I have been painting away this summer, and now, with the fall equinox just around the corner, I'm happy to share the art that has emerged from that time, in the form of paintings, cards, and a 2020 calendar.
Thanksgiving abundance
“warmest holiday wishes” © 2015 Annette Makino
As Thanksgiving approaches, I’m thinking about the fact that we in the U.S. have a holiday that is completely devoted to gathering with our loved ones and giving thanks. Isn't it cool that in deepest, darkest November, family and friends come together to share a feast that represents abundance? Covered in gravy, with a side of cranberry sauce.
I’m grateful to be enjoying a less stressful holiday season than usual. For this month and next, I’ve consciously stepped back from some commitments and opportunities just to keep from getting overwhelmed.
As a result, I’ve had time to exchange foot rubs with my daughter Maya, who is home from college this week; play hard-fought games of Scrabble with my son Gabriel; take long hikes in the redwoods with the whole family; and pursue a few new art projects.
Quality family and creative time: that to me is true abundance. But I won't say no to a slice of pumpkin pie—or two!
More fundamentally, I’m deeply thankful to be able to create and share my art with the world. The gravy is to hear from so many of you how this work brings people joy and meaning.
Happy Thanksgiving!
warmly, Annette Makino
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Makino Studios News
Free Shipping: With thanks to you, my customers and supporters, I’m offering free shipping on orders of $20 or more from my Etsy shop. Through this coming Monday, Nov. 30, type in coupon code FREESHIP2015 at checkout to qualify. You’ll find new holiday and everyday cards, art prints and a 2016 calendar of art and haiku.
Made in Humboldt: A selection of my cards, prints and calendars is now available at the Garden Shop of Pierson Building Center in Eureka, CA through Dec. 24.
Holiday Craft Market: Makino Studios will have a booth at this fair in the Arcata Community Center in Arcata, CA on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 12-13.
Juicy bugs and other treats
Happy Haiku Poetry Day! To celebrate, I’m sharing a selection of the haiku and senryu I’ve had published in the past year. (And if, like most people, you were taught that haiku in English need to follow the 5-7-5 syllable pattern, think again. On his Graceguts site, haiku poet Michael Dylan Welch explains why that is an urban myth, and the secrets of how to write good haiku.)
Wishing you peaceful holidays
“peace on earth” is 5×7, painted with sumi ink and Japanese watercolor on paper and digitally edited. It is available as a holiday card or small print. © 2014 Annette Makino
Whew. After weeks of holiday madness for my little business, I have just one more in-person event this season, a holiday craft fair in Arcata this weekend.
With this chance to catch my breath, I just want to say a big thank you to all my customers, family and friends. This holiday season and all year, it is a tremendous gift to be able to spend this brief time on earth engaged in truly meaningful work.
the time we are given . . .
sparks rise through darkness
to join the stars
Peaceful holidays to you and goodwill to all creatures.
warmly,
Annette Makino
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Makino Studios News
Holiday Craft Market: I will have paintings, prints, cards and calendars for sale at this fair in the Arcata Community Center in Arcata, CA this weekend, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
“oak tree” is 11×14, painted with sumi ink and Japanese watercolors on paper. © 2014 Annette Makino
New Oak Tree Print: I just posted a new print of an oak tree in my Etsy shop, where you can also find the latest holiday and everyday card designs and my wall calendar for 2015.
Made in Humboldt: My cards, prints and calendars are on offer at this holiday fair at the Garden Shop of Pierson Building Center in Eureka, CA through Dec. 24.
Living Room Retrospective: I am one of nine artists featured in this exhibit at MikkiMoves in Eureka. The show runs through January.
Holiday at Mateel Gallery: A few of my paintings, plus cards and calendars, are available at this gallery in Garberville, CA through Dec. 27.
When you work for an idiot
Ripples from a stone
“forest clearing” is 11×14, painted with sumi ink and Japanese watercolors on paper. A holiday card version reads, “all is calm, all is bright.” © 2014 Annette Makino
I’ve been thinking about cause and effect—and ripples. Even we fuzzy artsy types, who met our college science requirement by taking “Physics for Poets,” know that when you throw a stone in the water, the effect is not linear: the ripples radiate out in concentric circles, farther and farther from the source.
So it goes in the rest of life: while actions certainly have consequences, you can never clearly predict what they will be. A tossed pebble may create a wave that washes a bug up to safety on the far shore. And sometimes the effects radiate out much farther than you think.
This month my friend Amy Uyeki and I have a joint show featuring images combined with haiku and other words. We named the show “Ripples from a Stone” based on the idea that we all influence each other in surprising and unpredictable ways.
In fact, both of our work in this show was inspired by Amy’s grandmother, Shizue Harada. I never met her, yet this Japanese woman, who emigrated to the US in the 1920s in an arranged marriage and only began writing poetry late in life, indirectly launched me on my path as an artist and poet.
For more about this story and details on the show, see this article in the Eureka Times-Standard. And if you’re in Humboldt, we’d love to see you at our reception this Saturday, Nov. 22, 4-6 p.m. at the Adorni Center in Eureka, California.
By putting our work out in the world, we have tossed a stone into the river. Who knows what might come of that?
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Artists Amy Uyeki, left, and Annette Makino at their joint show, “Ripples from a Stone,” at the Adorni Center in Eureka, California in November 2014.
Makino Studios News
Ripples from a Stone: This show by mixed media artist Amy Uyeki and me will run at the Adorni Center in Eureka, CA through Nov. 30, with a reception on Saturday, Nov. 22, 4-6 p.m.
Holiday Open Studios: Visit artists Joyce Jonté, Patricia Sennott and me 11-5 on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 6-7 at StewArt Studios in Arcata, CA.
Made in Humboldt: My cards, prints and calendars are on offer at this holiday sale at the Pierson's Garden Shop in Eureka, CA now through Dec. 24.
Holiday Craft Market: Makino Studios will have original paintings, prints, cards and calendars at this fair in the Arcata Community Center in Arcata, CA on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 13-14.
Holiday at Mateel Gallery: A few of my original paintings, plus cards and calendars, will be available at this group exhibit in Garberville, CA Nov. 22 through Dec. 27.
Living Room Retrospective: I am one of nine artists featured in this exhibit at MikkiMoves in Eureka, CA, opening Saturday, Dec. 6. The show runs through January.
New Cards and 2015 Calendar: Several new holiday and everyday card designs are now available online in my Etsy shop, along with my wall calendar for 2015.
I read the news today, oh boy
“rustling leaves” is 5×7, painted with sumi ink and Japanese watercolor on paper. A greeting card version reads, “I’m so glad you were born.”
Is it just my imagination, or is the news worse than usual? In the Middle East, after killing two American journalists, ISIS has just beheaded a British aid worker, and we are sliding deeper into a military campaign that no one really wants. In Africa, Ebola is rampaging virtually unchecked while fear spreads even faster. All around the world, climate change is wreaking havoc, yet our political leaders seem unable to take meaningful action on the most pressing issue of our time, not just for our species but for all others.
It’s enough to make me want to stay in bed with a heaping supply of chocolate.
But instead of succumbing to despair, yesterday I went to the farmers' market on the Arcata Plaza with my family. We heard a great steel drum band play “Happy” while kids and adults danced and hula hooped around the lawn. We bought fresh organic strawberries, peaches, corn, heirloom tomatoes and flowers grown in our area. And we caught up with friends in the warm sunshine.
Every Saturday morning from April through November, the combination of beautiful local produce, live music, and smiling people creates a kind of magic in the heart of our small town—an alchemy of joy.
Heirloom tomatoes at the Arcata farmers’ market.
This is not the stuff of headlines, but markets like this and other examples of people getting together to create something good—PTA meetings and choirs and grange breakfasts—are the antidote to all those dark news stories. This is how we weave the strands of community, week after week, one zucchini at a time. This is how we celebrate our connections to each other and to the land that sustains us. This is how we “poke holes between worlds,” how we build trust and understanding of each other despite our differences.
When my husband and I first traveled to China in 1996, the government-run People’s Daily had a front-page headline one day with this breaking news: “Ethnic Groups Live in Harmony.”
Well, isn’t that nice?
I’m not suggesting that our newspapers should run feel-good propaganda. We need to know what’s really going on out there. But it is helpful to balance out the depressing daily news by focusing on all the things that are going right with our world. In small everyday ways, we can beat back despair and nurture the hope that is the catalyst for action.
Eating farmers' market strawberries with a bar of Green & Black’s dark chocolate helps too.
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Makino Studios News
North Country Fair: Humboldters, come celebrate the fall equinox at the 41st annual North Country Fair on the Arcata Plaza 10-6 this weekend, September 20 and 21. I'll have paintings, prints, cards and calendars at my Makino Studios booth on G Street near 9th.
Two-Woman Show: I’m excited to team up with mixed media artist Amy Uyeki for an art exhibit at the Adorni Center in Eureka, CA during the month of November.
Poetry & Honey 2015 Calendar: My new wall calendar for 2015 is now available in 18 stores and online. This is a 16-month mini-calendar with the month grids for September-December 2014 and 12 pages of art for 2015.
New Stores North and South: Several new stores are now carrying my art cards and calendars. Check out the Japanese Friendship Garden in San Diego; Wild Rivers Market and Del Norte Office Supply, both in Crescent City, CA; and The Crown Jewel in Ashland, OR.