Artfulheart.org is a charity website for printable art that my mom and I created out of two childhood dreams: 1. Helping impoverished kids in Africa 2. Creating art.

1. When I was a little girl one of the things me and my little sister Kelly loved to talk about was helping kids in Africa. I’m not sure where and why it started, but it was something we talked about at length. Perhaps it was our own desire to help someone worse off than us. Whatever the reason was, it was a passion for Kelly and I both.
2. Another big part of our childhood was art. My mother was always creating art. When I was a teenager she ended up going back to finish high school and the on to University to become a teacher. Her minor was in art. And many of the time she had projects to do so she would set up stuff for us all to participate in. She was helping us develop our love of art but also doing her assignments. (Smart mom!) Before Kelly died in 2000, she created a lot of beautiful art. It is one of the great legacies that she left behind.

My mom met a friend named Lucy (you can read more about Lucy on Artful Heart) when she came to Canada for a medical treatment. They met attending a ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. When Lucy and my mom met, they felt like they had know each other forever and my mom was drawn to wanting to help Lucy with her cause of taking in children.

One day when I was talking to my mom Dixie, I told her I had an idea that I wanted to create a site for downloadable art and that the money could go to help Lucy. Then I realized that prints of Kelly’s art could be sold too. So then with my mom, Kelly and me all having our art it became something that was connecting all of us, even though Kelly had passed on. It became a wonderful opportunity to fulfil a childhood dream and involve Kelly while helping kids who need it. What a wonderful opportunity.

So artful heart was born. I got my lovely friend Doreen from Knap Creative involved in the project. She is the one who worked so hard to make it into a beautiful working site. Both my mom and I are so grateful to Doreen and all her hard work.

The site is filled with printable digital art prints from photography, watercolors, pencils, acrylic and oil paints. It is a labor of love that helps carry on the legacy that Kelly left behind. I hope you’ll go and check it out and buy some art to help some kids.