Art

Our Year 1–2 children continued their exploration of the bold and energetic world of Keith Haring — but this time in three dimensions.

Using clay, students created their own Keith Haring–inspired figures, transforming his simple, dynamic characters into sculptural forms. They focused on strong outlines, active poses, and clear shapes, thinking carefully about how to show movement and emotion through form. It was exciting to see the children bring familiar figures to life in a tactile and hands-on way.

Working with clay also helped them develop fine motor skills, spatial awareness, and an understanding of form and structure. After completing their clay sculptures, we began a new unit introducing portrait art inspired by Pablo Picasso.

Students explored how Picasso experimented with facial features, shape, and perspective.

We discussed how portraits do not always need to look realistic and how artists can rearrange eyes, noses, and mouths to express different feelings and ideas.

It has been a wonderful week of creativity, exploration, and artistic growth as students moved from pop art sculpture to expressive portrait drawing.

I look forward to seeing their imaginative Picasso-inspired portraits develop in the coming lessons.

This week, our Year 3–4 students continued their exploration of the artworks of Edgar Degas, with a focus on his famous ballerina paintings.

Building on last week’s pastel work, students were introduced to charcoal as a new medium.

They carefully observed Degas’ ballerina compositions and recreated the figures using charcoal, paying close attention to pose, balance, and movement.

Through this process, students explored how charcoal can create strong contrast, expressive lines, and dramatic shading. They practised blending and smudging techniques to build depth and atmosphere, discovering how light and shadow help bring the dancer’s form to life.

It was wonderful to see students becoming more confident with observational drawing while also experimenting boldly with texture and tone. Their artworks beautifully capture the elegance and motion found in Degas’ ballerinas.

I am so very proud of their focus and artistic growth this week.

This week, our Year 5–6 students explored expressive figure drawing inspired by Jean Jullien.

We began by observing his artwork and discussing its key characteristics: simple body shapes, minimal facial details, bold and flat colours, and strong, exaggerated poses. Students learned that powerful movement does not require complicated details — simple shapes can be full of energy and expression.

Using one large piece of paper, students carefully drew a full figure with the head, body, arms, and legs connected as one continuous shape. Instead of cutting separate parts, they cut the entire figure in one piece. They then bent, rolled, twisted, and folded the paper to create movement and action. Through this process, students discovered how paper itself can create energy and form.

Finally, they added very simple facial features with a marker, keeping the focus on pose and movement rather than detail.

Throughout the lesson, students showed good focus and creativity. It was wonderful to see their flat paper figures come alive through bending and sculpting.

Well done to our Year 5–6 students for their imaginative and expressive work this week.

This week, our Year 7–9 students completed their exciting hamburger brand advertising project using AI tools.

After developing their brand concepts and designing promotional posters inspired by famous artworks, students printed their final designs and transformed them into large-scale posters. Seeing their digital ideas brought to life in a physical format was a proud and rewarding moment for them.

In addition, students extended their learning by creating short promotional videos featuring their own brand concepts combined with elements inspired by well-known art pieces. They learned how to structure visual storytelling, select key images, and present their brand identity in a dynamic and engaging way.

Throughout the project, students demonstrated excellent creativity, independence, and decision-making skills. They not only used AI as a practical tool, but explored it as a creative medium to communicate their ideas visually. It was wonderful to see their confidence grow as they experimented with design, composition, and digital media.

Well done to all students for their enthusiasm and impressive work this week.

This week, the Year 1-2 children continued learning about Keith Haring and explored his well-known Barking Dog image. We looked at different versions of the artwork together, talked about what we see, and shared ideas about sound, movement, and feelings in the picture.

Children then created their own drawings inspired by the barking dog, experimenting with bold outlines, simple shapes, and bright colours. In the remaining time, they decorated take-out cups using various Keith Haring–style figures they have learned so far, expressing their own moods and personalities.

Through this activity, the Year 1-2 children practiced observation, imagination, and self-expression while enjoying a fun and energetic introduction to pop art styles.

This week, the Year 3-4 students continued learning about Edgar Degas and spent more time exploring and expressing his artworks.

They selected a Degas painting, cut out a chosen section, and then extended the remaining area by drawing their own continuation, combining observation with creativity.

Students also practiced coloring with soft pastels using a blending and smudging technique, which helped them create smooth transitions and soft textures similar to Degas’ style.

It was a meaningful session of experimentation and artistic expression, and we are excited to see the finished artworks next week.

This week, the year 5-6 students explored two different art styles using take-out paper cups.

First, we looked at the artworks of Julian Opie and Jean Jullien and noticed how their styles are different.

On one side of the cup, students drew a simple portrait or full-body figure using bold outlines, clean shapes, and flat colors inspired by Julian Opie’s modern style.

On the other side, they created a funny or playful character with exaggerated expressions and imaginative details inspired by Jean Jullien’s style.

Through this activity, students learned how different artistic styles can express different moods and personalities, while enjoying a creative and hands-on art experience.

This week, the Year 7-9 students worked on creating their own hamburger brand advertising posters using AI tools.

Students first thought about the things they like and words that describe themselves, then wrote their own advertising prompt sentences. After that, each student selected 10 famous artworks they personally like and used those visual styles as inspiration to design a unique promotional poster for their brand.

Throughout the class, students were highly engaged and had a lot of fun. Many creative and unexpected ideas emerged, showing their imagination and individuality.

This activity allowed students to use AI not just as a tool, but as a creative medium to express their thoughts visually. They practiced decision-making skills by choosing brand concepts, images, and wording on their own, while also developing their creativity and visual expression skills.

This week, in celebration of the 2026 Lunar New Year, UHIS conducted a variety of art activities under the theme “The Year of the Red Horse.” Students used paper plates to create shaking horse crafts to explore movement, and also expressed horses in many creative ways through horse pencil drawings, horse-themed collage artworks, and painting horses on traditional Korean hanji paper. In addition, they observed the horse images on Mappae and learned about its role and historical meaning. Through this lesson, which incorporated traditional themes and a wide range of materials, students learned how to express the form and movement of horses while also developing a greater interest in Korean culture.

This week, in celebration of the 2026 Lunar New Year, UHIS conducted a variety of art activities under the theme “The Year of the Red Horse.” Students used paper plates to create shaking horse crafts to explore movement, and also expressed horses in many creative ways through horse pencil drawings, horse-themed collage artworks, and painting horses on traditional Korean hanji paper. In addition, they observed the horse images on Mappae and learned about its role and historical meaning. Through this lesson, which incorporated traditional themes and a wide range of materials, students learned how to express the form and movement of horses while also developing a greater interest in Korean culture.