Jan is a master artist and arts administrator who creates commissioned works and designs and leads community-based projects that engage professionals and novices alike. For her leadership of “Clay, Color and Fire” – a public mosaic created in 2003 with 8 visiting international ceramic masters and scores of local apprentices – she was named Post Corbett “Individual in the Arts.”
Her architectural ceramics appear in the international art survey book, “World Contemporary Public Ceramic Art,” published by Hunan Fine Arts Press, China. She has created 3 public art installations for Liuzhou, China, in partnership with American and Chinese artists.
In 2008, Jan created a unique drawing exchange among artists from Cincinnati; Kharkiv, Ukraine; Munich, Germany; Liuzhou, China and Baracoa, Cuba, winning Sister Cities International’s “Innovation in the Arts” Award. Jan has served on the Cincinnati Arts Allocation Committee, and as Art Administrator for the Cincinnati Park Board, designing seven International Butterfly Shows at Krohn Conservatory. Among her most important projects are “The Black Brigade Monument” in Smale Riverfront Park, “Nature Calls” at Fitton Center for Creative Arts, and “Stars in the Garden” at the Monastery Event Center in Mt. Adams.
Jan studied illustration and design at Miami University in Ohio, holds a BFA in Painting from the Art Academy of Cincinnati, and an MFA in Sculpture from University of Cincinnati DAAP. She has studied independently in Florence, Italy, and in Paris, France and is the owner of Brown Checco Fine Arts in Cincinnati, Ohio.