John Lennon famously said if he was given a tuba he could make music out of it. Talent, he argued, wasn’t determined by the instrument, but the person using it.
Arizona-based artist Bobby Stills certainly could identify with that level of creativity, which is unbound by the limitations of his mediums. The artist—who also uses his Apache name, Healing Wolf—can effortlessly creare with flat work, metals, jewelry, sculpture, fashion and even textiles. When he participated in the 2025 Sovereign Santa Fe show, he brought a custom lowrider-style bicycle with hand-painted Native American designs and a woven seat from his wife, Navajo weaver Tasheena Littleben.
Bobby Stills (Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas), Apache Crown Dancers
Stills has also shown incredible growth in the area of custom dolls that are reminiscent of toy action figures. His small dolls, which use actual action figures as a base, are dressed in tribal regalia and posed accordingly in dances and traditional poses.
“My figures are my interpretation of Apache Crown Dancers. I don’t use any ceremonial, clan or band designs. Making these figures is purely spiritual for me,” Stills says. “Nothing is planned or sketched, I just sit down and build and whatever image comes to mind, I draw it or create it. I wasn’t raised traditional, so at first I didn’t want to make these figures, but I kept dreaming about them and seeing them everywhere. So, I called my San Carlos brother and told him everything. He said, ‘This is what Creator wants you to do,’ so I built the first one and gifted it to him. Everything I do from figures to jewelry is all done by images that are shown to me by Creator. I see it or imagine it first and then get down on it.”—
Bobby Stills (Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas), Apache Crown Dancers
His work has not only generated interest from collectors, but also museums. He also has the fashion brand Children of the Sun.
Follow his work at @bobby_stills
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