Insect Pinning: Butterflies

Celebrate the beauty of nature by pinning your own preserved butterfly specimen! 

Join Domingo Papalotl of RIP Repurposed for this 1-hour class where you'll learn how to pin a butterfly! Gain a new appreciation for the beauty of these winged wonders as you carefully pose and pin them. 

Guests will have the option of taking home their mounted specimen as-is, or adding on a Shadow Box to better display your work. 

All specimens and pinning materials will be provided. Specimens are sustainably sourced from insect suppliers who engage in reciprocal practices with the land, supporting both the indigenous ecosystems and the local communities by providing jobs and security.

Meet the Instructor

Domingo Papalotl is a Chicanx artist and educator based in Chicago, IL. As the founder of RIP Repurposed & the lead insect pinning educator at The Insect Asylum, they cultivate a deep appreciation for life’s overlooked beauty and ephemeral nature. Through their artistic practice, Domingo transforms sustainably sourced insect specimens and bones into intricate "queer-acions"—artistic offerings that celebrate the cycles of life, death, and eternal transition. They share their insect pinning practice at The Insect Asylum and at pop-up pinning workshops with RIP Repurposed. With each delicate queeracion and insect pinning workshop, they seek to foster a deeper appreciation for the beauty of each insect and animal they are honoring through preservation. In this way, they believe they are honoring the resilience and continual metamorphosis inherent in both the natural world and marginalized communities.