News Archives


News Main

I was born in Nysa, southern Poland in 1968. I have two twin sisters. My mother is a lawer and my dad is a retired Music School principal. There is a deep tradition of art in my family oriented mostly towards classical music. My dad and one of my sisters are professional musicians (violin), Mom plays piano and another sister plays cello. At age 6 I also started my musical education but after 4 years of “ups” and mostly “downs” I quit violin classes. Since early childhood I felt strong desire to draw, paint and sculpture. Throughout elementary and high school I attended additional classes at art school. At some point it came to me that I would like to be a professional artist in the future. After graduating from high school I sent an application to the Jan Matejko University of Fine Arts in Cracow. It wasn’t my time yet, since I didn’t pass the practical tests.

It was bad news at the time, but it gave me a chance to try something different. In order to practice my skills as well as study the theory of fine arts, I entered the College of Architectural Elements Conservation. It was an important time in my life both from a professional and private point of view. One of my classmates was a pretty girl named Alicja, who five years later became my wife. In 1988 at the end of the first year of the College I sent my application to the University for the second time. This time it was a success. After passing all the entry exams I was admitted to first year studies at the Department of Interior Design.

I graduated from the University in 1993 with the Master of Fine Arts degree. After graduating I got my first job as an interior designer with Art Project Studio in Opole, Poland. I also worked for two local newspapers providing satirical drawings and illustrations for articles.

Two years later after my wife completed her education (she is also a professional artist, specializing in bronze sculpture and medals), we decided to move to Canada. Some weeks after arriving in Vancouver in August 1995 I got involved in a program that was supposed to help me start my new career in Canada. One of the calls I made in hope of finding a starting point was to Dowco Design. After several minutes conversation with the passionate gentlemen on the other end of the line, I was invited to visit their office. Next day, armed with samples of my work, I met president of Dowco Design, today Vice President of Dowco Consultants Ltd. – Ewen Dobbie who offered me a job with the company. It was an unbelievable feeling: one day being a new emigrant without a job, next day going with Ewen for my first meeting with a client. The project was a small restaurant in Vancouver. Apart from that we were doing mostly commercial interior designs. In the meantime, I had a chance to fulfill my childhood dream of learning cartoon animation. I completed a course of Classical Animation at the Emily Carr Institute in Vancouver.

After 6 months, Ewen decided to start a new business and Hugh Dobbie Sr. had enough confidence in me to hire me as a graphic designer. It’s hard to believe that 9 years has gone since that moment. Today Dowco’s Art Department is a well established part of the Dowco Group of Companies. Apart from the Details Newsletter, which was the original reason for starting the department, I do a whole spectrum of graphic and production services for Dowco as well as outside customers. On a regular basis we do web site designs for Dowco Computer Systems, and provide our services for SDIBC and other professional organizations. At the end of each year I design and produce Dowco Group of Companies’ Calendar for the next year. Art Department also participates in many projects under Dowco’s sponsorship banner – mostly for children’s organizations.

As I mentioned earlier, I’m married to Alicja and we have one son Oscar (8). I like to listen and to play blues music. I love to watch professional boxing. I also spend lots of time on my paintings and drawings. My artwork can be viewed at Rocky Point Art Gallery in Port Moody B.C. (www.rockypointartgallery.com/index.htm)