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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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!