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.

Scotland’s New Critters, via Climate Migration, Get Gaelic Names — Mother Jones

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

This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. A host of warm weather species moving north into  805 more words Scotland’s New Critters, via Climate Migration, Get Gaelic Names — Mother Jones

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Des livres charmants qui nous font rêver et réfléchir – « La Magie de l’Amazonie Les aventures de Namowë, un garçon Yanomami » et « 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 

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

« Les éléments du monde naturel s’entremêlent avec la magie et le surnaturel dans ces livres charmants qui nous font rêver et réfléchir. Les histoires et les illustrations sont merveilleuses et montrent véritablement la beauté de l’Amazonie et de la culture … Continue reading →

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

Posted on June 8, 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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Charming books that make us dream and reflect – « Amazon Rainforest Magic, The adventures of Namowë, a Yanomami boy » and « Amazon Rainforest Magic The adventures of Meromi, a Yanomami girl » – For ages 8 to 12 to 100!  – written and illustrated by Barbara Crane Navarro 

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

illustration from « Amazon Rainforest Magic – The adventures of Namowë, a Yanomami boy » « Elements of the natural world intertwine with the magical and otherworldly in these charming books that make us dream and reflect.  The stories and illustrations are … Continue reading →

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How Did All These State Agencies Get To Be So Funny? — Mother Jones

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

This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. “If you encounter a cougar, never approach or offer it food. 905 more words How Did All These State Agencies Get To Be So Funny? — … Continue reading →

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¡Un viaje extraordinario y épico a un mundo místico lleno de maravillas y travesuras! – « La Magia de la Amazonia Las aventuras de Namowë, un niño Yanomami »  y « La Magia de la Amazonia Las aventuras de Meromi, una niña Yanomami » – ¡Para edades de 8 a 12 a 100 años! – escrito e ilustrado por Barbara Crane Navarro

Posted on June 6, 2024 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

« Esta serie de libros lleva al lector a un viaje extraordinario y épico a un mundo místico lleno de maravillas y travesuras. Los peligros amenazan este paraíso ancestral en la selva amazónica y ponen a prueba el ingenio de los … Continue reading →

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Lobsters or Whales? — Brimmings: up from the well

Posted on June 6, 2024 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

I was raised a New Englander and, by custom, eating lobster had been a staple in my diet. The problem with custom, however, is that we seldom question its tenets, propelling us to mindlessly continue behavior that scrutiny might render … Continue reading →

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Un voyage extraordinaire dans un monde mystique rempli d’émerveillement et de méfaits ! – « La Magie de l’Amazonie Les aventures de Namowë, un garçon Yanomami » et « 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 

Posted on June 5, 2024 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

« Cette série de livres transporte le lecteur dans un voyage extraordinaire et épique dans un monde mystique rempli d’émerveillement et de malice. Des dangers menacent ce paradis ancestral dans la forêt amazonienne et mettent à l’épreuve l’esprit des enfants, Meromi … Continue reading →

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Una exposición de la Semana de Arte de Miami presenta 15 obras de chimpancés — Stigmatis

Posted on June 5, 2024 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

Fotografía cedida por Save The Chimps donde se muestra una obra pintada por el chimpancé JB mientras pinta y cuya obra será una de las quince obras abstractas realizadas con pintura acrílica para la exposición “Art by Chimps” (Arte de … Continue reading →

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An epic journey to a world filled with wonder and mischief! – « Amazon Rainforest Magic The adventures of Namowë, a Yanomami boy » and « Amazon Rainforest Magic The adventures of Meromi, a Yanomami girl » – For ages 8 to 12 to 100!  – written and illustrated by Barbara Crane Navarro 

Posted on June 4, 2024 by Barbara Crane Navarro - Rainforest Art Project

illustration from « Amazon Rainforest Magic – The adventures of Meromi, a Yanomami girl » « This book series transports the reader on an extraordinary, epic journey to a mystical world filled with wonder and mischief.  Dangers threaten an ancestral paradise in … Continue reading →

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