Happy holidays from the back woods!

“may peace in our hearts” is 11×14. It is also available as a single card or a set of boxed notecards. © Annette Makino 2015

Well, holiday season is in full swing around here, so for better or for worse, I don’t have time to share any “deep thoughts” today! Here among the redwoods, the elves and I are busy packaging new cards and prints as soon as they come off the press and we are sending out orders daily.

But I am sneaking a moment between holiday fairs to share some glad tidings: with technical help from Henry Cordes of February 13 Creative and pro photography by Brandi Easter, I have just launched a new website! 

Built on the Squarespace platform, the Makino Studios site (finally) allows people to place orders directly instead of having to navigate over to Etsy, offering more flexibility. You are cordially invited to explore the gallery, shop, blog, and more. Please check it out and let me know what you think!

To kick off the new site, I am offering 15% off my 2018 calendar of haiku and art with promo code 2018CALENDAR, usable only on www.makinostudios.com. I sold 50 of these lovely little calendars just at last weekend’s Humboldt Artisans fair, with many people commenting how perfect they are for holiday giving. 

And now the catch: the last day to order before the holidays is this coming Friday, December 15, because Makino Studios will be on vacation after that until Dec. 27.

Last but not least, I want to send you warmest greetings for the holidays. Here’s hoping you can spend the time connecting with family and friends, enjoying delicious food in magical surroundings, and celebrating the season of light however your heart desires.

silent night
all the stars
we could wish for

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Makino Studios News

Humboldt holiday fairs: Makino Studios will be at the City of Arcata’s Holiday Craft Market this weekend, December 9-10 in the Arcata Community Center. In addition, my calendars, small prints and boxed notecards are for sale at the “Made in Humboldt” event at Pierson Garden Shop now through December 24.

These "starry night" holiday notecards, with the "silent night" haiku above, come in sets of eight cards and eight kraft envelopes.

Boxed notecards: Due to customer requests, I have just added a new holiday notecard design ("may peace in our hearts spread peace in the world"). I now offer six kinds of boxed notecards: three holiday designs, a thank you card, a landscape series and a floral series.

Art prints: A wildflower meadow and a beach landscape are among the latest print designs available. These are 11×14, individually signed and stamped in red with my name seal, and ready to give as a gift or frame for yourself.

An earlier version of the haiku “silent night,” was awarded honorable mention for the Jane Reichhold International Prize at the 2017 ukiaHaiku Festival.

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.

A series of unfortunate events

“merry & bright” is available as a print or card. It is based on an original 11×14 painting in sumi ink and Japanese watercolors on rice paper.

It was a very trying couple of weeks. The first thing to go wrong was that mice invaded our kitchen and bathroom, leaving their droppings in most of our drawers and cabinets. Just days after I finished cleaning and sterilizing everything from that episode, the dog did his business on the driveway, my husband stepped in it wearing hiking boots, and voilà— a trail all through the downstairs that even a human could track by smell.

After cleaning the evidence off the carpets and floors, I updated some software for my website—and much of the sidebar text disappeared. I naively thought it would be simple to restore it from the nightly backup, but my web guy said that what with the reconfiguring and testing, it would actually be faster for me to recreate the content. There went another big chunk of the day.

Next up, my digital security service notified me that my Gmail account had been compromised. As advised, I dutifully changed the password. But this foiled only me, as the account could then receive email, but no longer send.

A couple days later, the front door permanently locked while open. We spent 24 hours with blankets draped over the top and side of the door to keep out the chill until a locksmith came to replace the failed lock

During this period, I noticed that the house alarm system was indicating a low battery. When I called the company that had installed the system, they had no record of our account

The way my luck was going, it was just par for the course when I picked up the lid of a ceramic butter dish and part of it broke off in my hand.

As each new calamity arose, I got farther and farther behind on my to-do list, just at my busiest time of the year. Instead of painting and framing art, while my husband was off teaching and the kids were at school, I spent many long and tedious hours cleaning and fixing things that I usually take for granted, like front doors that close, email that both sends and receives, and kitchen cabinets where you can safely store food.

“peace on earth” is 5×7, painted in sumi ink and Japanese watercolors on textured paper. It is also available as a print or card.

It was a small mercy that this series of unfortunate events happened just before Thanksgiving. Even while lamenting all the time I was losing, a part of me remembered to be grateful to have a home at all. I told myself that many displaced people—from Syria to the Philippines to downtown Arcata—are facing situations far more dire than a little mouse poop in the silverware drawer.

Beyond that insight, I am not sure what else to take from this run of aggravations, except that sometimes in life, poop happens. Then you just clean it up as best you can and carry on.

With everything running smoothly in our household once more, this past week I found time to paint several new holiday pieces, including the persimmons shown here. I’m now busy catching up and preparing for holiday fairs over the next two weekends.

Who knows what else might go wrong (what is that weird sound coming from the dishwasher?). But the little white Christmas lights are up and the mood here is turning merry and bright. Here’s wishing you delightful and aggravation-free holidays

warmly, Annette

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Makino Studios News

Humboldt Holiday Fairs:

• Humboldt Artisans Crafts and Music Festival at Redwood Acres in Eureka, CA, Friday through Sunday, Dec. 6-8. I’ll be offering new paintings, prints and holiday cards. The Makino Studios booth will be in the sunroom of the Home Economics building.
• Arcata Holiday Crafts Market at the Arcata Community Center, Arcata, CA, Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 14-15.
• Pierson Christmas Fair in Eureka, CA, now through Dec. 24.

Poetry & Honey: My new 2014 wall calendar has been selling much faster than I expected and is currently on its third printing. You can order copies online at my Etsy shop, find them at select Humboldt County stores, or get them at the fairs above.

Holiday Cards: My newest designs can be found in the card section of the Makino Studios Etsy shop.

Arts Alive Holiday Show: Several of my framed prints and cards are in a group show at the Mateel Cooperative Gallery, 773 Redwood Drive, Garberville, CA through December.

New Retailers: I’m happy to share that you can now find a selection of my cards at Eureka Natural Foods (see the special card rack in the center of the candle section), and at St. Joseph’s Hospital Gift Shop, both in Eureka, CA.

Haigaonline Show: Eleven new haiga (haiku art pieces) will be featured in the next issue of Haigaonline, coming in late December.