Illustration Friday ~ IMPATIENCE

I wonder why was my first thought for the Illustration Friday prompt IMPATIENCE, was of a gal impatiently awaiting her cocktail? Has it been one of those weeks? Perhaps.

Collage available in my Etsy shop. **SOLD**

© Nancy Lefko

"Mix It Up with Melange" Challenge ~ ARCHETYPE and Inspire Me Thursday ~ POSITIVITY

This week's word prompt at the "Mix It Up with Melange" Challenge is ARCHETYPE...a "silver dollar word" as my 10 year old would say. I offer, in response, a simple silhouette and archetype of "bird."

This mixed media piece was also made as a response to the prompt for POSITIVITY from Inspire Me Thursday.

Please stop by these sites and join in on the challenges. It's great fun to see where inspiration takes you.

Available in my Etsy shop.

© Nancy Lefko

Collage Play with Crowabout #47

This week's collage elements from Nancy B.of Crowabout, were once again filled with fun and inspiration. There seemed to be a feeling of "song and birds" in the group of images, so I decided to use them to introduce you to the singing sensation, "3 little songsters plus one."

If you haven't yet visited the Collage Play with Crowabout blog, you really must do so. There is an abundance of inspiration and fun waiting for you there.

Collage available in my Etsy shop.

© Nancy Lefko

Shadows and Relfections in the Rockies

The most obvious play of shadows and sunshine is on the trails.
The more subtle ones are of individual trees on the rocks and boulders.
I happened to look down before my husband and I began walking after looking at a view across Bear Lake to catch our shadows together.
And a few days later I caught our side-by-side shadows reflected in Lily Lake.
Looking across Bear Lake to see the reflection of the trees in the water.
A future post will explain those brown colored trees.

More trees reflected in a small puddle of rainwater caught in the dip of a boulder.
The hollow of a huge boulder cradled this puddle that reflects the sky.
My husband was standing on the other side of a much larger puddle along a hiking path that reflects a lot of sky.
Plus, there are a few dappled shadows from the trees shading the path.

Ahhh...the Beach

It was a wonderful week at the beach. We have vacationed in the same coastal town in Maine for the past thirteen years and it feels so much like home. We quickly fall into the relaxed mood that so often accompanies a seaside vacation...and doesn't it feel delicious! I am renewed and calmed by the sounds and smells of the ocean and delight in watching my boys play on the sand, and in the surf, as they have done all their lives. The memories we make on this beach vacation are ones we treasure and will always remember. This year my youngest was filled with questions about his early beach experiences. "What did I do here when I was a baby?" "Did I sleep all the time? Peter says I slept all the time." "Did I like the water?" In answering all of his questions I was reliving those early days and loving every memory he brought to mind.


At days' end I curled up on the bed in our Inn and spread my journaling supplies around me. I journaled about the experiences of that day and the feelings that were brought forth. What a wonderful souvenir of this vacation.

I already miss the sound of the waves.



© Nancy Lefko

Sunshine in the Rockies

We awoke to a clear blue sky on this last full day for us in Estes Park. This is what we saw out of our bedroom window.
Later this morning we took a walk around Lily Lake.
There was evidence of the rainy weather we've had all week in the hollow of this rock ... a naturally formed birdbath.
All of our walks during this last week have looked much like this photo. If wasn't actually raining, there was the threat.
On the walk around Sprague Lake in the photo above there were many puddles to traverse on the trail.
In spite of, or maybe because of, the weather I'm feeling the beneficial relaxation of being on vacation. I'm on my fourth book and not thinking much about mid-west prairie flowers ... at least not with that tinge of panic I brought with me.

Bury the Rage..Release the Beauty..

To someone who was blessed with the ability to go out everyday, sporting a new outfit that was a result of 101 outfit changes and pre-thought options, to be stuck in bed during this season, is a pain on its own.. added to the pain of an injury that results in the absence of such a luxury.. To say I'm upset or angry is to say the least.. but i bury it away in the beauty of the one thing i always have...up and running or bedridden.. the beauty portrayed in simple or extravagant fashion.
( sorry for the little rant ^_^ )

To Givenchy and beyond... Couture Fall/Winter 2009
Photos Courtesy of Jak&Jil







This particular last piece is my favorite, at first it struck my eye because of all the gold, and then with thought i realized it very much portrayed an old Arabian dress, that involved large black cloth and ridiculous amounts of gold.. I'm not implying that this is the inspiration behind the design, as I'm not sure, just my personal take on it..Let me know if you know <3