter and some pages from a copy of Moby-Dick.

After much trial and error, I chose the papers I wanted, then tore them into pieces and laid them out, tweaking my composition until it felt right.

I tore and glued on the main pieces, including the black branches of the shore pine. But how to create all those needles? I knew it would drive me insane to collage each one. Eventually I realized I was trying to obey an imaginary rule that using pen and ink in a collage would be “cheating.” Once I let go of that unconscious restriction, I drew in the needles with a fine point pen.

Voilà! The finished haiga (art with haiku), is 11x14, made with acrylic paint, archival ink, paper and glue on cradled birch panel. (The words were added digitally using my custom brush-painted font and do not appear on the original.) © Annette Makino 2022

From uncomfortable beginnings, this mixed media collage emerged as the star of my collection this year. In an informal poll of friends and family, it won the cover spot on my 2023 calendar. (There is also a greeting card version that reads simply, “sending much love.”)

Sending wishes for much love and abundance this Thanksgiving!

“to love this body” was first published in Frogpond, the journal of the Haiku Society of America.

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Makino Studios News

Thanksgiving sale: Use promo code THANKS22 at checkout for 15% off everything in the Makino Studios shop except original art. Good for first-class shipping within the U.S. Only one promo code per order. Sale ends at midnight this Sunday, Nov. 27.

Made in Humboldt fair: The “Made in Humboldt” event at Pierson Garden Shop in Eureka, CA runs through Friday, Dec. 24. This is the only fair where you can buy my calendars, books, prints and boxed notecards this season. There are 250 participating vendors, all local.

Ecuador travel: My husband and I will be in Ecuador and the Galápagos Dec. 3-20! We are visiting our son, who is studying there this semester. Our house sitter will be packaging and mailing orders in my absence, but they may take a little longer to get out the door, so order early!

2023 mini-calendars: My calendars of art and haiku make great holiday gifts! They feature 12 colorful Asian-inspired collages with my original haiku. $12 each.

Water and Stone: My award-winning book of art and haiku includes 50 watercolor paintings with my original poems. Cost is $25. You can find it online here, on Amazon and in select local Humboldt stores. 

Cards: Holiday, birthday, sympathy or everyday… right now there are more than 70 Makino Studios card designs to choose from. I also have five different notecard sets, including two holiday designs.

Art prints: Blake’s Books in McKinleyville and Humboldt’s Hometown Store in Ferndale both carry a selection of my matted art prints, ready for gifting. They are among the local stores that carry my books, calendars, notecards and single cards.

Holiday shipping deadline: The US Postal Service advises that for first-class packages to arrive by Dec. 25, they should be shipped by Saturday, Dec. 17.

Sunflowers for Ukraine

“shine on!” is 5x7, made with paper, acrylic paint and glue on illustration board. A card version is available here. © Annette Makino 2020

For the past week I’ve been consumed with the news of the war in Ukraine. In my past life in international development at Internews, I worked with Ukrainians committed to developing professional and independent media in their country. 

I have fond memories of a long-ago work trip to Kyiv: onion domes of Orthodox churches glittering golden in the sun. Children gazing at park statues honoring World War II soldiers. Vendors selling Ukrainian crafts and Soviet artifacts by the wide Dnieper River. The little shop where my Ukrainian colleague bought me a beautiful silk scarf I was admiring. It’s hard to imagine that whole world under attack right now. 

And yet it is truly inspiring to see how bravely Ukrainians of all stripes are responding to Putin's aggression. One viral video shows a woman offering sunflower seeds to a heavily armed Russian soldier, telling him, “Take these seeds and put them in your pockets so at least sunflowers will grow when you all lie down here.”

Kudos also to the courageous Russians who are resisting despite great personal risk. These include the 77-year old activist and survivor of the Siege of Leningrad, Yelena Osipova, who was detained by eight police officers for protesting in St. Petersburg. Even Russian children have been jailed for bringing flowers to the Ukrainian embassy.

It can be overwhelming to read about so much suffering, including the one million(!) Ukrainians so far who have been forced to leave their country. Here in my warm, comfortable house, I feel for all those who have fled their homes to spend days underground in subway stations. My heart also goes out to the young, ill-prepared Russian soldiers who were told they were going on training exercises, or that Ukrainians would welcome them with open arms.

I try to remind myself to just do what I can. I keep a quote by author Clarissa Pinkola Estés on my desktop: “Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach.” 

refugee news
I rescue a spider
from the kitchen sink

Since the sunflower is Ukraine’s national flower, I’m joining other artists who are sharing sunflower art in solidarity with the people of Ukraine. To the Ukrainian people and to all who are resisting this brutal and senseless war, we see you and we salute you. Shine on!

(“refugee news” was first published in The Heron’s Nest, Volume XXIII, Number 4: December 2021)

Here’s hoping for brighter days ahead for Ukraine. (Photo: Annette Makino)

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Makino Studios News

New card designs: I’ve created several brand-new card designs and I’ve updated others with new words. Browse the whole collection, including Mother’s Day and graduation cards.

Sale on 2022 mini-calendars: My mini-calendars, featuring 12 colorful Asian-inspired collages with my original haiku, are now on sale for $9.99 (from $12.00).

Free shipping: I offer free first-class shipping on US retail orders of $35 or more. Use code FREESHIP35 at checkout.

Joy, art and healing

“first rain” is 11 x 14, made of paper, acrylic paint, and adhesive on paper. It appears in my 2022 calendar. © Annette Makino 2021.

It’s always a bit awkward having an event online. It’s not just that someone invariably forgets to mute; it’s also just plain weird to have a conversation with people you can only see in their little Zoom boxes.

flossing only
my front teeth
Zoom meeting

But this deep into the pandemic, Zooming has become more routine—and it does allow for some interesting opportunities we wouldn’t otherwise have.

A couple of weeks ago, I was part of an online panel with four other artists and writers on the theme of joy, art and healing. The rich and wide-ranging conversation centered on the experience of being an artist in this particular time.

Right now our world is dealing with climate change, a pandemic, and assaults on democracy, to name just a few threats. We explored whether it’s frivolous or self-indulgent to spend time making art when our world is so broken. 

Is it the highest and best use of our time to hole up in our studios? Should we instead devote ourselves to political organizing or marching in the streets?

A couple of the panelists shared ways they have harnessed their art for good causes. For instance, letterpress artist Jenn Graves donated sales of a print reading “love is a verb” to support young people as they age out of foster care.

More broadly, we discussed how making art is one way of mending the world. As artist Lisa Occhipinti put it, “Art heals us and enables us to give joy.” 

Author Lori Snyder said, “At its best, art is a bridge to all of our humanity.” She noted how creations that feel unique to us can have universal meaning for other people. 

I shared that my younger self thought that the best way to create social change was to work directly on issues, preferably on a global scale. But I’ve since come to believe that we artists can create more profound change at an individual level, when we’re in our truth and sharing our authentic selves. 

I keep this quote by Clarissa Pinkola Estés on my computer desktop: “Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach.”

I called both of my senators yesterday morning and I regularly donate to political and environmental groups. But I believe the part of the world I can best mend is the part I can touch with my art. 

Someday I hope to meet my fellow panelists out of their Zoom boxes, in 3-D! In the mean time, I’m grateful to them for affirming that, despite my occasional bouts of guilt and doubt, art can be a path to joy and healing for both the artist and the viewer. 

art studio
a full day’s work
under my nails

P.S. This panel was part of “Joy, Art & Healing,” a series of seven conversation organized by Lori Snyder and the Writers Happiness Movement in celebration of Lori’s new book, The Circus at the End of the Sea. You can watch the whole discussion here.

An earlier version of “first rain” was first published in Windfall: 2013 Seabeck Haiku Getaway Anthology

“flossing only” was first published in Paper Mountains: 2020 Seabeck Haiku Getaway Anthology

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

Single cards, notecard sets, signed prints, calendars and books are all available on this site.

Makino Studios News

New cards: I’ve created eight new and updated cards for birthdays, sympathy, support and every day! I also offer notecards sets for the holidays or every day.

2022 mini-calendar: My new calendars of art and haiku are available on this site and at select stores in Humboldt County, California. They feature 12 colorful Asian-inspired collages with my original haiku, which you can see at the top of my collage gallery. At $12 each, these make great holiday gifts. 

Water and Stone: My book of art and haiku, Water and Stone, makes a lovely present! It includes 50 watercolor paintings with my original poems, plus 15 haibun (short prose pieces combined with haiku). Cost is $24.99. You can find it online here, on Amazon and in select local Humboldt stores. 

Made in Humboldt fair: You’ll be able to find my calendars, prints and boxed notecards at the “Made in Humboldt” event at Pierson Garden Shop in Eureka, CA from Tuesday, Nov. 9 through Friday, Dec. 24. This will be the only fair where you can find my work this season. 

Seabeck Haiku Getaway: I will be presenting a slide show of my art and haiku (haiga) plus a hands-on haiga workshop at the Seabeck Haiku Getaway taking place in Seabeck, WA Oct. 27-31. (Haiku poets, there are still a few spots left!)

Traveling: In related news, I will be traveling and unable to fill orders Oct. 26-Nov. 4, so please get any Makino Studios orders in by Monday.