I didn’t want to do a piece on Frida Kahlo when I started the #FemalePowerProject because it seemed to me that her work and her life have become kitsch and thus a minefield of meanings. I was urged by more than one advisor to proceed. But really, it wasn’t until that crazy election and the up-cry of female pain it elicited that I was able to frame my thoughts around the potent triumvirate of pain, anger, and creativity that Kahlo’s life exemplifies—that many women artists’ lives exemplify. Women’s experiences really are different from men’s, but still the male is seen as the universal. Here in our work female artists are showing that women’s experience is just as universal as men’s, and maybe more so, since there are more females in the world. The other is the self. The words on the shawl translate into English as “Here I have painted myself, Frida Kahlo” from her painting, “Self Portrait with Loose Hair” (1947). Design references: Tehuantepec textile designs; Kahlo’s imagery of drops (tears, milk) and binding ropes; floral hair ornaments; her eyes and brow.

I have a few of these shawls for sale in poly chiffon for $125. They measure about 3 feet by 7.5 feet. This design is also available on stretched canvas at 55 inches x 22 inches for $300 free delivery from the fabricator. You can contact me directly or find these shawls at Black Lab or Femme Fatale DC. There is a version on canvas for sale now at Femme Fatale. Look at the sidebar on this page for information on how to contact me or visit these locations.