At 17, senior Kate Cooper has an impressive amount of experience under her belt. The Fourcast sat down for a chat with her to get up to date on her artwork.

What inspires you to make art?

It’s a lot of different emotions, but mostly I have to start with something that’s direct, and then I find myself through it. Having something rudimentary from the start and then making it your own is how I create my art usually. It’s really hard because inspiration comes from self-discovery. I have to think of how certain things in my environment make me feel and how I feel about things socially or emotionally. Then, I have to take those and try and convert them. That’s why I use a lot of different mediums – because not just one medium can express everything.

What is your favorite artwork?

My favorite work was [a] project called “Butterfly People.” It was a really good self-exploration. First, I researched all the different kinds of butterflies and then matched them up with people in my life. Then I took muslin fabric and I cut it in the shape of the butterfly.

Would you like to pursue art as a career?

I definitely want to pursue art as a major. I want a Bachelor’s [degree] in art with a minor in Chinese and biology. I can’t really predict what’s going to happen that far in the future, but in the meantime, I do want a Bachelor’s in the arts. To me, painting is something that kind of synthesizes all my other subjects and is a great form of expression.