Artist's St. Peters house (and its garden) is her sanctuary

Jan Groenemann talks about what she loves in and around her home and art studio in St. Peters. Video by David Carson, [email protected]

Artist, author, and life coach Jan Groenemann moved into her house in St. Peters in 1977 and created a welcoming home and sanctuary over the years that reflects her life, work and values. She planted verdant gardens and introduced ponds and waterfalls because she fell in love with the natural world as a young girl on her family's farm north of Gainesville, Missouri, and nature still feeds her soul.

A large diptych by Groenemann hangs over the sofa in her bright living room. She designed and cut the stones for the fireplace. Her son and daughter gifted her with the elephant statue they brought from Thailand in the foreground

She built two art studios where she did her own artwork and taught legions of private students for 43 of the 46 years she's lived there. She filled the house with art that spoke to her. When her three sons left home, she turned the smallest of its three bedrooms into a library as befits the writer she would become.

Bit by piece Groenemann transformed the three-bedroom split-level home with hard work and a sure eye. The 10-foot plain Jane deck that was originally attached to the house came down to make way for multiple decks, including a peaceful raised deck topped with a pergola.

She brought the same determination to the interiors. She designed the fireplace in the living room, cut every stone and carried each one into the house herself. A friend helped her set them. Her painting scheme employs neutrals in the common living areas and uses art to add color, but she even gave that job a novel twist. "Each wall in my living room is a slightly different tint, depending on the time of day the light hits the walls," she says.

She's always been resolute, even as a young child. "According to my mother, when I was about 4 years old, if anyone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would say ‘I am an artist,’ not I’m ‘going to be an artist.’ I knew no artists in rural Missouri, but I was determined to become one," she says.

The raised deck offers a remove and a place for meditation from the stresses of everyday life as well as a gathering place for friends.

Groenemann faced significant challenges in life, but she met them as they came. She moved five times in the first eight years of her marriage to a project engineer with the Corps of Engineers. "It's hard to establish yourself as an artist when you’re constantly moving around," she says.

After they moved to St. Peters and settled into their home, her youngest son was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes, so she became a stay-at-home mom who still managed to work from home and advance her art career. "I had a real opportunity to become known as an artist. I started teaching classes out of my home and that really grew until I had 84 students a week. That was my bread and butter. The art I sold allowed me to have the extras," she says.

Groenemann painted one window with glass paint to add to the color in the room. Her abstract painting over the buffet anchors the wall while the chandelier soars. Note the juxtaposition of the robot sculpture near the cabinet and the greens and bird nest centerpiece on the table.

When her marriage ended she went through a difficult divorce. To take care of herself, she set up a special class with just six participants with the intent to connect to the creative energy within during that difficult time. "It was so powerful I ended up writing a book, "Through the Inner Eye, Awakening to the Creative Spirit." I started using techniques like guided visualizations and meditations, which I now teach in workshops. The book was published by a traditional publisher in 1994, the same year my divorce was finalized. I took it as a good sign, she says."

She closed her in-home classes this June but maintains an active work life. She turned one studio into an art gallery for her personal work, to be viewed by appointment. She embarked on a new workshop venture with her daughter-in-law Renee Groenemann. The workshop, "Beyond Survive to Thrive. Deep Listening, Serenity, and Intuitive Living" will take place June 23-25 in New Harmony, Indiana, a former Utopian community.

She’ll return home to continue her art, coaching, art consultation and writing in the place she calls home. "It's very important to make your home an extension of yourself. Fill it with the things that nurture your soul. Buy the art that's right for you, not what someone tells you is good art, or what goes with the sofa, but art that speaks to you."

Jan Groenemann in the garden of her home in St. Peters as seen on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Photo by David Carson, [email protected]

Jan Groenemann

Age • 76

Home • St. Peters

Family • Groenemann has three sons. Her son Jason and his wife, Renee Groenemann, are the parents of two grandsons, Jaden, 19, and Skylar, 16. Her youngest son Jeremy is married to Meaghan Groenemann, and middle son Garic is single.

Occupation • Jan Groenemann is a working artist, an art consultant, a one-on-one life coach, and the author of two published books about the creative process. She is also the author of two novels, "A Woman Alone," which is available now, and "A Thousand Ways to Kiss the Earth," which is scheduled for release in a few months. Her two businesses are Groenemann Studio and Inner Eye Life Coaching.

When she closed her teaching practice at home this June, Groenemann converted the front studio into a gallery for her work and her books.

The garden studio looks out on the ponds and gardens. Groenemann painted the cloudscape on the ceiling to disguise the pull down ladder. Her painting "Widening Circles" hangs above the fireplace. It was inspired by rain falling on the pond and by the hawk who visits her garden.

Groenemann's back studio looks out over her Zen garden so she can enjoy it year round, a guiding principle in Japanese garden designs.

The library holds the wide range of books Groenemann enjoys. As a former instructor in humanities at Lindenwood College she has books on creativity, spirituality and self-help as well as novels. Her painting "Symbology of the Seeker" incorporates symbols of all the religions of the world as they come together in unity in the blue square.

Jan Groenemann in the garden of her home in St. Peters as seen on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Photo by David Carson, [email protected]

The raised deck offers a remove and a place for meditation from the stresses of everyday life as well as a gathering place for friends.

The backyard garden of Jan Groenemann home in St. Peters as seen on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Photo by David Carson, [email protected]

The back porch and garden in Jan Groenemann home in St. Peters as seen on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Photo by David Carson, [email protected]

Groenemann's back studio looks out over her Zen garden so she can enjoy it year round, a guiding principle in Japanese garden designs.

The front of Jan Groenemann home in St. Peters as seen on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Photo by David Carson, [email protected]

The front garden of Jan Groenemann's home in St. Peters as seen on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Photo by David Carson, [email protected]

Jan Groenemann in the garden studio at her home in St. Peters as seen on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Photo by David Carson, [email protected]

A stain glass window near the living room in Jan Groenemann home in St. Peters as seen on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Photo by David Carson, [email protected]

When she closed her teaching practice at home this June, Groenemann converted the front studio into a gallery for her work and her books.

Tubes of paint in the garden studio, a converted garage, in the rear of Jan Groenemann home in St. Peters as seen on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Photo by David Carson, [email protected]

The garden studio, a converted garage, in the rear of Jan Groenemann home in St. Peters as seen on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Photo by David Carson, [email protected]

Jan Groenemann in the garden studio at her home in St. Peters as seen on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Photo by David Carson, [email protected]

A painting over the fire place in the den of Jan Groenemann home in St. Peters as seen on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Photo by David Carson, [email protected]

The den in Jan Groenemann home in St. Peters as seen on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Photo by David Carson, [email protected]

The sitting area in the front studio of Jan Groenemann's home in St. Peters as seen on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Photo by David Carson, [email protected]

The kitchen in Jan Groenemann home in St. Peters as seen on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Photo by David Carson, [email protected]

The main bedroom in Jan Groenemann home in St. Peters as seen on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Photo by David Carson, [email protected]

Groenemann chose art and objects that spoke to her for the guest bedroom. A folded quilt by local artist Maripat Monterubio, a double mirror from Goodwill she put together, and her abstract painting that mirrors colors from the quilt.

The sitting area in the front studio of Jan Groenemann's home in St. Peters as seen on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Photo by David Carson, [email protected]

The kitchen in Jan Groenemann home in St. Peters as seen on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Photo by David Carson, [email protected]

The downstairs bathroom in Jan Groenemann home in St. Peters as seen on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Photo by David Carson, [email protected]

The main bathroom in Jan Groenemann home in St. Peters as seen on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Photo by David Carson, [email protected]

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Jan Groenemann talks about what she loves in and around her home and art studio in St. Peters. Video by David Carson, [email protected]

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