I would like to say that the reason I incorporated the Scarab name and symbol within my logo has some deep, mystical, or even spiritual explanation, but I can't. In actuality, it's simply my initials turned into a beetle.

While enrolled in a Junior College art program in St. Louis, one of my teachers (Yvette Woods-a great artist and phenomenal teacher) brought in a box of dead insects and assigned each student a bug to illustrate. Stating that she had set aside something special for me, she placed a dung beetle in my hand. Hmm...still not quite sure if there might have been some hidden message behind that. Needless to say, with my fascination for all things monstrous and scary at the time, I fell in love with that crusty little bug and went crazy checking him out with a magnifying glass and ended up doing several different illustrations with it. Of course, as an aspiring artist, I did the usual art-school thing and did an M.C. Escher inspired, colored pencil illustration. I think every artist I know has an Escher style piece hidden away from their early days of school that they're too embarrassed to reveal.

Some years later, while attending Otis/Parsons Art Institute in Los Angeles, one of our assignments in a design class was to create a logo for ourselves. I had just returned from a holiday break in St. Louis to visit family and friends and while there, I went through a lot of boxes of old comics, drawings, and general junk. Surprisingly, I came across the small box I had saved my crusty little beetle in. Upon opening it, I was saddened to see that he hadn't held up very well over the years. So, as a tribute to my exoskeletal inspiration, I decided to see if I could use him within my logo design. I was very pleased that after doing a few simple sketches, I was able to take my initials and turn them into a beetle. Ta-da! That's it. Nothing magical at all, just my initials.

I do try to allow myself to believe in some of the meanings applied to the scarab, particularly those pertaining to good luck. I did rotate the image after designing it because I came across some history while doing basic research that it was supposedly bad luck for the scarab to be shown on its side. To the Egyptians, it was the symbol of the rising sun and protection from evil. It represented the Egyptian sun god Chepri, who they believed rolled the sun across the sky. I played it safe and decided to go with the Egyptian representation of standing upright and pointing to the sky. I thought it looked better that way anyway.