Maddie French’s passion for both art and bugs has uniquely shaped her career, culminating in an innovative venture that merges these two interests into a creative enterprise. Recently graduating with a degree in illustration from the University of Arizona, French has launched the Bugifier, a pop-up booth where she sketches portraits of people, depicting them as bugs.
Maddie, affectionately known as the Bug Girl, visited our studio to demonstrate the Bugifier experience. Dressed in a distinctive bug-print dress, she explained her outfit, saying, “Oh my gosh, there’s so many — this dress is called like ‘Worst Bugs Bug Dress.’ And it’s just like literally every bug you could imagine under the sun. We got some centipedes on here, we got some beetles, we got some spiders, some like slug-looking things. Like honestly, everything is on this dress, it seems like.”
The Journey of a Bug Enthusiast
French’s enthusiasm for bugs isn’t a newfound interest. Reflecting on her childhood, she shared, “I was always that kid who was like lifting up rocks and like picking up rollie pollies and stuff.” Her fascination with insects even influenced her nursery decor, which featured bug-themed elements.
Alongside her interest in bugs, Maddie has always aspired to be an artist. “That was always kind of like the thing that I would write down on the ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’ is an artist,” she noted. After earning her BFA in Illustration, French began merging her dual passions while in college, particularly after creating a still life of a beetle that sparked her continued interest in drawing insects.
From Passion to Profession
French’s innovative concept of the Bugifier booth emerged after she began participating in local art markets. Her first attempt at the Scraps Market in Phoenix, where each booth featured an interactive element, was a surprising success. “I thought that people might think it was kind of weird and not really get it, be like, ‘What? Me as a bug? I don’t understand.’ But much to my surprise, it seems to be very popular,” she said.
The process of creating a bug portrait involves a mix of observation and intuition. French explained, “It’s hard to say, it’s really about a vibe. I mean, obviously like their outfit, the, you know, the way that they hold themselves, like this all has to do with how I decide what bug I choose to draw them as.”
During her visit, French drew the host Lauren Gilger as a green lacewing, complete with a blazer and headphones, matching her current attire. “It’s so cool! I have headphones and mic, and I’m wearing a blazer like I am right now,” Gilger remarked.
A Unique Artistic Path
French’s creativity extends beyond the Bugifier. She recently created a riso print for Trans Pride, featuring arthropods with unique reproductive systems. “It’s super fun because the colors that you get with riso are just so vibrant,” Maddie explained, emphasizing the diversity in biology and drawing parallels to human experiences.
As Maddie French continues to explore her artistic path, she remains committed to blending her love for bugs and art. “Hopefully, yeah. I mean, that’s the goal definitely to just, you know, continue bugging,” she concluded.
