FRIDA KAHLO STENCIL DECISION/INDECISION BY GILLIAN NIX

Good evening everyone, 

Here is my submission for this month.  It is a hand cut stencil of the beautiful Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo.  I have to admit, that the link to the theme is quite loose - but I have found a way to make Decision/Indecision work for Frida AND for a project that I am working on with a Year 9 class.  Hooray for multi-tasking!

So my Year 9s have a project in which they have to make a stencil portrait of a chosen hero of theirs. As a good little Art teacher, I like to make an example to accompany the project as it helps me with planning and helping my students.

I chose Frida Kahlo as my hero example, because....well.... I love her and her artwork.  Her life was littered with tragedy, having suffered a horrific spinal injury as a teen, a turbulent marriage and many years of ill health as an adult.  Her marriage to Diego Rivera was on/off...and that's where the Decision/Indecision link comes in....see what I did there?!  She overcame these difficulties by painting and used her artwork as a type of therapy.  Frida Kahlo was always true to herself, and forged her own path, even in the face of adversity.  For example, she did not conform to the fashion of the day and chose to wear traditional Mexican clothing which was brightly coloured and patterned.  She always wore lots of jewellery and flowers in her hair. I added some flowers into the stencil as I feel that the flowers in her hair are one of Frida's signature looks.

The thing I admire most about Frida is that she made her paintings for herself and not for anyone else.  She was driven by a passion to record her life.  She again, did not follow any trend in her art, and really made her own style of painting.  I find her spirit and energy inspiring.

Frida Kahlo inspires me to embrace my own creativity; making artwork for my own purpose and enjoyment – nobody else’s.  She is a role model who always did things her way and did not conform.  I love that about her.

Hope you like it!

Gillian x x

The stencil....

This was the original image that I used to make the stencil.....