After attending three art schools and a graduate program in Italy for Renaissance painting techniques, Jan Cal joined a Mexico City rock band. Subsequently, she worked and traveled in the Americas and Europe for over a decade before returning to her native New England. Jan Cal's lyrics and melodies have been been performed and recorded by musicians, her comic essays, short stories and poetry published in magazines and anthologies; she is a past Rhode Island Poetry Slam Champion. Her drawings and paintings have earned her scholarships, prizes, awards and been exhibited in both one-man and juried shows -- in the history of one regional arts festival, she remains the only artist to ever have work accepted in five separate juried categories: crafts, drawing, fiction, painting, and poetry (taking first and second prize in two). Since 1986, she has been making vintage-inspired art-to-wear accessories.