Many years ago at a conference, I listened to a Tohono O’odham storyteller relate a tale about the pinacate beetle. In short, the beetle defied I’itoi (the O’odham maker-god), and as a consequence of his arrogant actions and the lessons taught to him by I’itoi, he now bows his head to the earth at nearly every encounter — as a reminder to all of us, to remain humble… I named my workshop/studio, ‘stinkbug studio’, in homage to this ancient tale from our desert and as a reminder to me to stay humble in this process of creation that I am engaged in. And to bring it full circle, this beetle, known in spanish as ‘el pinacate’ is also the name of a place, the Sierra Pinacate, considered by ‘Sonoraphiles’ to be the heart and soul of the Sonoran Desert — one of the most magical and inspiring places I’ve ever been blessed to explore. Because my artwork (objects, photography, writing) is so deeply rooted in this desert and in this ‘sense of place’ I’m trying to cultivate — it seemed like a fitting name. Stinkbug Studio… It’s a live/work space that, in it’s first incarnation, was a 3 bay diesel garage for servicing 18 wheelers, then a construction company, then a cabinet building shop, steel fabrication shop, custom jazz guitar shop… and now, after many years of nearly constant change, it’s home.
