Author Archives: Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

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About Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

I'm a French artist living near Paris. From 1968 to 1973 I studied at Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island, then at the San Francisco Art Institute in San Francisco, California, for my BFA. My work for many decades has been informed and inspired by time spent with indigenous communities. Various study trips devoted to the exploration of techniques and natural pigments took me originally to the Dogon of Mali, West Africa, and subsequently to Yanomami communities in Venezuela and Brazil. Over many years, during the winters, I studied the techniques of traditional Bogolan painting. Hand woven fabric is dyed with boiled bark from the Wolo tree or crushed leaves from other trees, then painted with mud from the Niger river which oxidizes in contact with the dye. Through the Dogon and the Yanomami, my interest in the multiplicity of techniques and supports for aesthetic expression influenced my artistic practice. The voyages to the Amazon Rainforest have informed several series of paintings created while living among the Yanomami. The support used is roughly woven canvas prepared with acrylic medium then textured with a mixture of sand from the river bank and lava. This supple canvas is then rolled and transported on expeditions into the forest. They are then painted using a mixture of acrylic colors and Achiote and Genipap, the vegetal pigments used by the Yanomami for their ritual body paintings and on practical and shamanic implements. My concern for the ongoing devastation of the Amazon Rainforest has inspired my films and installation projects. Since 2005, I've created a perfomance and film project - Fire Sculpture - to bring urgent attention to Rainforest issues. To protest against the continuing destruction, I've publicly set fire to my totemic sculptures. These burning sculptures symbolize the degradation of nature and the annihilation of indigenous cultures that depend on the forest for their survival.

Bangka Slow Loris Nycticebus bancanus — Palm Oil Detectives

Posted on May 12, 2024 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

This species was last reported from the wild in 1937. If the Bangka Slow Loris is still alive then the burning of their habitat and conversion to agriculture (especially palm oil plantations) is their greatest threat.Pint-sized and cute primate the … Continue reading →

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A Meaningful Story for Children and Adults – « Amazon Rainforest Magic, The adventures of Namowë, a Yanomami boy » – For ages 8 to 12 to 100!  – written and illustrated by Barbara Crane Navarro

Posted on May 11, 2024 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

« Amazon Rainforest Magic describes the journey of a Yanomami boy through the Amazon rainforest to find a cure for his sick baby sister. He encounters talking animals and plants who help him. The book is written in the vein of “The … Continue reading →

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Pygmy Hog Porcula salvania — Palm Oil Detectives

Posted on May 11, 2024 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Pygmy hogs are only found in the lush and dense grasslands of Manas National Park, a small protected region in the shadows of the Himalayan mountains. These shy tiny wild pigs are the smallest pigs in the world and also … Continue reading →

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Una fábula con un mensaje – « La Magia de la Amazonia Las aventuras de Namowë, un niño Yanomami » – ¡Para edades de 8 a 12 a 100 años! – escrito e ilustrado por Barbara Crane Navarro

Posted on May 10, 2024 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

« La Magia de la Amazonia nos lleva a un mundo que podría parecer fantástico, donde humanos, animales y plantas hablan entre sí, bromean y conspiran entre sí. Lo obvio es que los humanos no están por encima de otras criaturas. … Continue reading →

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White-Nosed Saki Chiropotes albinasus — Palm Oil Detectives

Posted on May 10, 2024 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Curious, social and beautiful White-Nosed Sakis live in the canopies of Brazilian Amazonia. They are vulnerable from human-related threats including palm oil, soy and meat deforestation, mining and human persecution.Their main threats are habitat loss to mining, logging, cattle farming, … Continue reading →

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Une fable avec un message: « La Magie de l’Amazonie, Les aventures de Namowë, un garçon Yanomami » – Pour les 8 à 12 à 100 ans! – écrit et illustré par Barbara Crane Navarro

Posted on May 9, 2024 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

« La Magie de l’Amazonie nous fait pénétrer dans un monde qui pourrait sembler fantastique, où les êtres humains, les animaux et les plantes se parlent, plaisantent, conspirent entre eux. La chose évidente est que les humains ne sont pas au-dessus … Continue reading →

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Caecilians: secretive, strange and slithering underground dwellers in tropical rainforests! — Palm Oil Detectives

Posted on May 9, 2024 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

OK, Ok…I know this is quite a scary photo but hear me out. Caecilians are legless, eyeless creatures live secretive, strange lives underground and underwater. Not quite snakes, not quite worms and not quite amphibians either. Once you know more … Continue reading →

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A Fable with a Message –  « Amazon Rainforest Magic The adventures of Namowë, a Yanomami boy » – For ages 8 to 12 to 100!  – written and illustrated by Barbara Crane Navarro 

Posted on May 8, 2024 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

« Amazon Rainforest Magic presents a world that at first might seem whimsical, where people, animals, and plants joke, conspire, and argue with each other. The serious point is that humans are no more important than any of the other creatures … Continue reading →

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Amazon River Dolphin Inia geoffrensis — Palm Oil Detectives

Posted on May 8, 2024 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

The Amazon River dolphins, also known as the Boto Dolphins or Amazon Pink River Dolphins are playful, curious and intelligent mammals, the largest river dolphin species in the world. Known for their stunning pink coloured skin they are endangered due … Continue reading →

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¡Un cuento de iniciación! « La Magia de la Amazonia Las aventuras de Namowë, un niño Yanomami » – ¡Para edades de 8 a 12 a 100 años! – escrito y ilustrado por Barbara Crane Navarro

Posted on May 7, 2024 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

« Desde sus primeras páginas, La Magie de l’Amazonie, este libro encantador para niños describe un mundo casi inimaginable en el siglo XXI. Un mundo tropical, exuberante y agitado, desbordante de una vida en comunión con los espíritus de los animales … Continue reading →

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