Coming Soon

Coming Soon

Coming Soon

Katherine Kong

Coming Soon

I had a great experience at US Arts from age 4 until I left for college. The community was really supportive and I felt that the teachers and administration cared a lot about my success. I took art lessons just for fun when I was younger, and then when I decided to take AP Studio Art in high school and prepare a portfolio for college applications, the teachers at US Arts smoothly helped me transition into taking my art classes more seriously. They discussed themes and strategies with me and helped guide me into putting together a well-rounded portfolio. The lessons I learned from my art training at US Arts continue to carry over into other aspects of my life, whether that be the ability to focus for long periods of time or having the patience to care for small details. I'd highly recommend sticking with US Arts, as they can cater to a variety of needs and reasons for taking art classes at every age! —-Ann Liu attended MIT and now is in MD/PhD program in Caltech and USC.

I’m an undergraduate at MIT studying Mechanical Engineering with a concentration in Medical Devices, graduating in 2021. While I’m an engineer by trade, art has a critical role in my projects, research, and life. I’m grateful to US Arts for shaping my beginnings in art from age 5 to 15. The teachers nurtured my eye for detail and challenged me to think about alternative ways of expression, which laid the foundation for my further pursuits in art and helped me become a better problem solver and engineer. 

 Art has shaped how I process new things and solve problems. As an engineering student, I might look at a well-designed product and appreciate the mechanisms, manufacturing processes, and function of the device. As an artist, I appreciate the aesthetic form, user considerations, and artistic statements. I always strive to think and design holistically, and art is undoubtedly a big part of that.

Art is also an outlet for my expression and a medium for me to connect with others. Since freshman year, I have been a part of Chalk of the Day, a student group at MIT that chalks a new piece of art each day on the large blackboards in a heavy-traffic area of MIT’s EECS building. While I’m chalking there every week, I often get stopped by professors, students, and visitors passing by who tell me that the chalk art makes their day. While on the executive board of Borderline, another student art club, I led a collaborative project to transform a popular new student lounge on campus by recruiting and organizing student artists to paint murals in the lounge. 

I’ve also found that when merged, art and technology become powerful partners in engaging an ever-changing modern public. Borderline engages the public by combining arts and technology. I painted murals on campus and incorporated augmented-reality animation. 

I grew up thinking that I had to pick a “right-brain” creative role or a “left-brain” logical role. Peers asked me if I was going to study art or study STEM. I have seen how much of a false dichotomy that is and how essential art is to problem-solving and innovation. I would highly recommend everyone to make art at some point in your life and tap into your creative side. US Arts is an excellent choice with dedicated teachers and caring staff to help you achieve your goal. You’ll find, as I did, that the rest of your life is much better off with art. 

Angela Liu

I am currently a freshman at Stanford University, and I’m thinking about majoring in environmental science. I attended US Arts from when I was four years old to my senior year of high school, and I can confidently say I grew not only as an artist, but also as an individual from my time there. I learned from almost ten different teachers and they all offered me unique perspectives and helped me develop both my artistic skill as well as my own creative style. Learning how to draw and use different types of media at US Arts helped me become more observant of the world around me, as I learned to draw what I see and not what I thought the things around me were supposed to look like. I also developed patience, as I learned how long it can take to produce a piece of art, as well as my own creativity and a good understanding of design. These are skills that have helped me outside of art, as I then was able to produce visually appealing posters and presentations for school that helped me stand out from my peers. And finally, learning how to draw and paint taught me when to focus on the details and when to step back and look at the bigger picture.

Because of all the time I’ve spent at US Arts over the years, I’ve also come to notice how strong and supportive the community there is. Each of the teachers care so much about their students and are truly passionate about art and sharing that with their students. I’ve always received so much individual attention during my art classes and I have come to know many of the teachers there personally as they have seen me grow up throughout the years I’ve spent there. And besides the teachers, the administrative staff is also wonderful; all of them care about the students at US Arts and have supported me throughout the years.

As I got older, going to US Arts for my weekly classes became more of an escape from my busy schoolwork and other extracurricular activities. I always looked forward to my Saturday art classes because not only was I able to work on my pieces and see my teachers and US Arts staff, but I was also able to immerse myself in the artwork I was working on and forget about all of the other work I needed to do. It felt rewarding to simultaneously get a “break” from my busy schedule and to work on producing artwork I was proud of.

When it came time for me to begin working on my college applications, I thought submitting pieces from my art portfolio would help me stand out from the many other applicants applying to the universities I was interested in. I actually recently got to view my admissions file at Stanford, and I saw that I was given a top score rating for my art portfolio that I submitted, as well as comments saying that I “displayed an unusual amount of talent for an undergraduate art portfolio.” I credit all of that “talent” they saw in my work to my time spent at US Arts under the guidance of my many wonderful teachers.

Looking toward the future, I don’t think I will become an artist after my time at US Arts. But, while I have other passions and careers I want to explore and pursue, I can definitely see my experience at US Arts helping me succeed in those. Whether I decide to become an environmental scientist, a lawyer, a doctor, or something entirely different, the skills I have gained from learning at US Arts will help me approach the challenges I face with patience, determination, focus, and the ability to recognize both detail and stick to greater goals. My time spent at US Arts learning and developing my own artistic abilities allowed me to develop the ability to become more open-minded and to accept different perspectives as I listened to suggestions and critiques of my work, and to become more confident in my own skills and ideas as I grew from taking my teacher’s ideas of what to draw to proposing my own. I’m very grateful for my whole experience with US Arts, as it has shaped, and continues to shape, multiple aspects of my life.

I started taking art classes while in 5th grade, when US Arts opened in 2002, and continued to take classes throughout high school. I've now graduated from medical school in 2018, and am currently in my second year of residency in San Francisco. Looking back, I can confidently say that my time at US Arts played a large part in shaping who I am today. While taking weekly art classes, I was able to build an artistic foundation and learn from many incredible teachers at each stage. I also built initial leadership skills in high school as an art camp helper, and eventually assistant counselor and then camp counselor.

During college and medical school, art became an outlet when classes and clinical rotations were stressful. The artistic skills I developed growing up at US Arts allowed me to put pen to paper, or brush to canvas, and freely express whatever was on my mind. During medical school, I took a year off to complete a Masters in Public Health at Johns Hopkins, focused on trauma and humanitarian crises. I volunteered with young refugees and during that time, art became a powerful tool to connect. I was surprised and so grateful that my experience with art became a skill set I could bring to the table. Art remains a part of my life in so many ways, and I attribute so much of that to my time at US Arts. It's exciting to see how much US Arts continues to grow, and I would highly recommend it to anyone. 

I started lessons at US Arts when I was very young, around kindergarten. Every time I finished a piece, my parents put them into binders to preserve them, eventually becoming a huge archive. When I look back through the binders, I can see my slow, incremental improvement over the years, demonstrating just how much time and effort it took for me to develop my art skills. I was an impatient child, and it took a lot of guidance in order for me to become more persistent and put more care into my work. Each teacher I had taught me different techniques and challenged me with new styles, but still I always felt encouraged, had fun, and looked forward to class. 

In high school, I started a program to teach art to elementary school children, which was difficult but very rewarding. It helped me gain a greater appreciation for the teachers I’d had. I was also lucky to get the opportunity to do a solo exhibition of my works at US Arts, which boosted my confidence in my own abilities, and pushed me to think about my artistic values and style. Later on, when I was applying to colleges, my teachers encouraged me to submit my art portfolio, and helped guide me in creating my artistic statement. Showcasing the creative side of me in this way was a big factor that helped me get into MIT, where I am currently pursuing a degree in computer science. Though art isn’t directly related to my coursework, I still find it influences my everyday life in the things I’m interested in or do for fun. This ranges from creating aesthetic website designs to drawing and painting in my sketchbook as a creative hobby to unwind. 

Looking back, I am extremely grateful for my experiences here. My exposure to art has made me more creative and interested in the world around me, and the encouragement and support I received over the years has helped me become a more confident and determined person.