Spotlight on Frida

“I paint myself because I am alone a lot and I am the subject I know best.” -Frida Kahlo

I asked the Muse Group to comment on their reaction to the art of Frida Kahlo. Many of us felt that the greatest thing of value in studying Frida’s life and art is her fearless willingness to share the naked truths about her life as a woman, and as a person defined in some ways by her painful life experiences. 

We used collage and paint to explore themes from Frida’s art that could inform our own self portraits and life stories. By searching for collage elements and expressive painting each of us shared some part of our growing personal mythology.

Here’s mine. Not what I expected, but then these Muse pieces never are!

Buried in flowers in Frida-land
I am declaring myself pink today
with a bit of sherbet and lace thrown in

I tried to resist
Really
such frufru stuff
called on some spirit helpers
to ward off evil eyes and bad luck

But there is no bad luck in flower land
just the occasional reminder
that blooms and eyes and
even beating hearts don’t last forever

and so I must paint them. . .

 

Thank you Frida!