haiku poet life

Finding a warm community

software update
the maple releasing
its obsolete

                       l

                            e

                                       a

                                v

                       e

                            s

“software update” is 11x14, made with acrylic paint, paper, pen and glue on cradled wood. This is a page from my 2025 calendar. A card version reads, “have a wild and crazy birthday”. © Annette Makino 2024

I had a wonderful time at the Seabeck Haiku Getaway last month! It was four days of marinating in all things haiku with fellow poets in beautiful Seabeck, Washington.

Since the conference theme was maps, I recruited my geographer husband, Paul W. Blank, to lead a “Walk on the World” session with his giant maps that show the world at 16 miles to the inch. It was great fun wandering across Eurasia in our stocking feet! Many haiku emerged from his session and others.

The schedule was packed with presentations and “Write Now” exercises, many on the theme of maps and travel. Featured guest Crystal Simone Smith shared her moving haiku inspired by 19th century fugitive slave ads; she also led us in exploring new haiku approaches.

The Seabeck Haiku Getaway always includes a kukai, a contest of haiku written at Seabeck that is judged by the participating poets. I was honored that both of my submissions placed, tying for first and sixth. Here is my first-place poem:

Geographer Paul W. Blank, far right, explains the big maps at the Seabeck Haiku Getaway in October 2024.

Tokyo alley
I run into
the moon from home

But for me, the best part of the long weekend was deepening my ties to the haiku clan. During communal mealtimes, walks in the woods and late-night socializing, I got to reconnect with poet friends and meet others I’d only known by name. Basking in this community was especially precious to me since I live far from any in-person haiku groups.

Earlier this year haiku poet P. H. (Peter) Fischer and I co-edited the conference anthology for the 2023 Seabeck Haiku Getaway. Published by Haiku Northwest, it was distributed at last month’s gathering. Winds Aloft features terrific cover art of Seabeck and six haiku comics by graphic novelist David Lasky, as well as poems by almost all of the 56 conference participants that year. Here’s one of mine inspired by the bigleaf maples at Seabeck:

the last rays of sun
offered back to the sky
yellow maple

As Peter and I wrote in the introduction, “Haiku poets are a special breed. The habit of keenly observing life’s details tends to make people more attuned, thoughtful and appreciative. Or perhaps it works the other way around. In any case, each year this unique tribe gathers at Seabeck to create a warm community of like-minded folks. In the words of physicist Douglas Hofstadter, in this kind of synergy, ‘The soul is greater than the hum of its parts.’ We appreciate everyone who added their own unique hum to the magic that is Seabeck.”

In these turbulent times, we need community more than ever. So on this, my eighth time at Seabeck, I was grateful once again to be welcomed into the fold.

Makino Studios News

These are just four of the notecard sets on sale at 20% off in the Cards section. Sale ends this Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024.

SALE on notecards: I’m offering 20% off all holiday and everyday notecard sets. These come eight to a box with eight kraft envelopes. Normally $20, they are on sale through midnight this Sunday, Nov. 17 for $16 with promo code NOTECARD20. Most of these designs are also available as single cards with words.

2025 calendars: So far this season, more than 500 of my mini-calendars of art and haiku have gone out the door! Still just $12 each, these lovely little calendars make great gifts for friends and family.

Greeting cards: You can find most of my newest single cards at the top of this collection of 70 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 and go for $5 each.

Holiday shipping deadlines: For arrival on or before December 25, please place your order no later than December 17. The mail has been slow these days, so even sooner is safer!

Made in Humboldt Fair: This event at Pierson Garden Shop in Eureka, CA runs through Dec. 24. There you can find my book (Water and Stone: Ten Years of Art and Haiku), signed and matted prints, 2025 calendars and notecard sets.

Arcata Holiday Craft Market: This fundraiser for the Arcata Recreation Department’s youth scholarship program takes place Dec. 14-15 at the Arcata Community Center in Arcata, CA. Look for the Makino Studios booth on the lefthand side of the main room. This is my only in-person event this season and I will be offering some deals and closeouts.

Social: I’ve given up on Twitter/X, but I regularly post art, haiku, news and more on Instagram and Threads as @annettemakino and on Facebook as Makino Studios (links below). See you over there!

Thanks: I always appreciate your feedback, whether by email, on social media or here in the comments.

Credit: “the last rays of sun” - 5th place tie, kukai at Seabeck 2023; in Winds Aloft: 2023 Seabeck Haiku Getaway Anthology, Eds. Annette Makino and P H. Fisher, Haiku Northwest, 2024

The reality of the artist life

“dream journal” is 8x10, made from book pages, newsprint, junk mail, vintage Japanese letters, washi papers, acrylic paint, glue, charcoal and white ink on cradled wood. It is also available as a card reading, “happy birthday to an extraordinary being.”

When you picture the life of a working artist, do you imagine days filled with sketching ideas or brushing canvasses in a paint-splattered studio? Maybe mixing buckets of paint and experimenting with colors and textures? That was certainly my impression before I became a full-time artist myself!

That picture may be true for some artists, but for me the reality is that actually creating art is just a small part of my work. You might say it's just one arm of the octopus. To give you some idea, here are a few things I’ve been doing these past few days.

  • preparing a Zoom presentation and workshop on creating haiga (art with haiku) for a haiku group this Saturday afternoon (and you’re invited! Details in the Makino Studios News section);

  • co-editing a conference anthology for the Seabeck Haiku Getaway I attended in October;

  • updating my CV and submitting materials for a proposed show of local Asian American artists;

  • shipping Makino Studios orders (especially 2024 calendars) and restocking stores (especially cards); and

  • working on year-end accounting and tax prep for my business.

Oh, and I wrote several haiku. (As per usual, they are mostly bad, though I think there are a couple with potential.) I also went on several long walks at the beach, woods and marsh, which ultimately inspires most of my art and haiku.

While I sometimes feel frustrated that I don’t have more time in my studio, the reality is that most of these other activities are enjoyable too. For instance, I’m learning a lot about the editorial process by co-editing a publication for the first time. But I definitely do not enjoy bookkeeping!

year-end accounting
I try to reconcile
the past

The truth is that while most of my other commitments are ongoing throughout the year, I tend to create art in concentrated bursts, especially during my summer retreats on the river. My collage papers are just gathering dust right now, but the time will come when I dive back in to art making, tearing paper and splattering paint with gusto!

I did dip into art-making when my two sisters visited recently. We had fun creating plant prints using leaves and grasses on a gel press, which I will use in future collages. (Photo: Yoshi Makino)

Makino Studios News

Haiga presentation/workshop: In this Zoom event for Komo Kulshan Haiku, a group based in the Pacific Northwest, I will present a selection of my haiga (art with haiku), talk about how to create haiga, and then lead a workshop on pairing haiku with images. You are invited to join this free meeting, which takes place this Saturday, January 20, 1-3 p.m. Pacific. Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89424637034

2024 mini-calendars: I still have some of these calendars of art and haiku for sale, which feature 12 colorful Asian-inspired collages with original haiku.

Valentine’s day cards: February 14 will be here before you know it! I have several cards suitable for Valentine’s Day, such as this collage design reading, “you are my heart’s delight.”

Free shipping: Use promo code FREESHIP35 for free shipping on any order of $35 or more.

From the archives: For more about the challenges of being an artist—and my 23 failed attempts to paint a simple frog—see my 2013 blog post, “The truth about being an artist.”

Thanks: I always appreciate your comments, especially the kind responses to the feature article, “Annette Makino’s life in collage” that ran in the North Coast Journal last month.

A few gel press prints made with plants, which I’ll use for collages.