A Talent to be Missed

I took the tip from the Sweet and Sinister Halloween blog and hopped in the car and drove to Michael's today to check out the new stuff from Martha Stewart. Aside from the halloween paper punches, I wasn't too impressed. The nod to vintage just wasn't up to par in my book. I didn't really like the designs and I thought the scrapbook paper was just cheap and awful looking.

Another large display nearby did catch my eye though and that was by K&Company (I so love them!)  Halloween Whimsy; a line by a new-to-me artist Jen Yanok. What wonderful papers...

and a lantern kit:

I really liked her stuff and so I bought the pack of paper, the lantern kit, and a set of rub-ons. I'll have to save my coupons and come back for more, I decided.

On the way home, I started thinking again about K&Company. I like the artists they work with--Tim Coffey ( a fellow Albert Whitman children's book illustrator who I met and corresponded with for a while), Danny O, who was nice enough to leave a comment for me on my blog when I raved about his papers before, Donna Ingemanson, who I used to work with back in my slide production house days in Massachusetts, Brenda Walton who's chinese lantern paper really inspired me---

and I wondered if I would want to go into designing and illustrating for a scrapbook company and what it would involve in order to give it a go....and is that a direction I really want to go in....

So I came home all inspired and googled Jen Yanok and found out she had a husband Johnny who also had a line of stuff with the K&Company and his style is pretty cool too - I saw his scarecrow/fall designs at the store too coincidentally. They both have the same reps too. And what do you know, she's the one who designed this fabric I bought a while back.

 

And I googled and googled and googled some more and then I found out something that really took me by surprise. Jen Yanok passed away this past July after a battle with cancer at the tender age of 38. I was really shocked and saddened by this discovery. Here I was thinking, this girl has her own line of products and her career is going strong and bam--that's it; there's no more to be had. wow. just unbelieveable. Makes you think...

My heart goes out to her family and her husband Johnny. What a talent to be missed. Makes you realize how lucky you are even when you don't feel that lucky. I mean, I left the store feeling wow, another new talent emerging and making a name for themselves--meanwhile she's been battling cancer and ...well, I just can't even imagine how hard that must have been.

Now I just want to have her whole line.

*hatu*

Comments

[Gail G.]

Hi, I just purchased Jen Yanok's adorable Halloween Whimsey skeleton 2 days ago at Michael's Craft store. I absolutely fell in love with her design. It made me smile and brought me back to fun childhood memories. I, too, decided to research to find more of Jen's work. I was saddened to find out about the loss of this special, inspirational artist. I now feel blessed to own a piece of her art. She has left a wonderful legacy. I will think ever more fondly of Jen's work every time I display it. May God bless and comfort all of her family.

[Kathy Yanok]

Hi - I'm Jen's mother-in-law (not an evil one either :) Johnny sent me this beautiful tribute to our Jen. She was such a delight & we miss more than you can imagine. If you like to meet our Jen, please read her obt. www.ohio.com & type in Yanok in the search page. Johnny wrote it & its truly our Jen. Thank you for your kind words & enjoying her neat items. God bless.

[Robin Suttell]

I'm Jen's sister. Her husband,Johnny, came across your blog and sent the family your link. We're so touched and honored that you blogged about her amazing, fun artwork. Thank you so much for such a lovely tribute! We miss her incredibly but are happy to know that her art is out there as a memorial.