IMAGIO Artist Jan Kaulins

Jan Kaulins is a German born artist, the son of Latvian war refugees. He was raised in a small town southwest of Detroit, Michigan. He has a Bachelor degree from Eastern Michigan University, and a Master of Social work and Psychology from the University of Michigan. Originally employed as a Crisis Intervention Counselor at Ann Arbor High School, he traded his day job for art and travel. He has been a full time professional artist/craftsman for over 30 years and a professional photographer for over 20 years.

Jan's arts and crafts career began one summer when he and a friend found discarded deer antlers in a cabin in northern Michigan from which they began making jewelry and pipes. They soon began traveling the USA in an old step-van heading for outdoor rock and roll bluegrass festivals to sell their wares. They were enjoying their travels and adventures so much that Jan decided to his leave previous career as a crisis intervention counselor. Having learned that Elk and deer shed their antlers annually they headed west to the Rocky Mountains of Montana to gather large Elk antlers. As the work was refined Jan began exhibiting at national juried art fairs. In addition to his art, Jan, for several years, was the owner of The Autograph Gallery, a unique business which dealt in rare historical autographs, letter and documents of famous people throughout history which included notables such as Albert Einstein, Houdini, Abraham Lincoln, Babe Ruth, Joe Louis, Walt Disney, and the Three Stooges. 

In addition to his antler work, Jan also is a woodworker and jeweler, and after he sold The Autograph Gallery, he became a photographer. Jan's work is found in many private and corporate collections as well as in art galleries and has been featured on CD covers, private stock wine labels, Detroit Casino's annual Detroit Calendar, and book covers. He has exhibited in over 500 juried Art Fairs across America, including major ones such as the Coconut Grove Arts Festival in Miami, the Ann Arbor Art Fair, The Milwaukee Lake front Museum Art Fair, The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and hundreds of others.

His travels have taken him through 48 states, Scandinavia, much of Western Europe and Northern Africa. Jan has run with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, sipped mint juleps at the Kentucky Derby, crossed the desert in North Africa in a rickety bus filled with goats, ridden on the Marrakesh Express to Casa Blanca, slept on the white sand beaches of Ibiza in the Mediterranean watching meteor showers with the Druids, hiked in the Swiss Alps, grappled for beads at Mardi Gras, was chased out of a cowboy town by the Sheriff in Wyoming, ridden his old Harley to all of the biggest motorcycle rallies in this country from Sturgis lo Daytona Beach, and survived two close encounters with the Hell's Angels. He has fished for shark in The Florida Keys, snorkeled inside the remnants of an inactive Pacific Island volcano, attended the Indy 500 and three World Series games, and coached Little League Baseball games.

Jan still has a lot of world to see. We hope you enjoy his vision.