Jan Mrozinski Crooker

Adjunct Professor

Courses:

Drawing I
Drawing II
Painting I
Art of the Elementary School
Art Education and Child Development
Murals for the Community
Art Student Teaching Supervision

Education:

M.F.A., Penn State University
B.A., Art Education, Toledo University

Biography:

Jan Mrozinski Crooker is an artist and art educator. As the Arts-in-Education Program Director for the Lehigh Valley Arts Council, she has administered and written grants for many arts-integrated educational experiences in the Lehigh Valley including the Allentown School District Muhlenberg School Pilot Project, Mayfair, the Jacques D'Amboise Residency, and many other arts residencies.

She was recently awarded third place in the 2006 Rehoboth Art League Plein Air Paint-Out. Her work was featured in a solo show at Paty Eiffe Gallery, HUB, Moravian College, in September 2005. Among her recent shows are the Lehigh Valley Art Alliance Members Spring Show, 2004 (Honorable Mention); Berks Art Alliance Members Show, Reading, PA, 2004; Celebrating Moravian Women, Moravian College, 2003 (Painting Award); Rehoboth Art League Members Show, Rehoboth Beach, DE, 2003. She has participated in craft shows throughout the United States, including the Tile Show, Sisters Gallery, Sinking Spring, PA, 1996 to 1998; Philadelphia Craft Market, 1993 to 95; Philadelphia Buyer’s Market of American Crafts, 1991 to 1995; The Clay Place, 1993 and 1989; All Creatures Great and Small, The Garden Gallery, Toledo, OH, 1992; Miami Buyer's Market of American Crafts, Miami, FL, 1990; Atlantic City Buyer's Market of American Crafts, Atlantic City, NJ, 1990; Boston Buyer's Market of American Crafts, Boston, MA, 1987-1992; Faculty 25 Invitational, California State University, San Bernardino, CA, 1991; Lehigh Valley Craftsmen Spring Show, Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, PA, 1990; Gallery Five, First Anniversary Crafts Invitational, Pomona, CA, 1988; Color and Clay Traveling Show, Virginia Beach Arts Center, Virginia Beach, VA; Piedmont Craftsmen Inc., Winston Salem, NC; Galleria Mesa, Mesa, AZ; Pewabic Pottery, Detroit, MI; Jubilation Anniversary Show, Newton Centre, MA, 1989; School of Visual Arts 25th Anniversary Invitational, Penn State University, State College, PA, 1989; and Daytona Beach College, Daytona Beach, FL, 1987-1988.

Artist Statement:

I believe in the power of the arts to change lives. As in German Expressionism, children's art, color, and symbolism influence my work. Working for five years in an inner- city day care center and three years in the public schools not only gave me a strong foundation in teaching, but also established my lifelong interest in how children learn and express themselves. I believe that children are the best artists because their ideas and art are closely interwoven into an authentic experience. Teaching college and university classes for over twenty years, I not only stress skills, but also help students to find their inner creative spirit and authentic artistic experience. As an artist, ceramics, painting and drawing best allow me the direct expression of the idea and visual image and my own authentic experience. I view subject matter as allegorical and symbolic. For example, I view the series of “fish paintings”as really paintings about struggle. They were painted during the time my son was stationed on the border of Kuwait and Iraq. Currently, I am working on colorful landscapes in the German Expressionist tradition.

Website:

www.jancrooker.com