CARBONDALE Katie Walker has always had the artist gene thats how her mother puts it. A junior at Colorado Rocky Mountain School, Walker, 16, feels shes finally taken her work to a personal level. For the past two years, shes been creating art journals: bound books, their pages heavy with paint and found objects. To her, these represent a mixture of art and emotion, something shes always been looking for.What first drew you to art? I think when I finally realized it on a serious level, it was music music that my mother played while she was cooking. And the smells and the sounds mixed together in a beautiful way. And the product of that, in a way, was me being able to accept my emotions and produce them in a comprehensible way.Describe your work. What does it mean to you? I think its a lot about letting go, both of expectations I have of myself and my school, and sort of coming back to myself and regenerating this place inside me that inspires art.Whos been the greatest influence on your work so far? (She worried out loud that people might find this reply really weird.) Ani DiFranco. I dont know, at first, I just sort of liked the music, and then I started to understand the music and relate to it. At first I wanted to be her. Now I feel like Ive kind of immersed myself in the musics meaning. Its hard to define, but its sort of like equality for everyone and equality for yourself.And Id also have to say, most definitely, my mom sort of like this hub of creative ideas and ways to solve problems. She wants me to succeed, and thats really inspirational to me.What role do you see art playing in your future? Well, ideally, it would be my source of income.I think, no matter what I do, Ill be involved in art. Maybe in the music industry, producing music, or as a teacher. Im not really sure at this point how it will play in my future.Are you nervous about the future? No, not at all. Not at all. I love the idea of sort of being on my own and sort of having all the independence Ive been longing for the past year-and-a-half.Whats the most important thing in your life? Oh my goodness (laughing). I think maintaining good grades. My involvement in the school is really important right now. To be quite honest, my fathers coffee in the morning. Waking up to homemade cappuccino is quite excellent.Contact Stina Sieg: 384-9111ssieg@postindependent.com