"Through improvisation, I am in constant discovery. I seek the activation of the imagination.
Inspire and be inspired."
-Je Noodle
Foundry piece done at UCSC
Jennaé AKA Je ‘Noodle’ is a multidimensional FREEk whose lifelong catalogue of ‘Noodle ARTifacts’ spans across vast visual and auditory fields. Among Jennaé’s many ventures, she’s been a poster artist, live painter, musical performer for over a decade, collaborating with numerous artists, venues, and non-profits. Whether in the studio or a live performance, ‘noodling’ is the core of her process, creating most pieces from a stream of consciousness.
Jennaé's more topically charged illustrative works are driven by her passion to create conversation about the undressed wounds within humanity and the natural environment. A childhood love of impressionism and dark-humored cartoons is exposed within her unique style, which balances light and dark. These peculiar influences also translate into her eccentric songwriting and experimental performances under the aliases TeloMirror and Seek the Freek. This shapeshifting 'Noodle' is forever evolving and producing artifacts, lacing the world with freekish imagination triggers.
"Stay tooned"- Je Noodle
FIT OF SLEEP issue No.7 "Noodle ARTifacts" September 2021
Who...
Some HERstory...
Born in California May 1987, Jennaé Bennett aka Je Noodle, has been creating visual work since a very young age. At the age of four, she experienced a short-term loss of vision from the removal of a hemangioma between her eyes, which in turn triggered a passion for manifesting imagery from her imagination. Already infatuated with her mother's art supplies, the purpose of the tools became medicinal and served as keys to a colorful future. Over the years Jennaé adopted many titles: visual artist, imagination activist, musician, poet, etc. She has worked with many different mediums, but her passion for traveling and performing live art during music events, created a large body of visual work consisting of acrylic paint on canvas, recycled instruments, drumheads, etc. Her love for live music, also extends within her steadily expanding archive of hand drawn poster art. At the age of 16, Jennaé began her "live art experiments" with friends bands as a type of art therapy in hopes to alleviate symptoms from her TBI, as well as, access the subconscious for deeper visions. These live art performances or "experiments", are of an improvised nature. The imagery evolves straight from the energy and sounds that surround her while the event is taking place. The process is based off the idea of sound → color synesthesia. As music is considered an audio therapy, she is hoping to bring a type of visual therapy for those experiencing the development of the piece, where the viewers can tap in, activate their imagination, and escape from daily stressors. Jennaé continued her artistic exploration of this topic while getting her Bachelor of Arts at UC Santa Cruz. Originally, aspiring to help others with trauma by becoming a licensed art therapist, she later noticed the impact of live performance as an alternative. After receiving her BA, one of her mentors, Glenn Allen Howard, had pointed out that the public "live art experiments" were already acting as a healing tool for anyone involved in the creation process. In further reflection, Jennaé shifted her focus to performing, teaching, and creating art that would inspire and present the idea of infinite possibilities of healing through creative expression. Her enthusiasm for connecting with others and supporting community ultimately lead to many collaborations with other visual artists both visual and musical. She's collaborated with legendary visual artists like Stanley Mouse as well as up and coming artists like Laurus Myth and the women of Collective Manifestation. While working with an array musical acts and events for over a decade, she also had the privilege of painting live to many different genres of music, which showcased many styles of art. Sometimes, she would join on tours and paint/illustrate multiple shows with the same group, allowing for the improvised work to become series of art with bands such as Moonalice, David Nelson Band, The Everyone Orchestra, Lee Ranaldo and the Dust, Thurston Moore Band, Mededski Martin and Wood, Insects Vs Robots, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, Syd Arthur, Dusty Green Bones Band, Peter Rowan, EOTO, Baby Gramps, Great American Taxi, Particle Kid, etc. She has also created art along with nonprofits such as The Seva Foundation , The Bridge School , Food Not Bombs DTLA, Shelter the Song, and Feed LA for their benefit events. In 2011 Jennaé decided to take a hiatus from the extensive live painting and began working on a children's book called "Seek the Freek". Started from a random character she created in her sketchbook named "Seek", the doodle sparked a whole elaborate story. A story of a Freek named Seek, who wants to resolve the environmental and emotional devastation that had taken over the universe, finding other Freeks along the way to help solve the mystery of misery. Seek's character and mission did not stray too far from Jennaé's own perceptions of the world she was facing. From paper to the real world, Seek the Freek took on a life of it's own. Within a year of its birth, the name "Seek the Freek" had taken on a second identity, becoming a collaboration project of musicians, poets, and visual artists through performance based happenings. Its motivation based in seeking out the "Freeks" in society while attempting to create a space for open expression and provide happenings for people from different walks of life to interact and connect. STF broadcasts the idea that art can heal and provide purpose in many lives. The project hopes to eventually gather a large network of creative people interested in forward thinking involving eco-activism, community, and the breaking down of segregation within all systems. The written story of Seek the Freek now exceeds into an active presence in the world today through this collaborative project that has only just begun. Since 2012, Jennaé has been writing, collaborating, and illustrating posters for the live Seek the Freek project. In 2018, she took a hiatus from orchestrating large STF happenings and returned to the introvert life. This shift allowed her to funnel more focus into her solo project TeloMirror. Due to the nature of the pandemic, she unfortunately had to refrain from live performances for a while; the hiatus was extended more than intended. However, her projects continued behind the scenes, and she plans to launch a new expansive digital space to share these Noodle ARTifacts on a larger global cyber community. Since 2020, Jennaé has been residing in the Bay Area working on various "Noodle ARTifacts" projects and noodling behind the scenes at Mouse Studios. From February through April 2024, Jennaé's artwork was showcased at Haight Street Art Center's exhibition "WOMEN IN ROCK ART 1965-2023" in San Francisco. Lot's more visual and musical happenings projected for 2024... "Stay Tooned" - Je Noodle