Multimedia art enabled Junior Eleanor Coffey to express herself, but she did not take the hobbie very seriously until her cousin introduced her to the art community. Seeing others around her with the same passion, Eleanor’s excitement grew.

“I thought it was really cool that you could create a whole community around something that you liked and I really liked art, and there were forms of community surrounding it,” Eleanor said. 

Eleanor is inspired by different people, places, and experiences in her life. Her family members are one of her biggest inspirations, such as her aunt and grandma, whose art is featured throughout Eleanor’s home.

“I get a lot of inspiration from what [my grandma] used to do,”  Eleanor said. “And I get a lot of inspiration from music and just try to replicate what I hear onto the paper.”

Eleanor’s art relies heavily on her environment and relationships. Her craft becomes a reflection of her feelings and thoughts.

“If I’m friends with some people that are not good for me, it will be reflected in my art a lot of the time. In the colors, or subject matter, and posing,” Eleanor said.

For Eleanor, creativity is her outlet as she uses her art as a form of “diary entry,” in order to express herself. Eleanor aims to pursue art and continue showcasing her thoughts and feelings on paper.