With the announcement about the initial lockdown earlier in the year, "like everyone else, I didn't think it would be so ongoing," the Year 12 student at Daylesford College said.

A social person, Lily has always enjoyed attending school where she can interact with her peers and teachers.

But the disruption to the school year, due to social restrictions put in place as a result of coronavirus, has instead meant that she has spent the majority of her final year of study isolated at home.

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During the lockdown, her biggest school-related challenge was getting motivated to complete her work. This included creating her pieces for Studio Art.

"I have to be honest, this year has been very trying for me," she said. "As time went on, I found my motivation to study on my own to be getting harder and harder."

Though she derives great enjoyment from creating art - "no matter if at school or at home" - she still struggled to find motivation without the structured routine she is accustomed to in a school environment.

"Focusing on art was one of the easier tasks for me. The only trouble [I had ] some days was actually getting started, but once I did, the creativity flowed," Lily said.

Despite the constraints, she was still determined to achieve to the best of her ability and found the extra time she had to work on her creative endeavours at home to be of benefit.

"As opposed to working on a piece at school where I am constrained to the time limit of a class, being able to work on my art at home allowed the luxury of doing it for as long as I wanted to, on my bed," Lily said.

While her artistic style is always changing, the majority of what she has created as an artist has been portraiture.

She described most of her work as "experimental" as she creates in several different mediums before deciding what she likes best in line with what she is aiming to achieve.

This year, Lily experimented with photography, white charcoal and lino printing to complete her final work.

Lily's work, along with that of all other senior students from the college, will be exhibited later this month.

While the school usually hosts a three-day event at the town hall for community members to view the students' work, this year the show will be hosted online as a virtual exhibition.

After a year working in isolation, without access to their usual resources and without the level of social support they would receive at school, it is hoped to be an exciting way to finish the year and showcase the students' hard work.

"Our Year 12 students have missed out on many milestones this year due to COVID and we wanted to give them something to look forward and work towards," Principal Steve MacPhail said.

While some students have greatly benefited from online learning, Lily doesn't believe she gained much from the experience academically.

However, having spent so much time online this year, she has "endless inspiration for art [she is] yet to produce".

She also feels like she gained more confidence to discuss issues she has been experiencing with her teachers.

"I am incredibly grateful for all of the help, support and encouragement that I have been given to finish Year 12 on a good note," she said.

The virtual exhibition will be uploaded and accessible from 6pm on Wednesday, October 21.

It will feature an introduction from Mr MacPhail and the school's Head of Art, Craig Frankland.

Awards will be announced in the final section of the exhibition, while viewers will also be able to vote in the People's Choice award throughout the week.

To access the exhibition visit either the school website or its Facebook page.

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