Monday, August 30, 2010

Masterpiece Monday: Self-Portraits by Frida Kahlo

"I paint self-portraits, because I am the person I know best."  - Frida Kahlo

With our focus on "All About Me" this week, I wanted Masterpiece Monday to highlight the work of Frida Kahlo.  Frida Kahlo painted over 55 self-portraits during her career.  A well-known artist from Mexico, Frida's life was filled with pain and her paintings often reflect that tribulation.  As a young child, she suffered a bout with polio.  Later at the age of 18, she was in a terrible bus accident.  She began to paint during the year she spent recovering fom her accident.  Sadly, Frida had over 30 surgeries during her life but lived with chronic pain until she died at the age of 47.  You can read a more complete biography at http://www.fridakahlo.com/.

If you are unfamiliar with the paintings of Frida Kahlo, this video includes many of her self-portraits.  As we watched, I pointed out the backgrounds of the portraits.  I also discussed Frida's life with the girls.  I didn't have access to any books I felt were appropriate for preschoolers, so I just shared with them some things I learned about her (you can find some children's book about her life here).


If you are viewing this via email subscription, view the video here.

After viewing Frida's paintings, let your child try this unique self-portrait!

You need:
Mirror
Paintbrush
Paints
Paper
1.  Stand your child in front of a mirror or place a mirror in front of them.  Have your child paint herself on the mirror.

2.  If your child paints quickly, you can carefully place a piece of paper on the mirror and press down.  Peel the paper back and allow to dry.  If the paint is already dry, capture the portrait through a photo!

The paint came off easily, and I finally got the mirrors cleaned!

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2 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

I just found your blog through Mama's Little Nestwork and I love it. I also have a blog with preschool crafts and recipes. I'm looking forward to reading more on your blog. I'm your newest follower.

Jill
http://meetthedubiens.blogspot.com/

August 30, 2010 at 6:31 PM  
Blogger Prairie Cate said...

LOVE this one. I think you should put together a book proposal for all your Masterpiece Mondays, if there's not something like it already on the market. Getting rights for the pictures might be difficult, but it's worth thinking about. xxo

August 31, 2010 at 8:25 AM  

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