A writer who paints? Or an artist who writes?

Jan's passions for writing, painting, cooking, and hiking have merged into a dream career.  One that includes glorious stretches of time in all of these separate loves.  The outcome?  An award-winning food writer and consultant with 26 years of experience in the food and newspaper industries; and an artist, whose food-related and wilderness-inspired landscapes have found their way into collections throughout the country.

She has written and illustrated a weekly food column, Food For Thought, for the Corvallis Gazette-Times since 1983, and a syndicated column, Fresh Approach, since 1985.  Preserving, a seasonal column on preserving food, had a 20 year run in The Oregonian, beginning in 1987.  Jan is the author-illustrator of four cookbooks, the latest being The Onion Book, with Doubleday.
 
Jan's currently writing and illustrating her fifth book - a celebration of the Pacific Northwest hazelnut industry and the cuisine it has inspired.

Jan has made numerous radio and television appearances in major markets around the country and has been a regular guest chef on Portland's popular morning TV talk show, AMNorthwest (KATU) an ABC affiliate).  She has judged cooking competitions at the state level and above, including the National Beef Cook-Off Finals, and served as Guest Chef aboard the Royal Viking Cruise Line vessel Royal Viking Sun.  Jan hosted the cooking segments on the PBS series, Northwest Gardening, which was carried by public television stations throughout the U.S. in 1999 and 2000.  She was a creative consultant and writer for the PBS television series Smart Gardening.

Art has always played an integral role in Jan's professional life.  Her line drawings and food-related watercolors accompany much of what she has written.  Her landscapes take form on the many hikes and backpacking trips she and her husband enjoy whenever they can plot such expeditions.  Once back in her studio, sketches and the finished paintings emerge from photos taken on their treks. 

Recently Jan provided the art for Transitions, a book of breast cancer survivor stories, published in April of 2003 by the Benton County Breast & Cervical Cancer Coalition. She is the recipient of the 2006 and 2007 People's Choice Award at the Corvallis Fall Festival's Fine Artist Showcase.

Jan grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, obtained a B.S. degree from California State Polytechnic University, and learned the art of recipe development and food styling at Western Foods and Associates, a professional test kitchen in San Francisco.  She earned a M.S. degree in home economics (specializing in food science and nutrition) from Oregon State University and now writes and paints from her home in Corvallis, Oregon.  She and her husband Steve own and operate Stoneyburn Gallery and Fine Framing.