There are benefits to being a married creative couple. “There’s a natural dialogue that happens,” Colleen Schindler said. “If I’ve been working on something, I can say, ‘hey, can you have a look at this, and what do you think of the colour or placement?’ There’s a natural flow.
” The Stratford artist speaks from experience. Schindler and her husband Grahame Lynch – both on sabbatical from their careers teaching art at Toronto Metropolitan University – used their time at artist residencies last year in Canada and France to create work that is currently on display at Gallery Stratford. “I’m incredibly grateful (Gallery Stratford curator) Robert (Windrum) believed in us and has been following us, especially since the work is so new – only a year old, essentially,” Schindler said.
“Both of us in our career are striving to exhibit quality work at quality galleries. Having moved to Stratford three years ago and wanting to be more involved and connected to arts community, it was just wonderful.” The couple’s work is under the same gallery roof for the first time since 2022 in Chatham, but their latest exhibits are starkly different.
Schindler invites viewers to embrace the beauty of stillness and introspection in her exhibition titled, “Permission to be still.” Drawing inspiration from the intricate details of both natural and built environments, Schindler’s vibrant and colourful artwork captures fleeting moments and intimate experiences of p.
