Yummy new pieces...

Yummy new pieces in progress. I think these are 18 x 24 and will eventually make their way to The Vault Arts Collective. 

Documented Life Project Featured Artist

I am super excited to have been asked to be a part of the Documented Life Project this year! Thanks for joining me! I love the movement with this project. Exploration and discovery... doing what you love and keeping some records of your life along the way. Here is the challenge prompt for this week:

May Theme

Touchy Feely (Texture)

May 16

Art Challenge:  Modeling Paste

Journal Prompt:  "Rise to the Occasion"

I am a texture freak. I LOVE it. Modeling paste is so much fun to play with. Some brands also call it molding paste and there are different types you can get. For working in a journal, you will want to use FLEXIBLE modeling/molding paste so it won't break off your page over time. The occasion for my page is my birthday, I'm turning 42. Supplies and more pics are below!

After you watch the video, come hang out with Mystele and I at Community Thrive, our online art community. We have just set up U Thrive (University Thrive), a totally new learning experience with new instructors, classes and even one on one mentoring! You seriously don't want to miss this!!! There are both free and paid classes available along with art challenges, art swaps, free demos,Stash Talk and other features and opportunities to encourage each other and grow together... to Thrive!

Music in this video was generously provided by Kristen Nelson.

Click image to enlarge.

Supplies used: Liquitex Flexible Modeling Paste, Liquitex Acrylic Ink, Dr. Ph. Martin's Bombay India Ink, Adirondack Alcohol Ink

Thanks go out to Lorraine Bell and the rest of the DLP team for inviting me! Check out more projects on their blog!

In Progress...

I started this canvas I January and it's been waiting all this time. I've seen her there for quite a while, but haven't had the time until tonight. Still in progress...

A photo posted by Heather Santos (@heather.santos) on May 12, 2015 at 6:34pm PDT

In my journal...

Tonight in my journal...

A photo posted by Heather Santos (@heather.santos) on May 6, 2015 at 4:01pm PDT

It's ruff to be a studio assistant.

A photo posted by Heather Santos (@heather.santos) on May 6, 2015 at 5:02pm PDT

May Flowers...

Our art swaps and art challenges are up and running at Community Thrive and I'd love it if you'd come check it out! This  month, I've played along with the art challenges there and will be sending this little piece home with our random winner for May.

Owl and Bird Pendants

Fun double-sided pendants I made recently. Each one has an original mixed media painting and collage. The silver ones are just over an inch square and the copper ones are an inch and a half square. These are available in my online shop as well as at The Vault Arts Collective.

Soul Food 2015 Lessons

My first Soul Food 2015 lesson went live on Monday, which means I can share it here! It's a fun and simple little lesson. The whole class has been so fun with great projects and an awesome community. You can find out more and sign up here: www.soulfoodclass.tumblr.com.

Today, I'm busy recording my next lesson! Here's a little sneak peek! I'm having a blast getting it ready for you!

February Art Challenges at Community Thrive

We've done a lot of sprucing up over at Community Thrive and I'd love it if you'd come check it out! This  month, I've played along with the art challenges there and will be sending this little guy home with our random winner this month.

Kind, Fierce, Brave

“May my heart be kind, my mind fierce, and my spirit brave.”

― Kate Forsyth

This quote resonates with my heart so deeply lately. This is exactly who I want to be and who I am working to become. A woman is fully capable of being strong, brave, and fierce while leaving kindness, compassion, mercy and femininity intact. That is who I long to be. Sometimes the fierceness comes too easy - at the expense of kindness. Sometimes the bravery is too much to muster. But, I will wake up each day and try again. Every day. I will forgive myself when I fail. Then I will get back on the horse and try again.

Strength

"I'm thankful for my struggle because without it I wouldn't have stumbled across my strength"

Alex Elle

16 x 20
Available at The Vault

Beautiful Brokenness

and she always had a way with her brokenness. she would take her pieces and make them beautiful. ~r.m. drake

This piece was a rework of a painting that was about a year or so old. You can see the progress pics below. I've really enjoyed being able to compare the old and new and seeing how my work has changed.

She Who is Brave is Free

"She who is brave is free"

With Brave Wings She Flies

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for our online class Soul Food 2015! You can enter EACH DAY by sharing on Facebook and/or Twitter. Follow this link!

16 x 20 inch
cradled wood panel
$100

Brave Enough to Dream

8 x 8 on cradled wood panel

This piece was a total do-over and I'm thrilled with how she turned out. I had the original laying around for the past year and decided to just repaint the face, right over the top using my current techniques. What I didn't realize at the time was that I painted these exactly one year apart. I really can't believe the difference in the two.

This piece is going to be up for auction for a fundraiser for Genesis Animal Rescue. They will have lots of fun things to bid on, so if you're local you'll want to drop by. It's on Sunday, October 5th at the VFW in Charleston, IL. You can find out more on their Facebook page. Some of you might know that two of our 3 dogs are from Genesis (the third is from the local shelter). I would be remiss to not share a photo of them. Everyone like photos of dogs, right?

Hershey is our oldest and we got him from Genesis when he was about 4 months old. Charlie, the one-eyed cocker spaniel, is 8 now and we got him from Genesis when he was about 3. And Joey was from our local shelter. We got him at around age 1 and he's 6 now. He keeps us on our toes! :)

Brave Enough to Hope

16" x 20"
Cradled Wood Panel
$100

and she always had a way with her brokenness. she would take her pieces and make them beautiful. ~r.m. drake

Fierce

“May my heart be kind, my mind fierce, and my spirit brave.”

― Kate Forsyth

16" x 20"
Cradled Wood Panel
$100

Not Forgotten

16" x 20"
Cradled Wood Panel
$100
SOLD

Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.
Mother Teresa

Sometimes life is just lonely. Even when you have loved ones around you. Even standing in a crowd. I have never been hungry enough to compare the pain that Mother Teresa spoke of here. Nor have I ever been totally unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody. But I have felt that I was at times. I do know the loneliness. I know the pain of being thrown away, cast aside, not being important to certain people that were important to me. I know lots of you know that loneliness, too. Maybe in the past. Maybe now. I'm here to tell you that you are not alone and you are not forgotten. I wish there was something more that I could do to ease this so that no one ever felt alone. I think feeling alone and forgotten have been the worst feelings I have ever felt in my life. I'm not in that spot today. But I remember. You are not alone.

Luke 12:6-7 “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (NKJV)

Letting Go

16" x 20"
Cradled Wood Panel
$100

"Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go" 

Hermann Hessee

In my years on this planet, I have found that the letting go has always been the most difficult. I like to hang onto things. It makes me comfortable but also complacent. The problem with hanging on to all that stuff is that it leaves no room for growth. Even the most precious things in life must be held loosley, lest you choke them. I have all these metaphors floating around in my head and running together. Suffice it to say that it's been a season of letting go.

16 x 20" mixed media on cradled wood panel

Artful Adornaments

So, lately, I have been trying out clay and I am in love with it! I love the texture and the molding and the finishing. I have so many ideas swimming in my head. If you'd like to learn how to make these, I teach them in one of my Slimline Soul Food 2014 Lessons. Here's a few pieces I've completed recently.

Begin Again

This is the first new painting I've done (that hasn't been for a project) in six months! It was an unplanned hiatus because we moved in March and the rest of my free time has been spent on our online class Soul Food which we are now offering a pared down version as a self study with only the lessons from Mystele, Jeanette and I.

I started this on a piece of already used watercolor paper. I've been loving tissue paper lately, so I stamped my favorite stamps in my favorite colors on white tissue paper and built up layers from there. I loved it so much that I was hesitant to put any paint on top!

The music in my video below is courtesy of an artist that is from my hometown in Mattoon, IL named Jenna Jackley. She actually is an acquaintance of my daughter which is how I first discovered her. She has played lots of shows in our region, has a great channel on YouTube, and has now moved on to Nashville to make a go of it there. I am so drawn by her sweet spirit and authenticity in her writing and music. Here's an excerpt from her most recent blog post, Passion, Romance and Joy:

"I’m also learning that you don’t have to absolutely love all that you create. You just have to create. Find what makes you feel and create around that. If you don’t know what you love, hate, or what makes you sad, this is impossible. There is nothing wrong with starting there: exploring what makes you thrive and what makes you tick. This transitional period is, in my opinion, the most fun and gratifying part of life!"

Please take a moment to check her out. She has two albums right now, Little Bird and Day by Day. Thank you, Jenna, for letting me use your music!