Almost twenty years ago I made an art quilt about Frida Kahlo, hoping it would be accepted into a show at the then Thirteen Moons Gallery in Sante Fe, NM, which at the time was the premier gallery for art quilts in the country. I did a lot of research about Kahlo in preparation and, like so many others, became fascinated by her story, her strength, and her art.

Xochitl     ©2000 Elizabeth Fram, 46 x 37 inches, Silk and Cotton            The name Xochitl comes from the Aztec.  Xochitl was the princess of flowers and art.

Making the piece was more than a little challenging, earning its share of blood, sweat, & tears. It was a lot of tricky work to figure out how I could best combine machine and hand-work in order to achieve the effects I was going for, and I learned a tremendous amount in the process.

Xochitl, detail     ©2000 Elizabeth Fram

The happy ending is that it was accepted into the exhibit and became the first textile piece I ever sold.

Xochitl, detail     ©2000 Elizabeth Fram

Week before last, our model at life drawing came dressed as Kahlo. She is an unabashed fan, making no secret of her admiration for the artist while setting a striking likeness.

But as the session wore on it was Kathryn’s spirit, not Frida’s, that had us all under its spell as we drew and talked about the mythic painter.

Kathryn     ©2018 Elizabeth Fram, 24 x 18 inches, Graphite on paper

On A Different Note_________________________________________________________________________

I appreciate the sentiment of this blog post from Modern Mrs. Darcy and think you might too. It’s so easy to keep one’s nose to the grindstone, making each day a perpetual puzzle of trying to fit more in around everything else, maybe it’s time to rethink that approach.
Plus, her helpfully annotated Summer Reading Guide 2018  is now available.