Brandon Twp.- Steve Koslowski found what was missing in his life in an unlikely place? a boys home in Jamaica.
Now, he is a man on a mission. Koslowski, an artist who makes or paints ‘fun fish? on canvas, adirondack chairs, garden tools and more, is raising funds to build a lunchroom for the Swift-Purscell Boys Home. A new lunchroom to seat 100 boys would allow reconstruction of a Georgian-style building that was home to orphaned, abandoned and neglected boys before it was devastated by a hurricane in 1998.
‘I saw the devastation and it really upset me,? says Koslowski, who recalls seeing a tire rim from a semi-truck hanging in the yard of the home that the impoverished children had used as a swing. ‘I came home and thought about it and decided to give proceeds from my brushes and grill sets to the boys? home.?
Koslowski’s goal was $20,000. He has raised nearly half of that in one year’s time and expects the lunchroom, a separate wing of the existing building, will be open in June, allowing reconstruction on the original building to begin. Currently, the lunchroom from the hurricane-devastated building is still being used, delaying repairs to the rest of the unstable building.
Koslowski, who also works as a plumber for new construction and owns a clothing boutique in Davison with his wife, Pam Campbell, discovered his talent for art in 1982. He and Campbell were on vacation up north when she saw some painted tropical wooden fish. Koslowski told her not to buy them, that he would make them.
He did make them, as well as mobiles made out of fish, and began selling them by word of mouth.
‘I used to fish, but then I got my scuba license and decided I liked looking at fish more than catching them,? Koslowski says. ‘Painting fish got to be my knack, or style, and that’s what I do.?
Koslowski and Campbell love to travel. They were married in Hawaii, attended the Olympics in Australia and in 1998, took their first trip to Jamaica on the advice of friends. While there, they went to the Harmony Hall art museum and met some new friends? gallery owners Annabella Proudlock and Graham Davis. Koslowski and Campbell returned the next year to stay at the friends? cabin located 30 feet from the sea and Koslowski wound up painting fish on a scrub brush he was given to clean slime off steps coming out of the sea. When Proudlock and Davis saw the brush, they asked him if he would paint more to sell in their gallery. Six dozen scrub brushes painted with tropical fishes were sold within a matter of weeks.
Not long after, Proudlock, chairman of the Jamaican Georgian Society, which is dedicated to the preservation of Georgian-style buildings, invited him to the Swift-Purscell Boys Home and Koslowski found his purpose.
‘We have no children, but we have a lot down there, and it makes up for it,? says Koslowski, 51. He tries not to get too emotionally involved, but says his wife has become attached to one 6-year-old boy.
‘He comes running when she gets there,? he said. ‘He’s a good little boy. They’re all good boys, they’re not troubled, they just don’t have a choice.?
Koslowski and Campbell travel to Jamaica 4-5 times a year. They went last month and will go again in October. In between, Koslowski will have a booth at Beets, Beats & Eats, for his business, ‘Koz’s Fun Fish,? each Friday night in Crossman Park in downtown Ortonville, with 50 percent of the proceeds from sales of garden tools, brushes, and grill sets going to benefit the lunchroom for the boys? home.
He also has the Koz’s Fun Fish Charity Golf Tournament for the Swift Purscell Boys Home planned for 9 a.m., Aug. 11, at the Goodrich Country Club, 10080 Hegel Road. Deadline to enter is Aug. 1, with charges of $50 for members with a cart; $60 for members without a cart; and $80 for non-members. Checks should be made payable to the ISSA Trust Foundation, a non-profit organization formed by Couples Resorts to help Jamaican citizens and to promote wellbeing and development to Jamaican communities. The price includes continental breakfast, 18 holes of golf, hot dog at the turn, and lunch. Prizes are $300 for the first place team, $200 for the second place team; $100 for the third place team, and skins, pins, mulligans, raffles and a 50/50.
Details: call Steve Koslowski at (248) 627-3395 or the Goodrich Country Club at (810) 636-2493.