Marilyn and Marshall Christensen
Marlene D’Ambrosio
If you pass by the SaddleBrooke Arts and Crafts Center on the second Wednesday of any month and look in the window, you may notice Marshall Christensen, the only male member of the SaddleBrooke Paper Crafters club. Now, you may be thinking that making cards is just “a girl thing,” but that’s not so!
Marshall and Marilyn Christensen moved to SaddleBrooke 26 years ago from Tualatin, Ore., after Marshall retired from a career in Instrumentation and Controls Engineering. They spent several years traveling and documenting their travels by making scrapbooks together. Along with the travel, they became very interested and involved with “rock hounding.” They traveled around Arizona and New Mexico searching for interesting rocks and boulders. As a result of lifting many heavy objects for himself and others during his career, and also lifting and carrying many large boulders to his home here in SaddleBrooke and for the many others who shared this hobby, Marshall injured his back and did permanent damage to his arms and shoulders. With these injuries and a serious electric trike accident, he knew he needed to find some other activities to fill his time in retirement. So, Marshall and Marilyn decided to volunteer weekly at Kids’ Closet. Marshall could only do this for a short while because of his back, but Marilyn is still involved as a day manager.
It was through this volunteering that Marshall and Marilyn met Mary and Joe Barrios. Mary, a longtime paper crafter, brought some cards in to Kids’ Closet for Marshall to look at. This sparked his creativity, and he started coming to the SaddleBrooke Paper Crafters meetings. While becoming a member two years ago, he has not only learned more about paper crafting, but he now shares his talents and the male viewpoint with the other members of the club. Marilyn Christensen is also a member and supports Marshall (who must primarily use only his right hand), even though she says she has no creative ability.
Marshall believes that many guys think that making cards is all about flowers and feminine designs, but he insists that that’s not true. He loves making cards and learning about all the techniques and styles that fellow members of the SaddleBrooke Paper Crafters share at the monthly meetings and Fun Shops. As a bonus, he shares this hobby with his daughter who lives in Oregon. They have father-daughter weekly calls where they not only share family news, but paper crafting ideas, new card making products, and techniques.
Marshall is a welcome addition to our club! He would love to see more guys who want a creative and artistic outlet to explore the paper crafting world. If you are that guy, please feel free to visit one of our meetings. We meet on the second Wednesday of the month in the SaddleBrooke One Arts and Crafts Center, Room 4, beginning at 1 p.m.