Emily Kowal ’12
Web A&E Editor

With the help of Bob Marley, Gabe Schindler ’11 turns to the art studio daily to cope with the stress and pressures of high school. After a full day of classes, tests, and quizzes, Schindler is able to enjoy 45 minutes of relaxation.

“When I draw, I get into a trance where all I can focus on is the piece and the music playing,” Schindler said.

Schindler’s father is a surrealist painter, so there was no doubt that we would get involved in art. From a young age Schindler knew that he loved art, and he enrolled in different art programs.

He may have started his art career by just putting materials together, but now Schindler creates complex drawings of mostly people and faces. He finds that faces give his art work emotion and depth.

“A face can give a piece so many different meanings, and it enables viewers to choose their own value and significance,” Schindler said.

Schindler’s favorite piece is a drawing of his four–year–old sister. This was a challenge, as it was his very first attempt at drawing a family member. In the beginning, he didn’t know if the drawing would be accurate because she is his sister. But once he got started, he blocked out the fact that she was related to him and just saw her photograph as a series of lines and angles.

“It was just me drawing; I didn’t need any outside help,” Schindler said.

His sister loves the drawing but gets freaked out at the resemblance between the photograph and the drawing.

Finding inspiration is not difficult for Schindler, as he comes across it everywhere he looks and with anything he comes into contact.

Currently, Schindler is working on an independent drawing that is a satire on surgical operations.

The scene is a few surgeons surrounding a patient but rather than operating they are playing foosball in his chest. This is the first piece he has ever drawn that was this complicated; there is a lot of movement involved.

“Once you become an artist you start to look at things out of the box,” Schindler said. “An artist isn’t simply looking at a person posing and seeing the entire body— he or she must simplify the being into single lines and different angles.”

This unique way of thinking has influenced Schindler’s schoolwork as well. Drawing has given him the ability to look at a piece of literature or a time period in history from a whole new outlook. Additionally, art helps him think as well as write creatively.

“It forces a person to view what they see from a different perspective,” Schindler said.