Our Teachers
Amy Anderson is the owner of ART & Soul. She loves guiding her students to a greater appreciation of themselves through creating art. Amy attended UAB for Psychology and worked in substance abuse prevention before becoming a full time arts educator. Amy has always had an interest in painting but her true passion is in teaching and sharing the love of art with others. She began teaching art in 2015 while living in Dothan, AL and was an art teacher at Boys and Girls Club, Girls Inc, and The Cultural Arts Center. In early 2021, she opened ART & Soul to allow others the opportunity to learn and create. Amy lives in Bluff Park with her husband and two sons. She is on the board of the Hoover Arts Alliance and Bluff Park Art Association. To view her portfolio of original artwork, visit here. Amy is available for indoor murals and custom florals or portraits including pet portraits.
Laura Gadilhe thought she was going to be a school teacher for the rest of her life. Then she attended a 9 month long Yoga Teacher Training which cracked her heart wide open. She completed her 200 hr YTT and Children's YTT in November of 2018. January 1, 2019 Laura decided to quit her job to pursue a full time career in teaching yoga. This decision came very easily for Laura since it felt true to her heart. No matter what style of yoga Laura is teaching, or Reiki session she is offering, she creates a safe space for you to be you. Laura collaborates with Amy for our ART & Yoga adult class, Fuel Your Soul, and also kids art and yoga summer camps and classes. Visit Laura at https://linktr.ee/youshineyoga
In March 2012, Darla Williamson opened Tangled Stones Studio in the historic Bluff Park neighborhood. Her dream was to help others find their creative spirit through Zentangle®, Book making, Art Journaling and other classes, and to sell the products from her own creative path - pottery, handmade books, encaustic paintings and more! Since she began teaching, she has taught thousands of students in person and online, individual and group classes, as well as corporate classes (Microsoft, Googles, and more). Darla comes from a creative family, her mother is a self-taught fine art artist, and her father can build anything. She had always been creative, but struggled to find her medium. For almost 20 years she used her creative process to solve problems in the corporate world. In 2010, after attending a Zentangle class in Atlanta, her mother-in-law sent a Zentangle kit to her, and it really opened Pandora's Box of Creativity. She became a Certified Zentangle Teacher in October 2011 and quit her corporate job in early 2012 to follow her teacher's heart and teach art classes. She also teaches classes online via Zoom. Sign up for her classes here!
Olivia Floyd is a Birmingham raised artist who graduated from Auburn University in 2021. While there she obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art, with a concentration area of painting, and a Minor in History. Floyd’s art explores her own experiences as well as her interests in nature, the arts, psychology, and stories of all kinds. When not working or painting, she enjoys spending time with friends, family, and her dog as well as listening to music, reading, or watching movies and tv. Floyd follows Bob Ross’ mantra that “there are no mistakes, only happy accidents,” and believes that art can enrich the lives of those who practice it in both intellectual and emotional capacities.
Chris Cruz was a stay at home mom when she signed up for her first painting class over 30 years ago. She was looking for something creative and fun to do. Chris was introduced to the power of the paint brush and was hooked from then on. The vibrant colors reminiscent of her Caribbean and Florida living was the perfect setting for her to let loose and express herself in a visual way that words could not tell. She retired and moved to Alabama to be near her family. You can now find her classes at Alabama Art Supply, Shelby County Art Association, Chilton County Art Association, as well as ART & Soul, where she teaches batik, mixed media, textured painting, and more.
Collectors of her work have said: Her paintings are fun, different, and always have a happy feeling to them that people love. Chris is a member of the Shelby County Arts Council, Chilton County Arts Council, Mountain Brook Art Association, and Middle Tennessee Artists art association.
Visit her at www.chriscruzdesigns.com
Debi Profeta is a Birmingham fluid artist. She has always loved art and excelled in drawing while in school. She found her love for painting in 2010 and uses all she sees in God’s creation as her inspiration. Her passion for color is revealed in every unique piece she creates. Experimenting with different techniques and mediums truly reveals the depth of her talent. She loves feeling the paint on her hands and rarely, if ever, wears gloves. After she started experimenting with fluid art, she found another passion in teaching others her techniques. Debi is also in the process of becoming a certified therapeutic art coach. She believes that art can be an outlet for processing and working toward healing. Debi believes that “we are ALL created to create; not all create art, but we are all creative beings.”
Originally from New Jersey, Dee Nance graduated from East Carolina University in Greenville North Carolina and made her way to Alabama. She is a Certified Recreation Therapist, which is a fancy word way of saying she works with people with disabilities. Dee is recently retired from a 30 year career with the City of Hoover. "I have always loved to watch and encourage growth and expression for people of all abilities but never applied that to art until a couple years ago." While in Destin, Florida, Dee took the opportunity to explore Shardworx and make her first masterpiece of broken glass and “shards”. "I thought it was cool and I think I can do this." So, she came home started breaking glass, making pictures and here we are today. Her interest in working with glass has grown over the last 2 ½ years and "now thanks to Amy and Art & Soul, I can share this fun hobby with people that also have a curiosity about glass and art. We are also re-purposing a lot of glass." People of all ages can make a masterpiece with no experience needed just a little interest and curiosity goes a long way.
Alona Lambert teaches our After School Classes. She is an interdisciplinary artist at the University of Montevallo, completing her Bachelor of Fine Arts with double concentrations in painting and printmaking as of Spring 2023. Her artistic practice embraces experimentation, figures, portraiture, and self expression. With a current nationally shown studio practice she works hard towards becoming internationally recognized and being a full time studio artist. Alona encourages all to explore and learn through art and loves being a part of the growing local art community. She is available for one on one instruction for all ages in person or online, please contact via alona.lamberte@gmail.com
