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.

Soul Food 2015: Getting to Know Instructor Denthe!

Soul Food 2015: Getting to Know Instructor Denthe! You can join her giveaway on her blog!

Soul Food 2015: Getting to Know Instructor Dana Christiansen

You can join her giveaway on her blog and learn more details about Soul Food 2015 online mixed media class HERE.

She Who is Brave is Free

"She who is brave is free"

Soul Food 2015: Getting to Know Instructor Cheryl Dossey!

You can join her GIVEAWAY over on her Facebook Page and learn more details about Soul Food 2015 online mixed media class HERE.

Cheryl Dossey Soul Food from cheryl dossey on Vimeo.

Soul Food 2015: Getting to Know Instructor Britta Smith Toftebjerg!

You can join her GIVEAWAY over on her BLOG and learn more details about Soul Food 2015 online mixed media class HERE.

Soul Food 2015: Getting to Know Instructor Ayala Art!

You can join her GIVEAWAY over on her Facebook page: Ayala Art & Dolls and learn more details about Soul Food 2015 online mixed media class HERE.

Ayala Interview for SoulFood from Ayala Art on Vimeo.

Soul Food 2015 Winner!!

The winner for Soul Food 2015 is Mandy Coulson!

The winner from my newsletter subscribers is Ronda C.!

The winners have been contacted. Thank  you so much for entering and congratulations to the winners!!! If you want to check out more about the class, visit our Soul Food 2015 blog!

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

Soul Food 2015 and a GIVEAWAY!!!!

UPDATE: We are entering the final 12 hours of my #SoulFoodClass Giveaway! As an additional motivator, I'll be gifting ONE of my newsletter subscribers one of these clay necklaces! So, come enter for the class and the pendant giveaway again BELOW and and if you don't want to enter for the class, but want to sign up for my newsletter ONLY, do that here: http://bit.ly/HSantosNews! If you already belong to my newsletter, you are already entered for the pendant. 

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Woo hoo! It's my turn to give away a spot in Soul Food 2015 online art class!!! I'm so excited and have offered you lots of chances to enter. Check down below the entry form for our promo video. If you want to check out more about the class, visit our Soul Food 2015 blog!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Here's a little video to tell you a little more about our upcoming online class, Soul Food 2015!

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

Announcing Soul Food 2015!!!

We’re delighted to announce that Soul Food will return to Community Thrive in 2015 with a new format, new Sous-Chef line up, and new content! Please visit our Soul Food Tumblr for more information about the 2015 class: http://soulfoodclass.tumblr.com/details and come and meet the new Soul Food Faculty here: http://soulfoodclass.tumblr.com/faculty

You’ll need to register at Community Thrive in order to purchase and participate in Soul Food 2015. If you’re not already a member of this friendly online art community, come and register here: http://communitythrive.com - there’s a lot on offer to keep you playing and creating while you wait for registration for Soul Food 2015 to open on January 1st!

Mystele, Heather, and Jeanette

Soul Food Head Chefs, Community Thrive

Rustic Clay Beads

So, I've been playing with clay for a while now and I am absolutely obsessed. You can see some of  the finished Artful Adornaments I've been making in my last post. But, I wanted to show you some of the beads I've been making with the Rustic Bead Tutorial from The Blue Bottle Tree. I have a lot more experimenting I want to do, but here are first attempts. I will probably be adding these to more Artful Adornaments, but it's possible I will play with some jewelry too. Ginger's tutorials are FABULOUS! I have also used Getting Up To Speed In Polymer Clay. She writes so well and conveys a great deal of helpful information without being too wordy. If you are interested in polymer clay, I encourage you to check her tutorials and her website out. I have learned so much from her.

These brown and blue beads on the end here are my favorites so far. 

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.

Brave on Redeemwood Recycled Palette Canvas

Brave by Heather Santos
on Redeemwood Palette Canvas

I'm excited to share this piece with you. Recently, I was offered a sample wood "canvas" from Redeemwood (Facebook) to try out and give feedback on. These canvases are made from recycled wooden shipping palettes, which I think is a brilliant idea. They are very rustic and each is unique. The piece I received had 3 nails, which just adds to the character.

I love painting on wood, especially wood with character. I love sanding it in spots to let the wood shine through.

I've made a video below to show the wood as well as me painting. I'm very happy with the way this turned out. This was a JOY and want to say thanks to Doug at Redeemwood for letting me try this out! Close-ups below the video.

Music by Jenna Jackley (Facebook), used with permission.

Brave (close-ups) by Heather Santos
on Redeemwood Recycled Palette Canvas

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!