Lisa Lichtenfels was born on June 2, 1958 in Erie, Pennsylvania. She was an artist from day one, drawing sketches and preparing her first animated Claymation film in high school. She created a mural for the Harborcreek High School library. Lisa graduated as Valedictorian of her high school class. She attended the Philadelphia College of Art and graduated with degrees in Animation and Illustration. After college she went to work as an animator for Disney Animation Studios where she had the honor and privilege to be mentored by Eric Larson, one of Disney’s original animators – the “Nine Old Men”.
Lisa left Disney to go out on her own and pursue a career as an independent artist. Her first diorama of sculptures featured a display of the Avalon restaurant where Lisa worked one summer in Erie. This diorama launched her soft sculpture career. The Avalon Restaurant Exhibit has been on display in the Erie Art Museum since 1984. She further developed her soft sculpture techniques for crafting one-of-a-kind figures in fabric using armature wire for a skeleton, cotton batting for the body, and nylon for the skin. Lisa worked in a studio in her home in Springfield, Massachusetts which she shared with her husband Jerry Wilson, who passed in 2016. They were joined by numerous beloved studio dogs through the years and all the cats that Jerry could feed. Her career spanned over forty years and her creations have been welcomed throughout the world, displayed in galleries and museums. She passed in her home on October 10, 2023.
Lisa is survived by her sister Allyson Lichtenfels, brothers Robert “Bob” Lichtenfels and William “Bill” Frazier, and boyfriend David Giordano. She will be remembered by friends and colleagues around the world and no doubt inspire the next generation of soft sculpture artists.