Lisa Lichtenfels : Community outreach to help fellow artist fight breast cancer
- GoFundMe : GoFundMe Help Lisa Fight Breast Cancer
- Lisa Lichtenfels : LisaLichtenfels.net
LISA LICHTENFELS : Magical!
Yi-Min by Lisa Lichtenfels
Magical! That is how Lisa Lichtenfels’ work is described. A masterpiece in cloth that encompasses hyper-realism and magic. She has the capacity to portray people in all walks of life in ordinary moments with the same magic as her faeries and angels. Her dedication and devotion to her art over the years has inspired and touched so many souls. She has a way of crossing hyper-realism with surrealism and fantasy at the same time. Her cloth sculptures are so realistic that they are often mistaken for human figures.
Jeanne in Heaven by Lisa Lichtenfels
I’ll never forget the first time I saw her work. She was on the cover of a well-known magazine, and it was back in the late 80’s early 90’s. She had made a nude fairy. It was stunning yet many of the older doll makers were disgusted how could they put something like that on the cover. I thought it was amazing, and obviously so did many other artists, collectors and fans.
Lisa started working for Disney Studios in 1980 where she developed 3-D movable nylon figures that animators used as reference. They ranged from less than 5 inches to life-size figures over 5 feet tall. She was creating and became fascinated by it. She was in love and at that same time she also met the love of her life, Ward Wilson.
Jessica and Chelsea by Lisa Lichtenfels
The couple moved to Springfield in the early 80’s and had family ties in the city. Once there, they never looked back. They have lived in an older Victorian home for many years, a home full of many memories. After recently losing her husband, she could not bear to lose her home. The walls are covered with photographs, newspaper clippings of reviews of his shows. There are poetry journals and odds and ends he loved to collect along with her sculptures and tools.
Her hopes were to teach in her home a to younger generation of artists to keep this amazing art form alive. Unfortunately just a few months after her husband passed, Lisa was diagnosed with a rare form of an aggressive breast cancer, and she is fighting for her life. Since her diagnosis, Lichtenfels has developed an easier lesson plan in the hopes that at least a few students will stick with it. “If I can stay around long enough to pass what I know on to someone so that what I do will live on, then I will be ready to go and be with my love. I’ll be ready then,” she said.
Madelaine and Percy by Lisa Lichtenfels
If this is not tragic enough, her Victorian home has also given up, and the roof has been so damaged that an actual tarp over the then-said roof is what is keeping out the natural winds rain and cold from Lisa’s home. A GoFundMe page has been set up for Lisa, and I am in the hopes that this article will bring her the help she so sorely needs. As for many of our Americans these days, the medical bills are overwhelming, and her strength is waning.
I implore you to please give from your heart for this amazing woman and artist. I am including the link for the GoFundMe page, along with photos of her works. Anything that you can do is appreciated. If you live in Springfield, get your community together and make sure that she has at the very least a roof over her head.
