Some of the Frida pieces I have created in the last couple of years. I have Frida fever! I am hoping to see the Frida exhibit at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, http://www.sfmoma.org/., within the next week-and-a-half! The exhibit runs through September 28. The plan is to be up in San Francisco a week from this coming Friday. This will work well with my current schedule because as soon as summer school is over for the week, I can leave, pick up my husband, and off we go to San Francisco, and we can be on the road as early as 2:00.

Frida Kahlo has been my favorite artist for almost 20 years. As a new teacher, I had to take classes as part of my "professional growth", as well as a way of renewing my teaching credential. I took a class called "The Folk and Traditional Arts of Mexico", back in 1991 and this is where I first learned about Frida Kahlo. I instantly fell in love with her work. I NEVER looked at her as a tortured, suffering artist. If anything, I admire her because she was able to rise above her physical limitations and create a body of work that speaks to us so vividly about the cycle of life.

Back when I first started learning more about the artist, Frida Kahlo, I had several family members and teacher friends make fun of me because they saw her work as "morbid" or even "grotesque" and they just could not understand why I would be even remotely interested in her work. It didn't make a difference to me what they thought! I have always been drawn to artists who paint real life. And sometimes, real life is morbid and grotesque. I have always been a BIG fan of Edvard Munch and Francisco Goya, so of course, I was going to be attracted to Frida Kahlo's work.

I have been very fortunate to see some of Frida Kahlo's paintings up close. In the early 90's, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art had some of her paintings on display as part of their "30 Centuries of Mexican Art". The exhibit was AMAZING! And I saw the exhibit several times before it moved on to another city. So, I am looking forward to seeing this new exhibit in San Francisco. Much of the artwork in this Frida Kahlo exhibit has never been exhibited outside of Mexico, so this will definitely be a treat. Besides the link to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art exhibit, check out my blog for the link to the Frida Kahlo Museum, in Mexico. It promises to be a feast for the eyes!