From principal’s office to art studio, Hira Abbas draws on a wide canvas

Mixed-media artist Hira Abbas, hailing from Karachi, Pakistan, and currently based in Dubai, has had a career that spans a remarkable journey from institutional leadership to becoming a recognised name in contemporary fine art. Holding an MBA in Finance, she spent 12 successful years serving as a school principal and educational administrator in Pakistan.

But even while managing heavy professional responsibilities, an innate artistic voice would not let go of her. She heeded the call of art: to further refine her aesthetic technical execution, she completed a specialised professional resin art certification through the Maria Molaei Academy (affiliated with the University College London), integrating advanced material mastery and material dynamics into her studio practice.

Creativity remained a personal pursuit until her relocation to Dubai, where the city’s vibrant cultural landscape inspired her to transform a lifelong passion into a professional artistic career. Through advanced training in epoxy resin and mixed-media techniques, Hira developed a distinctive artistic language that combines technical precision with emotional storytelling.

A study of leadership.

Her work is celebrated for its sculptural textures, luminous finishes, and the harmonious relationship between nature, spirituality, and contemporary design. Today, she is acknowledged for her signature high-relief 3D floral sculptures, ocean-inspired resin paintings, contemporary Islamic calligraphy, and bespoke luxury commissions. Each artwork demonstrates meticulous craftsmanship while inviting viewers to experience movement, depth, and light beneath crystal-clear resin surfaces.

In Dubai, Hira has fully stepped into her creative calling, using the city’s dynamic global stage to polish, expand, and exhibit her technical skills. She has actively showcased her works across prominent local art galleries and achieved international acclaim by representing Pakistan at the prestigious Global Canvas Art Festival II in Dubai, participating as a featured artist in a historic live event that created the Guinness World Record for the Most Nationalities Painting Simultaneously. Specialising in highly realistic epoxy resin compositions, fine calligraphy, and her signature high-relief 3D resin floral art pieces, Hira brings the structural discipline of an educational leader and the precision of a finance professional, to the creative world. Beyond gallery walls, she has established herself as a trusted designer for elite corporate and private events, executing high-end projects, crafting luxury resin bespoke items and bespoke souvenirs.

Welcoming flowers (left), The magnificent peacock and A salute in red.

Hira is widely recognised for her mastery in creating physically sculpted, ultra-realistic floral forms preserved under high-gloss resin. Moving much beyond the traditional flat canvas, her specialised texturing techniques allow petals, foliage and intricate natural structures, to physically lift off the surface, creating an immersive, multi-dimensional botanical experience that interacts dynamically with natural light and shadow. Resin art itself has ancient origins, with resin being used as a varnish and adhesive in various cultures for centuries. However, the fusion of resin and flowers to create stunning art pieces is a relatively recent development. This art form gained popularity in the early 21st century, with artists experimenting with different types of resin, flowers, and techniques to produce visually captivating pieces (petalspreserved.co.uk).

Driven by an experienced eye for realism, Hira’s ocean series captures the precise lacing, depths, and the multi-layered motion of moving waves. Her geode creations mimic the exact structural veins of natural earth formations, integrating raw stones and glass crystals seamlessly under a signature glass-like resin finish. Resin ocean art mimics the natural colours, depth and motion of ocean waves. By layering transparent blues, whites and sandy tones, artists recreate shoreline scenes with realistic wave effects. Hira’s spiritual collection featuring hand-rendered Arabic script, is set against rich, complex dark resins dusted with constellations of gold leaf; the collection reinterprets traditional geometry for contemporary luxury spaces. The merging of fine art with functional luxury, has created an assured market for her works.

Hira Abbas is based in the UAE.

The custom works translate her signature resin lacing and gold leafing into customised, tangible keepsakes for collectors and corporate entities. “My art is a beautiful balance between my structured past and my creative present,” Hira says. “For over a decade, I managed the precise, organised world of leadership as a school principal; but the artist inside me was always waiting for the perfect moment to speak. Moving to Dubai was the spark that set my creativity absolutely free. This city of endless possibilities inspired me to dream bigger, refine my skills, and proudly represent my homeland on a historic, world-record stage. By trapping realistic 3D flowers, sacred text, and moving ocean waves beneath a flawless glass-like resin layer, I pull the viewer into a deep world of shadow and light. I do not just create art; I freeze life’s energy and modern luxury right under surfaces.”

Beyond gallery exhibitions — she is an exhibiting artist at Reem Art Gallery, Dubai and also at the International Studio of Art & Galleries (ISOAG), Dubai — Hira collaborates with collectors, interior designers and corporate clients, producing commissioned artworks and luxury resin keepsakes. She strives for quality, originality and timeless elegance in each of her creations. Her independent art studio specialises in resin and mixed-media artwork. The workplace produces design and handcrafted 3D resin floral art, ocean resin paintings, and custom decorative pieces. Although she has changed her professions, the qualities that shaped her success as an educational leader — discipline, patience, precision, and vision — have overlapped into her artistic process. “My art is a balance between structure and imagination,” Hira says. “Every flower, wave or a stroke of calligraphy, reflects a journey of transformation, where discipline meets creativity and craftsmanship preserves beauty beneath layers of light.”