Halloween treats

“all that I am” incorporates "asemic" or made-up writing by my young nephew, book pages, a fern print, a vintage Japanese letter, and washi papers from Japan. I painted the papers, then tore and glued them onto cradled birch panel. The original is 11x14. This is one of the pages of my 2023 calendar of haiku and art.

Fall is definitely upon us. At home we’ve started making wood fires on these crisp mornings and evenings. The leaves on our Mount Fuji cherry trees are turning a deep gold—a less celebrated but still beautiful phase of their year.

“all that I am” collage in process

all that I am
still unfolding
cherry tree in autumn

Meanwhile, I’ve been gearing up for the holiday season. I’ve produced new boxed notecard sets and delivered my new cards and 2023 calendars to local stores.

As a Halloween treat, I’m offering 20% off everything in my Makino Studios shop until midnight on Monday, October 31st. There is no minimum order—just use code TREAT.

For another goodie, I’m sharing a rengay on the theme of Halloween written with one of the haiku poets I mentor, Aaron Samuel. (A rengay is a linked sequence of two and three-line haiku usually written by two or three poets.)

We had a lot of fun taking turns writing the verses. I’m curious to hear if this brings up any memories of your own past Halloweens.

All Hallow's Eve

cloudy skies
toilet paper ghosts
sway from the trees

electric candles flicker
behind the pumpkin's eyes

blood moon
a thumb-sucking Dracula
hides behind her mummy

technicolor blood
the horror movie plays on
in my dreams

in the dark woods
teens meet for grownup treats

jack-o-lantern grin
the one-eyed pirate
sorts his loot

Aaron Samuel
Annette Makino

Happy Halloween!

“all that I am” published in Modern Haiku, Issue 52.1, Winter-Spring 2021
All Hallow’s Eve published in Failed Haiku, Volume 7, Issue 39, June 2022

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Makino Studios News

Rabbit notecards read, “peace on earth, goodwill to all creatures.”

20% off through Halloween: Use promo code TREAT at checkout for 20% off everything in the Makino Studios shop except original art. Good for first-class shipping within the U.S. Offer ends at midnight on Monday, Oct. 31. Only one promo code per order.

New notecard sets: A new holiday notecard set features a small rabbit in a snowy forest. The words read, “peace on earth, good will to all creatures.” Another new all-purpose notecard set features four different scenes of wild places: beaches, redwood forest and a wildflower meadow. These are $20 for a set of eight cards with eight kraft envelopes.

2023 calendar of art and haiku: For the tenth year in a row, I have created a mini-calendar of art and haiku. Featuring natural scenes and original words, the calendar is $12. Makes a great holiday gift!

New cards: I’ve recently added ten new designs to my card lineup, currently numbering close to 80 designs. These cards are made with fiber from responsibly managed forests, and the mill uses green energy and carbon offsets. They are printed in Arcata, California by an independent small business. Card envelopes are produced in the USA from 100% post-consumer recycled paper. $5 each, blank inside.

Book of art and haiku: There are fewer than 20 copies left of my award-winning book, Water and Stone: Ten Years of Art and Haiku. It will take several weeks to have more printed and shipped, so order while supplies last! This makes a lovely gift.

Studio visits: Although I don’t plan to do any in-person fairs the rest of this year, you can always visit my studio by appointment.

Thanks: I appreciate everyone who came to my collage show, “Torn Together,” at Just My Type in Eureka, CA last month, and to those who visited my Makino Studios booth at the North Country Fair in Arcata! It was a real pleasure to connect with you.

Turn, turn, turn

"mouth of the river" is 11x14, painted with Japanese watercolors and sumi ink on paper. Based on a view of Moonstone Beach in Trinidad, CA, it is one of the new pieces in my 2019 calendar. You can see the piece in process below. A greeting card version reads, "infinite thanks." © Annette Makino 2018

Over the past couple of weeks, our family has completely shifted over to school mode. We now have a senior in high school, a senior in college, and a senior in the Over Sixty program at Humboldt State. Instead of lazy mornings, we dash out the door with shoes untied and breakfast in hand.

Meanwhile, nighttime temperatures have dropped into the 40s and the first maple trees are already changing color. It’s hard to say goodbye to summer, but there’s no ignoring the evidence: autumn is coming.

tilted axis
        we slide
                into fall

In the seven years that I’ve been running my art business, a seasonal rhythm has emerged there too. There is the joyful madness of the holiday season. This is followed by the January grind of inventory and accounting, a perfect combination of tedium and frustration. 

year-end accounting
the cat coughs up
another hairball

Spring means creating a new collection of designs and experimenting with some new products. Summer is a juicy, expansive time when I relax at the river with my family and go on week-long painting retreats. 

mouth of the river
an ever-changing story
told to the sea

And September is harvest season, when my best of recent work comes together in the form of a mini-calendar of art and haiku. It’s so satisfying to hold in my hand the culmination of the work I’ve done over the past twelve months, and to know it will bring pleasure to hundreds of others through the coming year.

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven…” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

With experience, now I know that seemingly fallow weeks will alternate with intensely productive periods. I know that once I survive the dreaded year-end accounting, I will get to create again. And that art-wise, the bittersweet end of the summer means the reward of “bringing in the harvest." So let me be the first to wish you a happy fall equinox!

revolving door
that autumn leaf
comes round again

("revolving door" is part of "Passages," a haiku rengay written with Bill Waters and published in Hedgerow #121, Autumn 2017.)

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Makino Studios News

North Country Fair: The North Country Fair takes place in Arcata, California the weekend of Sept. 15-16, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days. This festive event features 170 art and craft booths, local food, three stages of live entertainment and two parades. I’ll have my newest work at the Makino Studios booth on G Street, plus a free raffle for store credit.

Fieldbrook Art & Wine Festival: Makino Studios will have a booth at this lovely event at the Fieldbrook Winery in Fieldbrook, California on Saturday, Sept. 29, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

New paintings and prints: Check out my latest paintings in the Gallery. And see the new signed art prints in the Prints section.

Sneak preview of 2019 calendar: You can see a few images of my mini-calendar of art and haiku online here. Orders will be shipped out the week of Sept. 17.  

Exploring art in old Japan

“maple leaf” is 11×14, painted with sumi ink and Japanese watercolors on paper and digitally edited. It appears as a page of a 2017 calendar of art and haiku. © Annette Makino 2016

Besides a grand family adventure, my trip to Japan earlier this summer (see Journey to Japan) was also an exploration of Japanese art and haiku—and a chance to stock up on hard-to-find art supplies.

A major highlight of the trip was a visit to a famous art supply store in Kyoto, founded by a painter in 1863 and still run by his descendants. At the one-room Saiun-do (“Painted Clouds”), I found the fine brushes, made of weasel hair and bamboo, for which I had spent years searching. I also scored a fragrant new sumi ink stick and several ceramic pots of special "gansai" watercolors that are found only in Japan.

Later, I painted the Japanese maple leaves shown here with my new brushes, delighting in their smoothness on the page. How liberating to find brushes that work with me, not against me!

Through sheer serendipity, I was able to see woodblock art prints by one of my favorite artists, Hiroshige, at four different museums around the country. Ukiyo-e (literally, “pictures of the floating world”) were hugely popular in the Edo period, when the merchant class enjoyed decorating their walls with prints of beautiful geisha, kabuki actors and landscapes. "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" by Hokusai is probably the best-known example of ukiyo-e in the West.

It is estimated that in the 1850s, four to five million ukiyo-e were printed every year! The visual style, in which thin black outlines were filled in with blocks of color, was the forerunner of manga (Japanese-style comics). It also deeply influenced the beautiful anime (Japanese animated films) by director Hayao Miyazake, among others.

Annette Makino buys Japanese art supplies at Saiun-do in Kyoto, Japan in June 2016.

But it was only on returning home this summer that I realized how much my own art owes to ukiyo-e. Though painted on paper rather than carved into wood, my paintings typically consist of thin outlines of black sumi ink that bound areas of color. And my art, like Hiroshige’s in his day, is mainly intended to be printed and enjoyed by many, rather than hung in fine art museums.

I came to Japan to study the old masters—and found a part of myself.

rice paper moon
pine trees brush
the inky sky

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Makino Studios News

North Country Fair: Humboldters, come celebrate the fall equinox at the 43rd annual North Country Fair on the Arcata Plaza this Saturday and Sunday! The fair runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days. There will be 170 art and craft vendors, three music and entertainment stages, local food booths, activities for kids, and a daily parade at 1 p.m. Come visit my Makino Studios booth on G Street near Moore’s Sleepworld!

New2017 calendars: For the fourth year in a row, I have created a mini-calendar of my art and haiku. Featuring animals, landscapes, and other scenes from nature, the 2017 calendars have just come off the press and will debut at the fair. They can also be ordered through the Makino Studios shop on Etsy.

New keychains: I have designed two different wooden keychains featuring my art and haiku, one of a playful dog and one of a Humboldt redwood. These laser-engraved keychains will be offered at the fair this weekend and are also available on Etsy.

New card designs: Heirloom tomatoes, redwood forests, and river landscapes are the subjects of some of my latest greeting cards, due off the press this week. Check them out at the fair or the Makino Studios Etsy shop.

Seabeck Haiku Getaway: This fun and inspiring haiku retreat takes place Oct. 27-30 in Seabeck, Washington next month. I will be presenting on my trip to Japan with photos and haiku. I look forward to playing and learning with other haiku poets in a beautiful natural setting!