Faces of the West County: Diane Knopf-Senia
Adversity transformed into art and a life worth living
We all have varying degrees of adversity in our lives. Some of us seem blessed to have relatively few challenges that are minor in nature, while some seem to have more serious challenges thrown at them that are often even life threatening.
I play tennis with one of those people who has had more than her fair share of major challenges. She is someone who has faced adversity down and has emerged with her chin way up in the air. She’s a pretty good tennis player too. Let’s meet Diane Knopf-Senia, and hear some of her story.
Where were you born and how old are you, Diane?
Van Nuys, California. I’m 71.
How did you get up here?
Many of my friends had moved up here around 1995. That’s about when we moved up to Occidental. I was visiting a girlfriend who was having a party up on Bittner with a bunch of her artist friends. They all became my friends too!
My first husband, Frank, had scoped out a property in the area that was on the market, pretty close to this friend’s place. He drove us there after the party, and stopped the car right at the driveway. I saw a dirt road with what seemed like a cathedral of light and ferns coming through the trees, and I instantly knew that I was going to live and die there. It’s seven acres, and I don’t regret one thing about the place or moving from the big city to Occidental.
You’re an artist, no?
Well, I was an aerobics teacher from my mid-twenties, until my stroke, seven years ago in 2016. So there was about 40 years of that. You know, I had so much energy from the Prednisone, that I needed to exercise twice a day. I figured I may as well do it as an instructor. I did it in the San Fernando Valley, at Mid-Valley Athletic Club. That was my life. Besides being an artist, that was my only job. That, and being a mother.
Now I can’t say the words right or left correctly because of my stroke related aphasia, but I’m still pretty sharp on the tennis court!
I will attest to that.
The right side of my brain is fine. The left side took a bad hit. It happened during a surgical procedure I was having that was meant to replace my aortic valve.
You’ve had a bad run of health issues, and yet nothing holds you down. When did that all begin?
Back in my twenties, I came down with Crohn’s Disease. That started my life long dependence on Prednisone. Cancer came later, Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, that was due to all the medications I was taking. Stage 4! That was in 2010.
Tell us about your road to motherhood.
Because of all the Prednisone I was taking, I couldn’t carry a pregnancy and had numerous miscarriages.
One of my friends had a three-year-old son. Shortly after meeting her, I broke up with the guy I had been with, and this friend encouraged me to go on a blind date with her ex-husband. She said I should enjoy myself, but should avoid getting into a relationship with him at all costs. Well, that was Frank. We stayed married for 32 years.
Anyhow, three or four months after meeting Frank, (and he and I were together from the get go) my friend called me to say that she was moving up to Clearlake to be with Baba Free John, her guru. She took her child to the ashram up there, but soon after, she said either we take the child (it was Frank’s son) or she’d put him up for adoption. Craig was with us from that day forward. He’s now 54.
And the next child?
In 1987, we had a chance to adopt a newborn baby who was the daughter of a relative. We supported the woman through the end of her pregnancy. When Ashley was born, we took her home as agreed, and immediately began the adoption process.
Three months later, the birth mom asked for more money or she’d take the baby back. She had six months from the time of the birth, to change her mind about the adoption, and she did change her mind. She took Ashley back, and ended up giving her to another family. She was the love of my life, and she was suddenly gone. I was absolutely devastated.
What a terribly painful experience. We too adopted our children at birth, (twins!), and I know about the anxiety at the onset, before the adoption is actually binding and legal.
Oh yeah. But get this. We had a friend who was the executive secretary to some producer who worked on L.A. Law, the TV show. Well, she spoke to her boss about our terrible loss of Ashley, and they ended up making an episode of the show, part of the whole season actually, based on our sad story. … Well, soon after, the law was actually changed somewhat, in part because of the L. A. Law exposure.
We were able to adopt our next child, Jordan, without waiting six months. He was signed over to us at birth!
Oh my. What a story. And Jordan today?
An environmental consultant for Liberty Mutual.
You have captured much of your life in the art that you make and have created quite the narrative in your book, The Artist Who Painted Her Life. Are you still painting?
Of course. My studio is at home, and I’m constantly at work there.
Did your stroke affect your art?
Completely.
So is it richer now?
Are you fucking kidding me?!? It is so much more evolved. My psyche is diminished, and my experience is now so much more in the moment.
So, let me list a few of your challenges: Crohn’s Disease, numerous miscarriages, adoption struggles, cancer, heart valve replacement, eleven surgeries related to gastric blockages, and most recently, a major stroke…You are quite the survivor.
Yah think?!? I was in a coma for two days and that out of body experience changed my worldview completely. When I came out of it, I was dropped off back into this world, where there’s only three primary colors! Everything is different now.
Let me change gears a bit. Do you miss L. A.?
No. I miss my friends there, but Occidental is my home now.
And you’re together with another fellah now.
Yes, that would be Bob, for the last 18 years. I died and went to heaven when I met him…He got me into Burning Man. I’ve gone nine times. Not anymore, but that was an important part of my life. Many of the paintings in my book come from my days at Burning Man.
You’re a heck of a tennis player. Anything else in particular you enjoy doing?
I have complete gratitude for being in this place in the world. This place, and this time. I could have shrunk down and died with everything I’ve been through, but instead I’ve expanded and have gratitude for everything around me.
Last good book you’ve read?
Living Untethered by Michael A. Singer. It’s a must read.
An apt choice. The publisher describes this book as providing “clear guidance for moving beyond the thoughts, feelings, and habits that keep you stuck—so you can heal the pain of the past and let your spirit soar.”
Well, you, Diane, are a bit untethered yourself and most certainly an inspiration. Thanks for letting us get to know you a bit better.
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What a beautiful bio! Thank you Steve for this inspiring story.