Lucky 13

“fields of lupine” is 8x10, made with acrylic paint, washi paper, part of a map, colored pencils and glue on cradled wood. It is part of the 2024 Makino Studios calendar. A card version reads, “love you, mama bear.” © Annette Makino 2023

Today is the 13th anniversary of Makino Studios! A huge thank you to all the customers, store buyers and fans who have made this art business possible for a lucky thirteen years. To celebrate, I’m offering 13% off everything in the store though this Sunday with code 13YEARS.

And tomorrow marks the official return of spring! Here in Northern California, it’s been a very dark and soggy winter, which has inspired many a haiku about the relentless rain.

cold winter rain
the swollen creek also
rushing home

At times it seemed even the wildlife was complaining about the weather.

wild geese
kvetching across the sky
March bluster

Over the winter, algae colonized the outside of my Prius while mold made itself comfortable inside. Those were solvable problems, but in far worse news, a mysterious leak completely destroyed the electrical system in my husband’s eight-year-old RAV4. So far his car has spent six weeks at the repair shop; it seems the insurance company is going to call it a total loss. Perhaps these were signs to just sit out the winter at home by the fire . . .

Starting work on the collage above.

Pale and moldy ourselves, we’ve been grasping at every hint of spring—the first trillium blooming along the creek, the earliest cherry blossoms unfurling along our road. These past few days we’ve reveled in the precious sunshine, gardening and taking walks.

I used colored pencils to add subtle light and dark accents to the bears.

My husband, son and I did a favorite hike last week, the Lyons Ranch loop in Redwood National Park. A couple of springs back, we saw a black bear cub from that trail, prompting a long, nervous pause as we tried to spot the mother. (She was nowhere to be seen, and we continued without incident.) The collage and haiku featured here came out of that experience.

Here’s hoping you survived the long winter better than our cars did. Happy spring equinox!

fields of lupine
against all odds
spring again

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Almost done, just considering different purple papers for the lupines.

Makino Studios News

Anniversary sale: Take 13% off everything in the Makino Studios shop through midnight on Sunday, March 24. Enter promo code 13YEARS at checkout.

New! Custom prints: By customer request, I've made some designs available in my shop as prints in several sizes that you can order on demand. If there’s a piece you’d like to order that you don’t see there, let me know.

Vacation plans: I will be taking a break and not filling orders April 5-26. Sorry for any inconvenience. Stock up now!

Mother’s Day and graduation: I’ve printed cards for Mother’s Day (May 12) and graduation (Cal Poly Humboldt commencement is May 11). Browse all 70-some card designs and notecard sets.

Social: I’ve mostly given up on Twitter/X (at least until it gets a less toxic owner), but I regularly post art, haiku, news and more on Instagram as @annettemakino and on Facebook as Makino Studios (links below). See you over there!

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Haiku credits: “cold winter rain” - tinywords; “wild geese” - The Heron’s Nest; “fields of lupine” - 2024 in art and haiku by Annette Makino

Thanks for 12 great years!

“the redwood path” is 11x14, made with acrylic paint, washi paper, silver foil and glue on cradled birch panel. It was inspired by a hike that went a little later than expected. © Annette Makino 2022

Gosh, so much has happened lately! In December alone, my husband Paul and I visited the Galapagos and mainland Ecuador, I finally caught Covid, I won a $10,000 Jacoby Award for Humboldt County artists, a violent earthquake damaged our house, and we hosted extended family for the holidays.

January brought a series of intense winter storms, repeatedly knocking out our power and water. We continued earthquake repairs and I tackled my dreaded year-end business accounting. In February we were treated to a very unusual event: several snowfalls right here on the coast! Meanwhile, I’ve been exploring new art techniques, writing and publishing haiku, and reorganizing my studio—while getting pounded by a fresh series of atmospheric rivers. I’m currently in Portland, Oregon, where I visited the serene Portland Japanese Garden and saw an inspiring show of Japanese woodblock prints.

I won’t go into detail on all that here—photos and more detail on most of these events can be found on my Instagram feed and the Makino Studios Facebook page. But this is just to say that although I’ve been bit preoccupied, I haven’t forgotten you, my friends and fans!

This Saturday, March 18, is the 12th anniversary of Makino Studios. What a privilege to have spent the past dozen years as a working artist, sharing my creativity with the world. In thanks for your ongoing support, I am offering 15% off everything in my shop. Use code 12YEARS at checkout through midnight this Sunday, March 19.

Who knows what new twists and turns the coming year will bring—tornadoes? zombies? I only know that I’m grateful to be able to walk the artist’s path.

the redwood path
absorbs our footsteps
moonlit ferns

Paul and I just casually hanging out with a Galápagos penguin, as one does.

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Makino Studios News

12th anniversary sale: Cards, prints, books, calendars—take 15% off everything in the shop except original art, using code 12YEARS at checkout. Offer ends at midnight this Sunday, March 19.

Pizza and Pottery Festival: Mark your calendar for 11-5 on Saturday, May 6, for this lovely small fair with wood-fired pizzas and other goodies plus live music. 135 Sunkist Lane, off Glendale near the Blue Lake Murphy’s Market.

Calendars: My last 2023 mini-calendars of art and haiku are now on sale for $6.99 (from $12). You’ve still got most of the year to enjoy one!

Skipping Stones: It’s always an honor to have a haiku selected for the Red Moon anthology of the best English-language haiku of the year. Here’s one of mine that made it into the 2022 edition:

Covid variant
another wave sucks the sand
from under our feet

(First published in Mariposa and in The Haiku Way to Healing: Illness, Injury and Pain)

A New Resonance 13: A longtime dream has finally come true: I've been chosen as one of the 17 haiku poets to be featured in this landmark series published by Red Moon Press. I will have copies available for sale in June, featuring a wide variety of emerging voices in haiku.

Big news from the back woods

tendrils of fog
I follow a thread
back into the dream

Featuring a Roosevelt elk in a misty lagoon, “tendrils of fog” is 11x14, made with acrylic paint, washi paper, book pages and glue on cradled birch panel. It is one of the ten work samples I submitted with my Jacoby Award application, and is part of my 2023 calendar.

The call came in from an unfamiliar number, and the voice on the other end said, “Hi, how are you doing this morning?” I immediately suspected a robocall and didn’t even answer, expecting the recorded script to continue by offering me an extended auto warranty or a low-interest loan. When the silence stretched out, I finally asked, sharply, “Who’s calling?”

That’s when the conversation took an unexpected turn. “This is Sydney from the Humboldt Area Foundation and Wild Rivers Community Foundation. I’m calling to tell you that you’ve won a $10,000 Victor Thomas Jacoby Award!”

Having been turned down twice before for this coveted and prestigious grant, I had not expected anything different from my latest application, so I was stunned. I managed an apology for my awkward initial response and gave profuse thanks. After I hung up, I broke out in celebratory wolf howls, confusing the dog.

The 2022 Jacoby Awards, which were announced today, honor Humboldt County artists for their vision and creativity. Winners are encouraged to explore new ideas, materials, techniques and mediums.

In my application, titled “Torn Together: Japanese-Inspired Collage with Haiku,” I explained my plans to make my collages more personal. Among other approaches, I aim to introduce more materials that have autobiographical significance like old letters, children’s drawings and family photos.

I concluded, “I can imagine how delicious it would feel to have permission to develop my art without financial pressures or expected outcomes. The grant would allow me to engage fully in joyful and curious exploration, to allow one idea to spark another. There’s no telling what can arise from creative play!”

“tendrils of fog” in process.

Winning this award really is a dream come true. The money is of course extremely welcome. But I also deeply appreciate the award as a form of recognition of my work as an artist. My thanks to the jury of local leaders in the arts, and congratulations to the other 2022 Jacoby Award recipients!

For years my husband Paul has joked about an imaginary JBYY Foundation that gives grants “Just Because You’re You.” With no reporting requirements or deliverables, the Jacoby grant is the closest thing I know to that fantasy. Deepest thanks to the late Victor Jacoby, a French tapestry artist, for his vision in establishing this trust to support his fellow Humboldt County artists. And I look forward to sharing what emerges.

P.S. I had an amazing time in the Galápagos Islands last week and am now writing to you from Quito, Ecuador! There is much to tell, but I’ll save that for another time. I do have someone filling orders while I’m traveling, so order away.

The haiku “tendrils of fog” was previously published in Frogpond and in On Down the Road: Haiku Society of America Members’ Anthology 2017.

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Here are a couple of inside pages from my 2023 calendar.

Makino Studios News

Free shipping through Saturday: Just for newsletter subscribers and followers, I’ve set up promo code JINGLE for free US shipping with no minimums through this Saturday, Dec. 17. The US Postal Service advises that for first-class packages to arrive by Dec. 25, they should be shipped by this Saturday. Enter the code at checkout.

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.

Calendars: 2023 mini-calendars of art and haiku make great gifts and the recipients will remember your thoughtfulness all year long!

Books: Water and Stone: Ten Years of Art and Haiku makes another meaningful present. The fourth printing includes excerpts from the gracious reviews and judges’ comments.

Cards: Holiday, birthday, sympathy or everyday… there is a Makino Studios card for every occasion. I also offer four different notecard sets.