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.

Une histoire significative pour les enfants et les adultes ! –  « 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 – MAINTENANT sur KINDLE AUSSI !

Posted on November 17, 2025 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

« La Magie de l’Amazonie décrit le voyage d’un garçon Yanomami à travers la forêt tropicale amazonienne pour trouver un remède pour sa sœur malade. Il rencontre des animaux et des plantes parlant qui l’aident. Le conte est écrit dans la veine … 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 – NOW ON KINDLE, TOO!

Posted on November 16, 2025 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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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 – ¡AHORA TAMBIÉN en KINDLE!

Posted on November 15, 2025 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. Todos … 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 – MAINTENANT sur KINDLE AUSSI !

Posted on November 14, 2025 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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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 – NOW ON KINDLE, TOO!

Posted on November 13, 2025 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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¡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 – ¡AHORA TAMBIÉN en KINDLE!

Posted on November 12, 2025 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 y … Continue reading →

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Un conte initiatique : « 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 – MAINTENANT sur KINDLE AUSSI !

Posted on November 11, 2025 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

« Dès ses premières pages La Magie de l’Amazonie, cet attachant livre pour enfants, décrit un monde presque inimaginable au XXIe siècle. Un monde tropical, luxuriant et agité, débordant d’une vie en communion avec les esprits des animaux et des plantes. Tout … Continue reading →

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A Classic Initiation Tale – The Amazon as Oz: « Amazon Rainforest Magic, The adventures of Namowë, a Yanomami boy » – For ages 8 to 12 to 100!  – written and illustrated by Barbara Crane Navarro – NOW ON KINDLE, TOO!

Posted on November 10, 2025 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

“From its opening pages, this engaging children’s book sets the scene of a world almost unimaginable in the 21st century, a lush, restive, tropical world alive with the spirits of animals and plants. It begins inside a Yanomami dwelling. A … Continue reading →

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“La Magie de l’Amazonie” Contes fantastiques d’aventures et de la vie des Yanomami dans la forêt amazonienne ! FRANÇAIS, ENGLISH, ESPAÑOL – pour les 8 à 100 ans ! MAINTENANT ÉGALEMENT DISPONIBLE SUR KINDLE !

Posted on November 9, 2025 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

La Magie de la Amazonie : Les aventures de Namowë, un garçon Yanomami (Volume 1) EN FRANÇAIS : Description de la série: La magie de l’Amazonie a enchanté l’artiste Barbara Crane Navarro alors qu’elle passait les mois d’hiver avec les … Continue reading →

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“La Magia de la Amazonia” Libros de aventuras fantásticas para niños – Cuentos de la vida de los Yanomami en la selva amazónica” and Amazon Rainforest Magic” et “La Magie de l’Amazonie” ESPAÑOL – ENGLISH – FRANÇAIS – para edades de 8 a 12

Posted on November 8, 2025 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Amazon Rainforest Magic: The adventures of Namowë, a Yanomami boy (Volume 1) For more Volume 1 details – in the USA, please click here: https://goo.GL/VmexDS For first volume details in the UK: Amazon Rainforest Magic: The adventures of Namowë, a Yanomami … Continue reading →

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