After Jean's studies at Brooks Fine Arts Institute in the late 1960's, she left the States to travel and live in various countries and cultures for the next thirty years. She brings into her work the influences of the tribes in the Amazon, Ethiopians, Fijians, Thai and Middle East. Jean had a silk studio and boutique near the Old City in Israel for four years.

Since returning to the US in 1999 she has studied under Mark Derby and Evelyn Jordon, both well known ceramic artists in New Orleans, where she also had her studio. In addition to selling and teaching, she especially enjoyed bringing incarcerated youth to her studio to explore the possibilities of clay art. Jean has relocated in Memphis since the loss of her home and studio as a result of Katrina and is a member of the Memphis Potter's Guild.