Art is universal, but in today’s fast-paced world it is losing its importance. Many people persuade themselves that they don’t have time for anything more than the occasional glance at art and that they definitely have no time to create it. Nevertheless, there are some who still treasure artwork, and this makes the occasional dedicated artist all the more appreciated. Junior Sarah Loucks has been an avid artist ever since she was little. “I used to put on fake galleries and make my brother pay pretend money to get in,” she said, with a sheepish smile. Now, Loucks has advanced to having her artwork exhibited in “real” galleries, like the Art Show at AHS held last Thursday that she helped organize. Loucks had three of her pieces in the show, the maximum number allowed per artist. Loucks has entered her pieces in various shows and competitions, but she doesn’t look at art as a competition. “Art is so subjective,” she said. “I don’t like putting values on certain pieces I make because all of them are a part of me and important in their own way.” Most of the time Loucks creates mixed media art, which is composed of diverse substances and objects. She also likes to make installation art, in which the artist turns a room into a mini-world to create a unique experience for the viewer. In addition, she hopes to be involved in performance arts, which combine art and theater. For example, one might imagine someone “spinning around on stage, throwing paint into the air while singing a poem out loud.” Besides art, Loucks enjoys doing anything creative. “I love music,” gushed Loucks, “and it’s always fun to cook random concoctions in my kitchen.” She also loves to exercise and is involved in cross country. With school, homework, and other activities to do, it’s hard for Loucks to devote as much time as she’d like to art. “Art takes so long to make because the idea has to sit and stew,” Loucks said. “Sometimes you’ll be right in the middle of doing the artwork and the idea changes.” In the future, Loucks wants to pursue a career in art. However, she says she could never sit in a studio and paint all day. Instead, she wants to experiment in nontraditional art forms and host art events, possibly gathering different artists together to create a giant piece of collaborative art. “I do art because it’s just something I have to do,” Loucks said. “It’s natural for me to do.”