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I became acquainted with Kate Senn (a.k.a. Kat Singer) via the loose association of artists known socially as Twin Ports Arts Align. An artist in her own right, Kat has been an active participant in the TPAA Facebook community and an ongoing advocate for the arts.

EN: Where are you from originally and how did you come to the Twin Ports?

Kat Singer: I was born in Chicago, and my family migrated here when I was 8 years old.  Although I had tried mightily in the past to escape the Sargasso-Grip of Gitchi-Gummi (or “Gitch, the Bitch” as I like to call her ) I have recently made my peace with the reality that karma had planted my roots here too deeply to migrate elsewhere.  Of course, just as soon as I came to that revelation, I started to really appreciate what the Lake Superior Basin has to offer... and even more, I began to notice the real artistic vibrancy bubbling just under the surface of Twin Ports culture.  Now, (just as I am supposed to, I suppose) I am ever so grateful that I have remained here, because I finally understand the real value of the creative freedom afforded to communities that aren’t awash in manufacturing, money-making, or marketing.  What we have here is an opportunity to make art on every level of our community experience, and I am watching (and hopefully helping) as artists of all kinds “lead the way” in ways that just wouldn’t be possible in areas with a more generic economic structure.

EN: What do you call this genre of art that you make?

KS: I guess we all find it hard to pigeon-hole ourselves that way, and I’m no exception.  I aspire toward a New Romantic/Gothic/Retro-Futurism style.... but I tend to produce many things that could more properly be labeled “Creepy Kitsch”.  It could be that as I continue to perfect my techniques I will produce work closer to my aspirations... or... maybe I’ll just make things that are creepier and kitschier.

EN: How did you come to take an interest in making necklaces and jewelry?

KS: Much of my work is about re-purposing, and a great deal of re-purposing can be accomplished in the arena of “wearable art”.  I like to scavenge rummage and estate sales for broken bits of adornment from bygone eras and incorporate them into something different, or give them new life, while still honoring their origination.  Broken jewelry does tend to take wonderfully well to becoming re-purposed jewelry... and the time-consuming, fussy, detail work demanded by findings and fittings is perfect for occupying my mind on long Winter nights in front of the Telly.  It’s also the kind of work you can do to keep up your momentum while waiting for a painting or a sculpture or a decoupage to dry.  “Time management for the Artist: Priming the Pump”.

EN: What are some of the media you work in? Do you have a favorite?

KS: I like designing soundscapes and I have a little studio devoted to engineering recordings of songs I write with my husband and another long-time bandmate, so this leads me directly to engineering the audio sound effects and mock commercials for the Twin Ports Stage radio production of “Twin Ports”.  (It’s hard not to call an ensemble production like that a favorite!)  I enjoy building websites and HTML programming, and digital graphic art comes along with that, which leads directly to the creation of some nicely decoupaged altered trinket boxes.  Decoupage has been a favorite fascination of mine for a while now, and testing its limits amuses me. I decoupaged the foundation of my house for goodness sakes... along with the usual assortment of plates, cookie tins, and tabletops. (How can you not love an art where the vast majority of your supplies come right from the local hardware store?).  Polymer clay became an interest initially because there isn’t a kiln required, so, you know, I’m obviously a sucker for “easy access” artistic endeavors, and if Richard Dreyfuss can sculpt a mountain out of mashed potatoes...  well then, the sky’s the limit, right? But, mixed media/found object/repurposed work is where my heart is at these days, and mixing media to take trompe l’oeil to the next level is by far my favorite kind of creative expression.

EN: How long have you been making this kind of work?

KS: What artist hasn’t, in some way or another, been making art since birth?  And who isn’t born an artist?  I just re-read this sentence... it sounds really pretentious and twee doesn’t it?  But, it’s still true. Creativity isn’t an ability limited to the exceptional few.   We should all be able to answer this one similarly.  To be sure, many are dissuaded by other factors, most notably the “I’m not good enough” albatross everybody seems to have hung around their necks... except for maybe Dali, who apparently escaped the usual self-esteem issues.  In my case, I put much of my creative impulse aside while I worked a career as a government drone.  Then, I retired, which gave me the time to do what I enjoy doing: creating interesting things from other things.