Happy Halloween

To all the 'bats and ghouls'...May your evening be absolutely spooky and filled with all the treats you can carry !! Ooooooo........

© Nancy Lefko

Femme Fatale

Surprisingly, amidst all the time spent today making my son's Halloween costume, I was able to finish three collages. (One of which is pictured here...all three are listed on ebay.) Thanks so much to my dear friend Ginger Nielson for the wonderful collection of foreign stamps she gave me to use in my collages. (Please visit Ginger's blog on my favorite links...you'll be glad you did.) I think stamps add that 'something extra' that is quite often needed. Don't you agree?

© Nancy Lefko

Illustration Friday ~ Trick or Treat

It was hard to choose just one image for today's IF topic. Halloween is such a fun time to create art. It inspired many a collage for me this season. This weekend, however, I will be practicing another art...that of creating my son's Halloween costume. My boys have never been the kind to choose a costume off the rack at WalMart...EVER! So out comes the sewing machine and Mom's imagination sets to work. (I've never been the kind to use a pattern for a Halloween costume...EVER!) Instead of paint and paper, this weekend will be filled with felt and thread and by Sunday evening we'll have the most charming bumblebee on the trick~or~treat circuit. Happy Haunting !!

© Nancy Lefko

The Two Sisters

After a number of days and many short trips into my studio, I finally finished this new collage. I think the extra time it took to create this was spent in "dressing" the sisters. I thought it might be fun to alter their apparel for this collage. I felt as if I were making paper doll clothing as I did back when I was a little girl. (My older sister and I would spend HOURS making paper dolls and their wardrobes. Being the younger one, my dolls were never quite as good as my sister's and I knew it. I remember wanting my dolls to look as pretty as hers.) It is always fun to try new things, take chances and step outside your comfort zone. Even if your paper dolls don't quite measure up, at least you've tried.

© Nancy Lefko

This Weekend

This weekend between chores and errands and baking brownies for the Youth Group bake sale at church and hosting a kids' sleepover...I actually made it into my studio long enough to make two collages. Truth be told I guess I did the lion's share of the art on Friday, but that's kind of part of the weekend too :) Today was just SO lovely here in Southern New Hampshire, it was REQUIRED that we go apple picking! The leaf colors were vibrant, the sky a crystal clear blue, the apples sweet and abundant and my little boy was intrigued by the activity of the bees on the dropped apples. It was a perfect Fall day...topped off by a freshly baked apple pie for dessert. I hope your Sunday was equally sublime.

© Nancy Lefko

Illustration Friday ~ Grow

The image here was not the first that came to mind for the topic "grow." I naturally thought of a little garden fairy with her basket brimming with posies. But as I thought about growth, I thought of the most profound growth that happens around me and that is of my children. They grow with astounding speed...how is it possible that my youngest is not far from finishing elementary school and my oldest not far from starting college? I hope that their childhood was (and is) a beautiful and wonderful place. And I wish I could go back and watch them grow all over again. Excuse me while I dry my tears...

© Nancy Lefko

Demanding Dame Revisited

Many of you will recognize the couple featured in this collage. I just love the stories they bring to mind and I can use their photo in countless pieces. The look on "Betty's" face makes me think of the Marlon Brando line, "She looked at me as if I were a bug." It just makes me laugh.

© Nancy Lefko

All You Need is Time...

It's amazing what one can accomplish on a rainy day...when all soccer practices and games are cancelled. :) These ladies lay in a state of 'partial completion' for days...until the skies opened up today and Mom actually got some time in the studio. Sometimes Mother Nature knows just what you need.

© Nancy Lefko

Illustration Friday ~ Extremes

"Penelope could make any man go to EXTREMES."

When I saw the topic for today's IF, I naturally thought of my 'gals' and how any one of them could bring a man to his knees. You get the feeling that this fellow will do anything to keep Penelope happy !! ( Don't you just love the look on her face? )

© Nancy Lefko

Trick or Treat

It appears that I still have a little Halloween art left in me. I was able to grab some time this past weekend to create this collage and it may be the last seasonal piece I make this Fall. Then it's back to my usual color palette, for a while at least.

© Nancy Lefko

This Weekend

After a very full week I promised myself that I would make time to play in my studio over the weekend. Remarkably, I kept that promise and GIRLFRIENDS is the result. I like to create collages that celebrate the importance of girlfriends in a woman's life. Friends see us through the tough times and laugh with us through the best times. I'd be lost without them. Here's to gal pals!

© Nancy Lefko

Illustration Friday ~ Open

This week's Illustration Friday topic made me think of an open door and an open invitation. I am ALWAYS open to an invitation for coffee...no need to ask me twice. And in turn, I love to invite others to join me. Shall I make yours regular or decaf ?

© Nancy Lefko

A Great Big Thanks!

Thanks to Kelly Jackson Brownlee for the very kind post on her blog. I visit Kelly's blog regularly and yesterday my jaw dropped when there, looking back at me, was one of MY collages! Kelly and I 'found' each other via Illustration Friday and now one of my New York Fairies resides in Seattle with Kelly. It was lovely of Kelly to showcase my work on her blog and reinforces what I know to be true...that the online art community is just FABULOUS !! Artists from all over the world are supportive and encouraging, through their comments and messages. In the relatively short time that I have been involved online, I have 'met' SO many wonderful artists. It has been a joy.

I cannot overlook sending thanks to my dear friend Ginger Nielson. It is through Ginger that I discovered IF and thanks to her help I have this blog up and running (she literally walked me through the whole start-up process over the phone !) Ginger is a constant source of encouragement and I am not sure she realizes how much she has done for this 'budding artist.' Because of people like Ginger and Kelly and all the wonderful artists at ZNE, there is no doubt in my mind that 'artists ARE superior beings!'

© Nancy Lefko

Witchy Woman

This gal is the result of the VERY short time I was in my studio last week. There is so much I am itching to create and it is so frustrating when day to day demands interfere. Every week I am hopeful that there will be more 'art time'...we'll see how this week pans out.

© Nancy Lefko