When her friends think of her, the first word that comes to mind is artistic. Senior Shiloah Coley is a creative soul who has been passionate about art since before she could remember.

“I’ve loved art ever since I was a toddler,” Coley said. “My mom was always really artistic, but as I got older I started to drift more towards sports. I didn’t really get back into art until freshman year.”

Coley started the art program her sophomore year and has not slowed down since. She currently takes three art classes which gives her a total of five art classes throughout her high school career.

“I enjoy art because it’s a creative outlet that allows you to do whatever you want with different media,” Coley said.

She thinks the art program is very helpful to those who are looking to better their art skills.

“It’s helped me in the area of developing different skills,” Coley said. “It’s also helped me start taking different concepts and using them in art.”

Although Coley has only been in the art program for three years, she has created around 16 pieces of art.

Just like any other artist, she favors some of her pieces over others.

“I did an oil painting called ‘Sal’  and it’s of this really old man; that’s probably my favorite because it was the first oil painting I did that was after a person,” Coley said.

She likes the art program so much that she decided to take an independent study.

“I didn’t have room in my schedule to take Art Concentration or 2D Studio 2 because they’re both only offered one period,” Coley said.

Out of every art course she has taken, Coley said her independent art study is her favorite. She gets to spend the whole period doing what she loves.

“It allowed me to build my portfolio for AP Studio Art in a different class, so now I have an additional art class that’s just for assisting me and building my portfolio for college.”

Coley’s friends have been admiring her work from a far.

“I’ve had art classes with her and I’ve really seen her art grow so much,” senior Maggie Danielian said.“She’s really dedicated to her art, I can tell that she really wants to get better.”

Danielian thinks her friend is very persistent.

“She really puts her work into all of the art that she does. She’s never done something just to do it; she always has meaning and really tries to get it done, do it right and do it the best that it can be done. That’s one thing I really admire about Shiloah,” Danielian said.