THE STORY
from Founder, Shelley Henk
Welcome to my corner of the world. I’m Shelley, founder of Whole Soul Studio, a Nurse turned Artist of the Soul. My own journey through trauma, chronic illness, career burnout, and disconnection from my true self has shaped a lifelong mission: to guide women home.
Photo on the left is ten years younger, photo on the right is 10 years older.
THE BIRTH OF
WHOLE SOUL STUDIO
Whole Soul Studio is not just a space; it is the outpouring of my journey. Born from my many years as a nurse, my walk through trauma, complex grief, chronic illness, career burnout, and my return to creativity as medicine, the studio carries both the weight of wounds and the promise of wholeness. A place where suffering breaks forth into beauty. In high school, I knew in my soul that I was born to help people heal with Art, I just did not know how yet. I was told Art was not important and to get a real job, so I became a Nurse, I got a “real job” to help others heal. Little did I know my breaking would eventually reveal my true calling. It would teach me everything I needed to know about being an “Artist of the Soul.”
Every part of this studio is designed to hold and transform the hidden fractures, untold stories, and quiet grief we all carry.
MY PILGRIMAGE THROUGH
TRAUMA, GRIEF, AND HEALING
I carry the imprint of witnessing my father’s suicide at just 26 yrs old, a moment that fractured my world and left me with wounds too deep for words. Nearly a decade later, those hidden fractures surfaced as symptoms in my body, the breaking point that became my turning point.
From that place of unraveling and remembering, The Four Elements of Wholeness was revealed to me.
Through my own healing journey, I have come to understand that when we heal the divide inside us, everything changes. Life realigns, we begin to see from a higher vantage point, and we step into the purpose God placed within us. We can love God, ourselves, and others well. I call this coming home process, Finding Beautiful.
In 2015, God called me to leave traditional health care as a Nurse and begin the work I am doing now. I said yes and the rest is history.
EMBRACING THE
CALL OF WHOLENESS
Credentials & Experience
RN, BSN
Certified Whole Health Educator, Coach & Patient Advocate
Certified Enneagram Relationship Coach
Certified Therapeutic Art Practitioner
Certified Art Life Coach
Trauma Thriver and Chronic Illness Overcomer
Coach & Educator – Guided over 1,000+ women through healing and wholeness
Expressive Abstract Artist & Photographer
Creator of Artful Storywork™ Method
Co-Author – Just Say No (bestseller)
Featured on PBS Documentary – Medical Stories: Under Control
Milan Art Mastery Program Student
Kingdom Minister – School of Kingdom Ministry
PBS Documentary Featuring Shelley’s work
“When your head and heart disagree, your body tells on you. When they are in harmony, your body thanks you”
— Shelley Henk
My Purpose:
Whole Soul Studio is a sacred tribute to my dad and my heavenly Father, Who have taught me how to love deeply. It honors the process of losing what we loved so dearly. a person, a marriage, a dream, our innocence, our health, and celebrates how suffering breaks forth into beauty through shapes, color, story, and texture. It helps us remember that pain can be alchemized into beauty. That light comes after the darkest nights. It is a place for me to continue moving forward for my own healing and to also guide others on their path. My purpose is to help women “Find Beautiful”, transforming grief into love, chaos into creativity, division into wholeness, stress into rest, disease into health, wounds into wisdom, and God-sized dreams into reality by partnering with the Spirit through Story and Art.
Disclaimer:
The programs and services offered by Whole Soul Healing Studio, including Artful Storywork™ and the School of YOU, are for personal growth, creativity, and wellness purposes only. They are not a substitute for medical, mental health, or financial advice. Results may vary, and participation is voluntary.
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