Silke Janas-Schloesser – Witches’ Marketplace
A World of Wee Folk
by Pam North
Silke Janas-Schloesser lives in a small village in the western forest of Germany, which seems, with its mythical ambience, like an ideal setting for her artistry. Known for many years as a superb fantasy doll artist, she has tapped her vivid imagination to expand the spectrum of her work to include wonderful whimsical creatures in 1:12 scale, encompassing miniature trolls, elves, pixies, leprechauns, fairies, gnomes, witches, old crones, and other delightful, storybook personalities. Her new focus has lost none of the dynamism imbued in her larger works, and the same attention to detail prevails.
Silke has been a professional artist since 1992. Also well-known in Europe and Russia, she first introduced her work in the USA in 1998, and she has been featured in many articles and cover stories. Her larger dolls range in size from 15” to 24”, are fashioned of polymer clay, with stuffed bodies over wire armatures. German glass eyes, and human hair or mohair, enhance their personalities, and the dolls are costumed in beautiful hand-dyed velvets, brocades, embroidered silks, fine cottons, and vintage laces, with well-chosen accessories to complete the ensembles. 
Silke’s latest passion is 1:12 scale miniature pieces, usually around 2.5” to 7” high. The faces of the wee figures are about the size of a nickel. The little furniture items often contain accessories made by her friend, Karin Caspar.
Silke remarked. “I find inspiration in fairytales, books, films, and sometimes in my dreams,” and all of those images profoundly feed her creative flow. Her shift to smaller size simultaneously has enlarged her overall scope. “What I love most about miniatures is the small size. It´s possible to build  full settings for my figures to inhabit, an advantage I didn‘t have before I became a miniaturist; my larger figures never had their own homes before.“
Combining home life and miniature life always includes some adjustments, and Silke explained the difficulties for her. “I mistakenly thought miniatures wouldn’t need much room! My workplace is absolute chaos, and I’m always running out of space and searching for more storage all the time. I have too many ideas, and I not only create miniatures, I also collect miniatures. Of course, it’s the same problem with time and money!”
She sometimes has trouble parting with what she makes, “I have many pieces that I’ve never shown to collectors, because I simply don’t want to part with them,” but she does sell many of her products at shows and online. Her prices start at US $220.00. “I do have a little shop window at my house that my husband had built for me as a surprise when I was off at a show, but I have no actual shop. However, it did happen once that some people walked by, and wanted to purchase directly.”
She laments not belonging to any groups or clubs. “I wish I could, but we don’t have that here in Germany, like in the UK or USA. I‘ve been told about them, and I hope to visit them one day.”
Silke has had no formal training in the miniature field, but has managed to evolve and excel through determination and dedication. When asked what she considers her most valuable tool, she replied, “My glasses; I am now lost without them!” Her biggest difficulty with working in miniature she says is related, “It‘s sculpting the hands, and since I need to wear glasses, it has became much harder.”
Many prominent artists have made pieces that have sold to celebrities, and Silke wasn‘t sure who might   have purchased her work from her dealers, but she did say, “In Germany, the famous fantasy author, Wolfgang Hohlbein, collected some of my figures.”
The name of the assemblage piece highlighted herein is the Witches’ Marketplace. Silke jokingly attributed her inspiration for it to “a special love I have for elderly, misunderstood women (formerly witches, of course!). They are so clever and busy, because they have to live their uncomfortable lives without the help of men. I made this piece because I love what those tough, busy women do!” Almost everything in the assemblage is attributable to her own artistry. “Usually I love to buy from other miniaturists, as I truly respect other artists’ works, but these pieces are 90% done by myself. The candy shop and candy cart have lots of confections made by my dear friend, Lotti, and I’m sorry to say that she doesn’t sell her nice little treats, so I have to work for them!” Materials used were polymer clay, fabrics, paper, wire, and paint. Silke’s favorite part about these pieces is “the humor of them”, and she added that the facial expressions were the most fun element to create. She described her work process as, “When an idea pops into my mind, I have to draw a sketch and go to work to create it.” All of the pieces have been sold, starting at US $550.00. 
Asked about her feelings on the future of miniatures, Silke replied, “We really need new and young collectors and artists. My son is now 28, and he was the youngest at the show we did in May this year!”
She fielded the query about what's next for and her creations with the response, “Whimsical Christmas themes!”
As a final note, Silke remarked, “I try not to take everything too seriously, and if f I can make others smile, too, I’m happy.”
Contact information:
Email: 1021-749@online.de    or    mail@silke-schloesser.de
Phone:  +49 2742 72055
Address:   Eichenstr.23, 57587 Birken-Honigsessen, Germany
Business name:  Silke Janas-Schloesser, Artist