WHOLE SOUL STUDIO
Come Home to Wholeness
I’m Shelley Henk — Artist of the Soul.
I hold space for women ready to remember who they are, reclaim their inner direction, and live fully in alignment.
At Whole Soul Studio, art, embodiment, and soul converge.
Here, there is no rushing, no fixing — only presence, creative reflection, and gentle guidance.
No Art Skills Needed
Virtual | Central IL
Art as a Way Home
Before language, before answers, before becoming — there was remembering.
Creation still speaks.
Through Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire, your body recalls what your mind forgot. A sacred language written into your bones.
Whole Soul Studio is a threshold — where story becomes symbol, symbol becomes truth, truth becomes freedom.
This is not art you perform. It is art that finds you.
A remembering older than pain. A way back to your original beauty.
About Me — Shelley Henk
I’m a former Holistic Nurse turned artist, educator, and creator of Artful Storywork™.
My work integrates:
Somatic awareness
Intuitive abstract painting
Spiritual formation
Rooted in lived experience and professional depth, I offer a refined, non-clinical creative approach to transformation that:
Honors the body’s intelligence
Restores emotional regulation
Invites embodied wholeness
I don’t fix you. I don’t diagnose.
I witness, guide, and hold sacred space so your truth can emerge — visually, somatically, spiritually.
I’m also a bestselling co-author of Just Say No and a featured voice in the PBS documentary Medical Stories: Under Control.
For the last decade, I’ve guided individuals back to clarity, coherence, and creative alignment.
If You’re Here, You Might Be Feeling…
Stuck, overwhelmed, or constantly “on”
Disconnected from your body, emotions, or inner life
Fragmented, anxious, or creatively blocked
Carrying old stories, trauma, or experiences that live in the body
Functioning well outwardly, but disconnected inwardly
And you are longing to feel:
Grounded, present, and safe in your body
Free to feel, imagine, and create without judgment
Clear, coherent, and integrated — body, mind, and spirit
Reconnected to your inner wisdom, creativity, and self-trust
You don’t need another self-help strategy. You need a way back home.
How I Guide You
Everything I offer is rooted in one-to-one work with me, because true transformation happens in relationship, witnessed and held.
When we work together, I help you:
Reclaim your body as a place of safety and wisdom
Restore connection to your story, creativity, and inner direction
Notice life with clarity, embodiment, and alignment
Move through life’s seasons with rhythm that honors your nervous system
I do not fix you. I hold direction and witness.
You lead with your body, your soul, and your story, and your transformation unfolds naturally, through your living experience.
Mini-Experience: Alignment Session
Sometimes all it takes is one hour together for your body, story, and soul to notice a shift.
In this private, guided session, I’ll witness where you are, guide you through reflection and creative practice, and help you feel your next right step.
If your body says yes, this session can be a gentle first taste of the deeper pilgrimage we could take together.
Format
1–2 hour private, one-to-one session with me, guided by your body’s wisdom
Embodiment exercises, gentle reflection, and creative exploration
Optional mini Soul Painting or journaling practice to mark the session
Purpose
Introduce you to my process and the deep, one-to-one guidance I offer
Help you gain clarity, direction, and a deeper connection to your body and story
Serve as a gentle first step into the transformative journey of Finding Beautiful School of YOU™
Availability
By invitation or application only
Limited spots per month
Pricing & Structure
Priced at $497–$797 for a 1–2 hour session
One-time experience, with no ongoing commitment required
Request Your Alignment Session
Shelley‘s God given gift to help women walk out this journey is worth more than its weight in gold.
— Michelle Maxwell
My Signature Offering
Finding Beautiful
School of YOU™
A year-long, one-to-one creative pilgrimage where I guide women through a seasonal, embodied journey of rediscovery.
Four elemental seasons: FEEL, HEAL, DREAM, CREATE
8 lessons per element, released gradually for integration
Two private sessions with me each month
Optional space for sharing reflections or breakthroughs
Three in-person Soul Painting Intensives as rites of passage
Custom, original Soul Painting when paid in full
Everything in this container is designed to help you remember, reclaim, and embody yourself under my personal guidance.
“The School of YOU is so worth it! Using art to draw my past, seeing what is in my head on canvas in front of me has put an entire new perspective on my life story. I have gone from guarded and defensive, to being at peace and feeling loved by God!”
— Jennifer Taylor
“My time with her exceeded any expectations and the outcome is invaluable.”
-Ashton Greer
Why Work With Me
I guide, witness, and hold space — you respond and embody.
When we work together, you:
Reclaim your stories and inner rhythm
Reconnect to beauty, creativity, and alignment
Step fully into life with clarity, courage, and confidence
Return home to yourself — safely, deeply, entirely
You are not learning a system. You are living a pilgrimage, and I am here to hold it with you.
Seeing What Lives Inside
Suffering persists when what lives inside remains unseen.
Through embodied art, inner stories held in the body are given form — not to analyze them, but to let them speak.
When something is seen:
It no longer has to be carried alone
The body can release what it’s been holding
Beauty returns naturally
This is how freedom begins.
Not through force. Through visibility.
How to Begin
Notice what softens your body as you read about my offerings
Apply — a short, application helps us see if this container is right for you
Sacred Conversation — if accepted, we meet one-to-one to discern alignment
The path is simple. The invitation is quiet.
Your body knows the answer before your mind does.
Invitation-Only Experiences
From time to time, I also hold:
Small, seasonal workshops
Intimate retreats
Speaking engagements
These are invitation-only and designed to deepen connection and embodiment.
Spaces are limited to protect your experience and my energy.
“The “Finding Beautiful School of YOU” transformed my mess into meaning and left me feeling empowered and proud of who I am."
— Jessica Smith Dos Santos
Whole Soul Studio,
where I guide you home to wholeness.
More Stories of Transformation
“She’s not afraid to ask the tough questions that evoke deeper thoughts/emotions and she connects authentically with others. Her wisdom is beyond her years and I value her guidance in the importance of connecting my body, mind and spirit to live my most abundant life."
— Kim Henry
“Working with Shelley, “Artist of the Soul” was such an incredible way to embrace the darks and the lights of my life and learn how they have complimented one another to create the woman that I am today. The “Finding Beautiful School of YOU” transformed my mess into meaning and left me feeling empowered and proud of who I am."
— Jessica Smith Dos Santos
“For years I’ve searched for someone to help me understand & navigate my history while pushing me to LIVE forward. So many past experiences have walked me through the past, but left me stuck there. Shelley teaches methods to help deal with the triggers, yet keep moving forward so I can honor who I am at my core while acknowledging the feelings and emotions that come along with it. No more suppression. No more numbness."
— Emily Byrnes
“I love how Shelley weaves art, science & spirituality into our broken stories at the Finding Beautiful School of YOU. Helping us bring beauty forth. Shelley guides us past the healing stage, I felt stuck in. Her vision helped me awaken my God sized Dreams & this beautiful Artful Storywork healed my broken stories. So grateful.”
— Lisa Spokis
“Shelley helped break off me long held beliefs about God and myself that relegated me to believing I would always be last to receive. What a joy for that thinking to be gone! In just two short hours burdens, limiting beliefs, and some “stinking’ thinkin’ I didn’t even know I had was destroyed! Not only does Shelley know what she is doing she makes you feel that the most important thing she has to do at that moment is be in front of you. It was an amazing experience!”
— Dan Thomas
“Shelley helps you realize through her past experiences, that you too can bust through the barrier of pain and see suffering and see with beauty and purpose. She shares how looking backward to unearth your story allows you to let go and embrace forgiveness, love, and purpose to move forward."
— Katie Hurley
“Shelley Henk has helped me go from “hot mess” to finding my joy with purpose and passion! She has helped me rewrite my story learning to love who I once was and focus on who God created me to be. Helping me awaken to new possibilities, gain clarity on the future I want to create and empowering me take action to live an abundant and beautiful future!"
— Andrea Farrell
Why choose WHOLE SOUL STUDIO
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Shelley has been a Nurse and witnessed humanities hardest moments. This has given her a compassion and grit that is hard to come by. Shelley has been an Artist and Creative her entire life, and speaks the language of the body, emotions, and intuition fluently.
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Shelley considers all the parts of you and your life through a trauma informed lens. She understands the Science and the Spiritual side of life. Seeing them as interconnected. She considers your cellular health as well as your soul health. This is very hard to find.
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Shelley’s work is guided by her personal experiences, not just her credentials. She has experienced many traumatic events, lost her health and wholeness, and regained it holistically. She operates as a guide to wholeness, and believes your story is the medicine.
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Shelley’s work is not clinical, it is an Art. Art, Story, and Spirit are the medicine she carries.
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Wounds are not seen as a problem to be fixed but as the very place where transformation breaks open. While your past is important to giving us clues to your wholeness path, it is not the focus of our work, we are focused on forward growth and helping you create a live you love.
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People who draw or paint their dreams and goals are forty two percent more likely to achieve them.
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All of Shelley’s work is guided by the Holy Spirit. While she does not force her beliefs on others, her faith is the inspiration for everything she does.
Common Questions:
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Yes, much of our work is done virtually, but we also offer in person retreats and workshops
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You can paint or use other expressive tools.
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No, in fact the less you know about traditional Art the more fun you will probably have.
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No, you do not although you can. Artful Storywork is designed to help you release your story from the body, so if you are not ready to use words, you can just use paint. If you want to use words but keep them to yourself, you can. This is were Artful Storywork shines, the paper or canvas can be a witness and a mirror.
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We service central IL and support people virtually. Travel is possible.
Shelley works from her home studio
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While Shelley holds credentials as an RN, BSN, Certified Whole Health Educator/Coach, Patient Advocate, Enneagram Relationship Coach, Kingdom Minister, and Therapeutic Artist. Shelley’s work is purely educational, spiritual, and transformational. Her methods were mainly birthed from her own personal experience of restoring her wholeness and from working with over 1,000 clients to achieve health.
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Yes we do
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No, even though Shelley holds credentials, her work is creative not clinical. Therefore, insurance will not cover this service.
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No, you do not. Shelley’s work is very symbolic and uses archetypes from scripture, but non Christians would also feel its truth.
Disclaimer
The services, programs, and creative practices offered through Whole Soul Studio, including Artful Storywork™, are for educational, personal growth, and creative expression purposes only. They are not a substitute for medical, psychological, or mental health treatment. Always consult with your physician or qualified health provider regarding any physical or mental health concerns. Participation in coaching, retreats, or creative sessions is voluntary, and results may vary based on individual effort, readiness, and circumstances.
Contact Us
Interested in working together for something other than the Finding Beautiful School of YOU? Shelley would love to explore any creative ideas you have to bring Artful Storywork to you or the people you serve. Fill out some info and we will be in touch shortly. We can’t wait to hear from you!