Sally Penley is a graphic designer and left-handed lettering artist living in Olympia, WA. She is a former art director and communications consultant for clients in both the public and private sectors. Sally’s first love is calligraphy, a journey she began over forty years ago, studying with such masters as Lloyd Reynolds, Jaki Svaren and Tim Girvin, among others. In addition to her passion for calligraphy, Sally has long enjoyed making Asian-inspired “marks” with handmade sumi brushes and simple tools to create textural images with sumi ink. Since retiring from her “day job” as director of communications at Weyerhaeuser Company, Sally is now a full-time working artist/designer at her studio in downtown Olympia. She has periodic solo shows and also curates exhibits for other artists at the Buck’s 5 th Avenue Loft Gallery. She also enjoys teaching a variety of classes in calligraphy, sumi, mixed media and book arts.
“It’s very important to me that I use my gift to inspire and help people see words and thoughts in a new way. I love the process of ‘translating’ a great quote with a special visual enhancement.”