About the Artist

Jan Ketza American Artist

Born in Chicago IL 1957

Actively and Artist since 1974

Has Passionately Explored Art, Experimented in Art Techniques

and Ignited Others With the Joy of Art.

Painting- Phantasmic Abstracts, Abstract Landscapes, Plein Air Painting, Intuitive Method Painting, Experimental Art Techniques, MCM Revival, Abstract Nudes, Wearable Art Clothing, Art Jewelry Design,

Oil, Acrylic, Watercolor

Workshop Teacher.

Published Author

Early Years

My Father, Lawrence Ketza, was a big influence in my creative expression as a child. He was a school teacher in Lyons, Il and at the end of the school year he brought home all the left over art supplies from teachers at the school, that would have been tossed out anyway.. Boxes of paint! I went wild with and turned his 2 car garage into my art studio every Summer.

I saw Jackson Pollock's Art in a Life Magazine Article and tried my way with Splatter painting, flinging paint allover everything in his garage.

He loved that I tried this, but immediately showed me how to tarp things up. Brooms in buckets of paint and I was an instant Artist creating large pieces of art an huge pieces of paper that my Grandma Rose, who worked at a paper company in Chicago, provided me. The giant Elm Trees around my home became my Art Gallery and I nailed my Abstract Art to the trees and sold them for a quarter. Such a cherished memory this was.

Painting in Art Room F206 at Morton West High School in Berwyn IL

Image from the Collection of Ed Dabrowski

Teenage years, Finding 1, and Going All In

I attended Morton West High School in Berwyn Il from 1971 to 1975. I had an incredible art education there and a teacher that saw my passion for the Arts was at a higher level, pushed me further. His name was Ron Mounce. He challenged me and exposed me to college level art education. Mr. Mounce was also the person that exposed me to Georgia O'Keeffe for the first time. The day he placed her book from the Whitney Museum in my hands changed my life.

I found what I needed. A woman Artist, alive, creating Art, and able to support herself by being an Artist. The thing is I just need to know there was 1 out there. I knew at that moment I was all in at 17. I call this my "Power of One Moment."

Picasso's Creative Clothing

From 1988 to 2002 my creative outlet was Picasso's Creative clothing. It started in Hoffman Estates IL at the Barrington Square Mall with a Spinart Machine. Here customers became instant Artists by choosing a T-shirt, painting it with colors, It was then placed in the sci-fi looking spin machine and all the paint colors overlapped. Glitter was sprinkled upon and into an industrial dryer it went. Five minutes later the shirt was done.

This was a huge success and customers kept coming back over and over again.

In December of 1989 Picasso's was featured in Entrepreneur Magazine as a top new business for the 1990's. Picasso's was picked as the top Spinart business in the country and so featured in this article.

Part of the success of Picasso's was the creative clothing we carried in the shop.

I designed Wearable Art Clothing lines or Art on clothing to describe it for people to wear.

Then I went to top Art Shows across the country with these wearable art clothing lines to increase sales volume and open up new markets. It was just incredible how well received it was across the USA.

We traveled across the United States participating in the Top 200 Art Shows featured in Sunshine Artists Magazine. In 2001 with 911 there was a big change in the market and a new opportunity developed close to home.

Galena Beads - Serving Creativity

In 2002 I opened Galena Beads~Serving Creativity in Galena IL on its historic Main St.

Wow! Galena Beads!

In 2002 I opened shop on Main Street Galena with my Wearable Art Clothing lines. I quickly learned that my customers really liked the jewelry I was creating for the outfits. This is right when the Beading Industry exploded with the opportunity to create your own jewelry.

I took my dining room table and set it up at the shop. Put my bead stash in trays and priced them by the piece. I had no idea what was coming at me next. It was a phenomenon of an exponential creative adventure that took my breath away daily. I was in the right spot at the right time!

Every weekend I sold out my stash and replenished more. Then I started to show customers how to design a necklace and that grew the business even more. Offering workshops to the tourists that came to Galena yearly spread the word and a bigger shop was needed.

Then major magazines and Books about Beading featured my designs and the nation found Galena Beads.

I am so grateful for this experience in my life and the long ride on Main Street serving creativity to others. I found teaching workshops fueled my soul, and the world gave me the name, calling me The Bead Diva of Galena.

In the shops I had on Main St. I always had my paintings on display in a Gallery appearance. So as the world walked into Galena Beads they discovered emerging Artist, Jan Ketza American Artist

A Rack Card featuring what Galena Beads offered.