Hello! Welcome! Thank You for being here!
My name is Magda, and I'm the owner and maker behind Sonoran Passage.
The Name
Sonoran Passage was inspired by and is a nod to the cultural and historical trans-border way of life that exists along the US-Mexico borderlands and the banks of the Santa Cruz River.
My Start
I started working with leather in 2007 when I was 16. I was lucky enough to work at a locally owned shop called Rocking J. Leather. I'm still very grateful to R & S who invited me to learn the ways of leather crafting. I started working with polymer clay in 2020 as a way to decompress and process the stress I felt/feel from my graduate studies in Anthropology.
My Identity
I identify as a Mexican American/ Latinx Woman. My Pronouns are she/her/hers.
Musings
I grew up in the Southern Arizona. My family has lived in the Sonoran Desert for several generations and it is the place I feel most at home. I'm truly fond of and inspired by liminal spaces, thresholds, and passageways that frame our everyday life. I believe that the borderlands are a sacred place.
Symbols
I incorporate symbols into my work that I relate to my own personal mythology. I often do things in 3's in order to honor the past, present, and future. I also do things in 4's so as to incorporate the sensibilities of each cardinal direction. Lastly, droplets or tears make a regular appearance... This is an ode to water, the giver of life. Droplets also remind me that "sorrow found me when I was young".
Process
Much of my work is inspired by and grounded in personal memories and aesthetics associated with places, music, and visuals I identify with. Each piece has its own biography and is carefully crafted to inspire beauty in the world and self.
Favorite Word & Smell
Petrichor: A pleasant smell following the first rains that follow a dry spell
The smell of monsoon rains and creosote. (If you know, you know)