Janiece Senn has lived a life. As an artist and prop master she has worked some big jobs – Sea World, The State of Virginia, MGM Grand, and Universal Studios. She has travelled the US in her amazing car (we’ll get onto that in a minute) and has been featured in countless magazines and newspapers, including National Geographic.
Currently based in St. Louis, Missouri, she now is ‘retired’ (although I’m not quite sure what that means in her case – do creative whirlwinds every retire?) and spends her time sculpting and creating designs for cloth on Spoonflower.
Her aesthetic is wildly eclectic, running through pop art, electronica, steampunk, and fantasy. Images and patterns, sometimes taken from photographs of her own work, some from historical sources, are digitally layered and manipulated to create colourful and dense designs. And she is prolific – 654 fabric designs for sale, and another 50 or so not yet for sale in her Spoonflower shop. I was particularly drawn to her paisley prints, with their amazing colours and cartoon-like outlines, to me reminiscent of Australian artist Howard Arkley’s work.
I interviewed her recently, and this is what she had to say about her life and work.
“I grew up dirt poor and if we wanted a toy we made it ourselves. If I wanted barbie clothes, I made them and the furniture too.
whimzwhirled – here there and back again
whimzwhirled – paisley pop
“When I was just a small child, my grandmother gave me a needle with some bright colors of thread and taught me how to do simple embroidery. My mother who used to do the most beautiful intricate crochet work also taught me the beginning stitches of crochet and I got my first sewing machine the Christmas I was five years old.
“My grandmother would take me across the creek in the summer to an old dumping site that hadn’t been used in many years to search for what we called treasure. Bits and pieces of pottery, old metal pieces and old bottles were among the many treasures we would find there. She taught me to look at what something could be as opposed to simply what it was. That is where my art career started. That gift has come in handy through out my years as a mixed media artist, scenic artist and prop master, winning many awards and scholarships in the process.
whimzwhirled – psychedelic mindswirl
“In 1985 while walking through the Saint Louis Art Museum’s pre-Columbian exhibit, I stopped in front of a well preserved tribal wedding mask, and a vision of masked natives circling a huge fire came to me. It was just a flash in my mind, but for a moment I understood the woman who stood behind this mask so many years before. I also identified with the artist and imagined the ancient tools and process used to create this art, along with the rituals used to consecrate its deeper meaning. I decided at that moment that I wanted to focus on creating modern interpretations of that insight and to explore icons – both established, and ones that were of my own creation. I have been playing with this idea for 30 years now and it never gets old.
whimzwhirled – lazy daisy
“My work is driven by the intuitive exploration of the mythical and spiritual avoiding any one belief system or religion. I don’t claim to have the answers to such huge questions, but I do however, consider it a product of my spirituality and a tribute to an everlasting search for truth, integrity and compassion.
“There are so many past and current creatives that inspire me. I’m inspired by the architecture of Gaudi, the work of Klimt, Chagall, and Dali to name a few from history. When I was a kid all my school supplies were Peter Max – I use to skip lunch and take my money to the Ben Franklin 5 and dime and buy all his folders and stuff. My current favorite is Daniel Merriam, and if you haven’t had the pleasure of that fantasy painter, you need to break out your google and see for yourself. I love primitive works of the Native Americans, Aboriginals, Africans; tribal-type sculptures, textiles, pottery and ritual paraphernalia or fetishes. Ultimately my inspiration comes from the love of friends and family, history and spirituality. I love all the Gods equally and send them my love.”
Whimzwhirled – automatic dj dance party
whimzwhirled – bugs bugs and more bugs
Her car is a work of art all by itself, and it has had several incarnations. “I drove her for 14 years as my everyday car. I travelled the US in her and have been in hundreds of parades and festivals. I have been in two documentaries, at least 30 newspapers and on National Geographic with her.”
Janiece Senn – car
Despite all her amazing energy and her acknowledged success, Janiece surprisingly says one of her challenges is her own self confidence. Her other big challenge is “being a woman in a man’s world. The first challenge I just keep working on and the second challenge I overcame mostly by kicking butt and working hard and never letting them see my fear when I was painting 60 foot in the air.”
You can find more of Janiece’s work on Spoonflower as whimzwhirled.
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With thanks to Janiece for sharing her words and images here.