Last I checked, I’m a woman. I grew up a Jewish preacher’s daughter; that sentence sounds confusing because it is and it’s true. I’m a professional comedian. I mean, what other profession would I choose after that last sentence? I’ve been working since I was 6 years old as a mini-preacher and at 8 I…
Carlos Valenzuela
Carlos Valenzuela grew up along the Douglas/Agua Prieta border in the 50s the son of a Spanish-only speaking ranching family. He learned English and eventually earned a master’s in international management and was a successful young manager in Argentina, Brasil, Venezuela, and Mexico City before leaving it for the lifestyle freedom allowed to him as…
Cynthia Naugle
Cynthia Naugle is from Tucson AZ, born and raised, and in 2022 became the new owner of &gallery! She works in giving artists a platform to showcase art in a space that features art that you wouldn’t see at a typical gallery. Being a queer Chicana it’s been very important to create a new kind…
Jenn Hopkins-Reilly
I moved to Tucson in 1998, I’ve now lived here for more years than where I grew up and consider Tucson my hometown. Here is where I really grew up and discovered who I was meant to be. Art & writing are my passions and even if I’m not currently creating I’m always involved in…
Melinda Matson Spina
I’m in my late forties. I grew up in a family that moved all over the U.S. and overseas. I’m a sucker for cats. Q: Please tell us a little bit about your family. My family is eclectic. In the early 1960s, my parents met in Vietnam. My mother is Vietnamese, and her mother was…
Julie Bonner
Julie Bonner is a creative entrepreneur and has made Arizona her home for the past 17 years. Born in Binghamton, New York, Julie was an artistic child from the beginning. She drew on any paper within reach and crafted handmade greeting cards for every occasion. Her middle school still proudly displays a mural Julie painted…