By Savin Narwal

Friends and family of Emilie Haniak know to expect the best birthday presents. Better than clothes, better than candy, Emilie gifts hand-drawn portraits to those closest to her.

Emilie is in grade 11 at Collingwood and is a phenomenal visual artist. Without any professional lessons, Emilie has gathered inspiration from her travels throughout Europe and has used the knowledge she has gained to teach young artists in the community.

More than simply an activity, Emilie uses art as a stress reliever and finds herself turning to art to relax. She finds lots of inspiration in artists like Renoir but also finds an equal amount of inspiration from those around her. Emilie focuses mostly on acrylic painting and drawing, as she finds these mediums give her the most control over her work.

Like most high school students, She is not sure of her future plans but hopes that they will include art. At the moment, Emilie’s work has been showcased in Collingwood art shows, but I’m sure we will be seeing much more of her work in the near future.