Jean Darger is a wife, mother, grandmother and nurse.  She finds fine sculpture marvelous and enjoys the blending of the colors in Sebastian Miniatures.  She began drawing as a youngster, under the tutelage of a maternal Aunt who soon introduced her to pastels.  She came back to art twenty years later after raising three children.  A friend taught her tole painting and the mixing of oils.  She studied under both the late Bob Ross and Frederick Grue and then worked with another local artist in the medium of watercolors.  Friends and family tolerated gifts of experimental pictures as her skills improved.

In 1964, she began collecting Bosson’s art ware, which are realistic chalk heads made in England.  The delicate composition of these pieces resulted in chips, which she learned to patch and paint.  In 1986, she and her husband, Chuck, joined the International Bossons Collectors Society (ICBS) and immediately began to learn repair techniques from seasoned Bosson restorers.  Jeanie honed her skills with many hours of phone calls and on-the-job training and before long, fellow collectors began to send her pieces to restore.

  A fellow Bosson collector introduced Jeanie to Sebastian Miniatures, and because of the similarities in the composition and colors used, she was quickly able to use her skills to correct imperfections in Sebastians.

  Jeanie and Chuck joined the Sebastian Miniatures Collectors Society and met many wonderful folks, including Woody Baston.  At their first meeting, Jeanie monopolized as much of his time as she dared, quizzing him about all aspects of making Sebastians.  He was most gracious in answering her questions.  After attending several of the Midwest Fairs, she began receiving damaged Sebastians from fellow collectors and today she and Chuck do work for Bossons collectors, Sebastian Collectors, and antique dealers on a regular basis.