Marj Marion

We're so sorry to have to tell you that we have lost such a bright light from our Art 'n Soul family, and the arts community in general. Marj Marion died on Friday, February 15, and we are devastated at her passing. Marj was so loving and giving and generous to everyone. She was truly an amazing artist, teacher, mentor and friend. She will be in our hearts forever. Below is a letter from Marj's daughters. As they so eloquently shared "tell your loved ones they are loved, and don't waste a single day..."

Hello friends,

We are Marj Marion's daughters, Kris & Julie, and we are writing you with some sad and shocking news about Marj. We are heart broken and devastated to tell you that Marj took her life on Friday February 15th. As you all know, our father Wayne passed away last August. All of those around her have been with her, supporting her, checking in on her, and she seemed to be adapting and coping as well as could be expected. No one saw this coming, and we are shocked and saddened that we didn't know the depth and breadth of her pain.

She spent the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays with her two sisters, Connie & Ruth, and had marvelous visits with them. 

She died of an overdose of medications, and appears to have gone to sleep and passed peacefully during her sleep. We do know that she has struggled with depression and anxiety for many years, and took great lengths to hide her sadness from her friends and family. Obviously, none of us closest to her understood how much she was suffering, hurting, and trying to overcome. Our hope is that by sharing this information with you all, that you would all reach out to those you love. Ask the hard questions, tell your loved ones they are loved, and don't waste a single day with those you love.

Giant Craft Product Sale (Like Recycled Rubber)

Hi everyone! If you are local, put Saturday October 13 on your calendar to attend a used crafts products sale at Vista Village Community Center from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Vista Village is located at 3300 Carpenter Rd. SE, Lacey, WA.

Among those selling will be Dianne Johnson, Pam Nelson, Marj Marion and Debbie Gaetz, as well as a number of former Art 'n Soul customers. The sale will include a wide variety of items at very good prices (sort of like Recycled Rubber used to be)

This is just a photo of some of the things one person is bringing. Seriously people we have tons of amazing stuff to sell and some of it has never been used! This is not an official Art 'n Soul event, but many of us will be there, and we would love to see you there on October 13th!

Also, please bring cash. We have no way to process credit cards for this event. PLEASE COME AND BRING YOUR CRAFT LOVING FRIENDS!

Magenta Fall and Holiday Season Supplement 2018

We are so thrilled to finally be able to present to you the new Magenta 2018 Fall and Holiday Season collection catalog! We really believe this is their best collection yet, with something for everyone. Many of these stamps and stencils can be used for any season, and this catalog includes all of the Sally Penley calligraphy stamps!

Click here to go to the catalog

You can also access the catalog from the Magenta blog here, and you can go to the Magenta online store here to purchase any of these products. They are live on the store now!!

The Magenta Design Team (which includes Dianne and Pam) have already been posting samples with  these new products on the blog. Some of those samples, as well as samples from all of the talented Magenta team are included in the gallery at the end of the catalog, so please check them out.

Sad News from Marj Marion

We’re sorry to share sad news from Marj Marion. Her husband Wayne passed away recently at the age of 71. Many of our Art 'n Soul family know Marj. She worked with us for many years, first at Quackers, then at Art 'n Soul, and also as an amazing teacher. 

Marj's husband Wayne was making a good recovery from heart valve replacement surgery back in June. Sunday August.19 he suffered a severe bleeding stroke. Surgery would have left significant cognitive impairments and multiple health problems. They previously agreed on no heroics if the outcome was bad, and all the family concurred. Marj's daughters, Julie and Kris, were with her during the 12 hour vigil, and he had a peaceful, pain free death on Monday, August 20th. Wayne’s wish was to be cremated. 

Julie and Kris have been Marj's rock and they, her sisters, her extended family and her church family are all providing treasured support. 

Wayne’s Memorial Service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 22nd at Westminster Presbyterian Church. There will be a reception following the service in the church’s Fellowship Hall. The church address is 1925 Boulevard Rd. SE, Olympia, WA 98512.

Sally Penley Classes Including Mini Masterpieces!

Hi everyone! Even though Art 'n Soul is closed, we still want to let you know about some amazing classes here in Olympia. If you are local to Olympia, or can travel here, Sally Penley has a fabulous roster of classes coming up. She is a super talented graphic artist who has been doing beautiful calligraphy for over 40 years. Sally teaches at her studio in downtown Olympia at Bucks 5th Avenue Loft and Gallery at 209 5th Ave SE, Olympia.

Did you see our post with the fabulous Mini Masterpiece cards and using the gorgeous Sally Penley calligraphy stamps? If not, you can see it here. Sally has a class coming up this Sunday, August 26, showing how to make those Mini Masterpieces, and if you have never taken a class from Sally, then you owe it to yourself to do so. If you have taken a class from her, then you know how good they are. Sally taught at Art 'n Soul a number of times, and we highly recommend her classes. 

Here is Sally's upcoming schedule of classes. She also has an amazing class called Fun with Sumi coming up on Thursday the 30th. You don't have to already know how to do these things, Sally will show you, and you will have a fabulous time.

If you are interested in any of Sally's classes, you can email her at sally.pen@me.com and she will send you a flyer and sign up form for whichever class you are interested in. Treat yourself! You will be glad you did.

Magenta New Collection with Calligraphy Stamps by Sally Penley

I am so thrilled to tell you that the new Magenta Autumn-Christmas collection is available at their online store. You can access the collection here and you can click on Stamps or Stencils to view the new products. You will want to look at all of them because there are lots of great new stamps AND stencils in this release.

Not all of the stamps and stencils in this release are just for Autumn and Christmas either! There are a lot of things that you can use year-round, like many of the great calligraphy stamps by Sally Penley. Sally is a graphic designer with a BFA in Design. She has been doing beautiful calligraphy for 40 years, and she is graciously sharing some of her work with us in the form of rubber stamps. Now the many of us who cannot pen these words so beautifully on our own can at least purchase her stamps and use them to make amazing cards.

One of the other artists who has designs in this release is Ellie Knol, a Dutch designer who has been on the Magenta design team for many years. Some of my very favorite stamps were designed by Ellie. In this release, she has some beautiful flowers (daisy and rose) in two sizes, and a fabulous new floral background stamp that you will love. There are also new designs from Helene and Nathalie Metivier, who have designed for Magenta from the beginning, and have some really beautiful new designs for you. You are going to love this release!

For two more cards and more information about them, please visit my blog post at Backporch here.

Magenta New Collection Autumn-Christmas 2018

It's finally here everyone! The new Magenta collection has launched! We have been waiting very patiently, and the time has arrived. This collection includes 20 fabulous calligraphy images from Sally Penley, and they are so beautiful; as are the rest of the new images! There are also a huge number of wonderful new stencils. 

Remember, you can order from the Magenta store. Click on "Autumn & Christmas 2018" at the left of the store front page. Then you can click on "Stencils" or "Stamps" to view all of the new products. They are amazing!

Click here to go to the Magenta store and view this beautiful new collection. Click here to go to the Magenta blog. There will be samples there and lots more samples coming soon. I will also be making some samples and posting to the Backporch blog as soon as I can.

Also, did you know that Pam Nelson has started up a new blog? Go here to check it out! She just did a guest post on the Magenta blog.