Ever since she could pick up a pencil, Ashleigh Matthis has had a passion for art. She was always working towards her craft.

“I drew stuff in my notebook when I was in kindergarten and my teacher told me I should be an artist when I grow up… that kind of stuck in my head ever since then,” Matthis said.

Matthis’ mom worked with a therapist who was writing a children’s book. The author was in need of an illustrator which then led to Matthis illustrating the 50-paged children’s book, ‘The Pig in Your head’ at the age of 13.

“I was super excited because I was at such a young age and I was able to already have kind of a gig,” Matthis said. “It was kind of unique to have that experience at such a young age.”

In her junior year of high school, the book finally got published. Matthis had spent about a year drawing the pictures for the book.

“I hid a pig on every page so the kids could find it and pig stands for problem with immediate gratification,” Matthis said.

As a senior, Matthis continues to get herself noticed in the art world. Two representatives from Savannah College of Art and Design (Savannah, Georgia) came to Liberty to communicate with those who are looking to pursue art as a career and gave their work some critiques. One of the representatives said that if he happened to be in the area, that the students could email him and meet at Starbucks.

Matthis took the initiative to contact the admissions director assistant at Savannah College of Art and Design and set up a time to meet at Starbucks. She brought all her artwork and talked about the ways to earn scholarships, boost GPA and how to advance her art.

“It was a really cool experience, because I got to show my artwork to someone and put myself out there,” Matthis said. Taking this risk has a huge impact on who Matthis is and her drive to pursue art as a career.

Many are proud of her and the journey she is taking, including her art teacher, Mrs. Moore.

“She jumped on a really big opportunity to meet with a collegiate personal who’s going to give them feedback at Starbucks… that was very mature,” Mrs. Moore said. “I think that speaks to the kind of artist she is. She is unique and a risk taker.”

Already establishing her style, Matthis is heading on the right path to pursuing art and becoming a graphic designer.

“I feel like she kind of goes outside the lines on things,” Moore said. “She has a very unique style about how she does things to the point where if I see something I know, that was Ashleigh,” Moore said.