Title: Artist, Gallery Owner

Company: Linke’s Local Arts

Location: Stayner, Ont.

Frieda Linke and her daughter started to show her work in a marketplace, which outgrew its space once other artists started to make requests to display their work alongside hers, and Linke’s Local Arts was born. She joined the Stayner Chamber of Commerce and established Stayner’s first Art Exhibition Art in the Park through the Chamber. Her work has been on display with the Purple Hills Group and the Blue Mountain Foundation for the Arts in the Georgian Bay region of Ontario, Canada. She did her first national exhibit in Montreal in 2009; although she has not done more tours to date, her work has been purchased by collectors from across Canada and the U.S.A. Ms. Linke has posted artwork on international sites over the last few years. She states that her success is ‘not bad for a little girl from small town Angus!’ At age 54, this dreamer is living her lifelong dream, not always a smooth path but it is one worth taking. In five years, Ms. Linke intends to expand her store again and do more show tours in Canada and outside the country.

Initially, Ms. Linke became involved in her profession because it was a dream of hers since she was a child. She took every art class she could and also studied art books at the local library because the chanced of her family being able to afford the opportunity for her to earn an art degree were very slim. Although she took a few decades off to be a wife and mother to her husband, a Canadian soldier, for three decades. She finally picked up a brush and found her passion along with her artist daughter once her children finished school. She attributes her success to her desire and passion for the arts. She has been published in high profile magazines, and has also been on the radio. Furthermore, Ms. Linke credits the support of her family, friends and especially her husband, Harry, as she continues on this beautiful journey.