Author Archives: Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

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.

Beautiful Art, Adventure, and a Message That Matters! « Amazon Rainforest Magic, The adventures of Yarima, a Yanomami girl » – For ages 8 to 12 to 100! – written and illustrated by Barbara Crane Navarro – SECOND EDITION! All three books of the series are NOW ON KINDLE, TOO!

Posted on May 11, 2026 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

An illustration from Amazon Rainforest Magic, the adventures of Yarima, a Yanomami girl « Barbara Navarro’s children’s book is a beautifully illustrated and engaging story set in the Amazon Rainforest. It follows a brave young Yanomami girl, Yarima, as she teams … Continue reading →

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Une histoire magique d’héroïsme environnemental ! – « La Magie de l’Amazonie Les aventures de Meromi, une fille Yanomami » – Pour les 8 à 12 à 100 ans ! – écrit et illustré par Barbara Crane Navarro – Les 3 livres de la série sont MAINTENANT sur KINDLE AUSSI !

Posted on May 10, 2026 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

illustration tirée de « La Magie de l’Amazonie Les aventures de Meromi, une fille Yanomami » « Le deuxième volume de la série Amazon Rainforest Magic raconte le voyage surprenant de Meromi, une fille Yanomami qui est entraînée dans une aventure … Continue reading →