Frida Kahlo Inspired Symbolic Self-Portraits

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Frida Kahlo was a self-taught painter, best known for her self-portraits. At eighteen years old, Kahlo was seriously injured in a bus accident. She had to recover in bed for more than a year. During this time, Frida began to pass the time by painting still life and self-portraits.

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Frida was Inspired by her country's popular culture. Her paintings are in a native folk art style and often had strong autobiographical elements, mixed with realism with fantasy. In addition to belonging to the post-revolutionary Mexicayotl movement, which sought to define a Mexican identity, Frida Kahlo's paintings have been described as a Surrealism or Magical Realism.

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Retablos - 2nd - Adult

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Retablo is a Latin American devotional painting, especially a small popular folk-art using iconography derived from traditional Catholic church art.

Spanish retablos of the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance grew extremely large and elaborate, typically using carved and gilded wood. The tradition of making them was taken to the new Spanish Empire in America. 

Retablos come from the need of humans to interact on a personal level with divine spirits. This tradition of retablos was also brought into New Mexico and southern Colorado by the Franciscan monks.

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Sugar Skulls - Kinder- 5th grade

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A calavera is a representation of a human skull. The term is most often applied to edible or decorative skulls made from either sugar or clay which are used in the Mexican celebration of the Day of the Dead and the Roman Catholic holiday All Souls' Day. Calavera can also refer to any artistic representations of skulls, such as the lithographs of José Guadalupe Posada. The most widely known calaveras are created with cane sugar and are decorated with items such as colored foil, icing, beads, and feathers.

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Our craft is made with little sugar skulls made with puffy paint or colored icing.  Embellishments include sequins, little jewels and sparkles

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Mayan Weaving - 2nd - Adult

 

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Myth has it that Grandmother Moon, the goddess Ixchel, taught the first woman how to weave at the beginning of time. Since then, Maya mothers have taught their daughters, from generation to generation uninterruptedly for three thousand years, how to wrap themselves around the loom and produce exquisite cloth. Weaving colorful cotton fabric was an art form among high ranking ancient Mayan women. They cultivated cotton and used natural dyes from plant, animal and mineral sources. They used spinning whorls to create thread that was dyed vibrant red, yellow, green, and blue.

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Alebrijes - 2nd grade - Adult
 

Alebrijes are brightly colored Mexican folk art sculptures of fantastical (fantasy/mythical) creatures. The first alebrijes, along with use of the term, originated with Pedro Linares. In the 1930s, Linares fell very ill and while he was in bed, unconscious, Linares dreamt of a strange place resembling a forest. There, he saw trees, animals, rocks, clouds that suddenly turned into something strange, some kind of animals, but, unknown animals. He saw a donkey with butterfly wings, a rooster with bull horns, a lion with an eagle head, and all of them were shouting one word, "Alebrijes". Upon recovery, he began recreating the creatures he saw in cardboard and papier-mâché and called them Alebrijes. 

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Our craft is made with Crayola Model Magic Clay.   

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Water Color Corazon - Kinder- 3rd

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Corazon is the Spanish word for heart. The Sacred Heart is often depicted in Christian art as a flaming heart shining with divine light, pierced by the lance-wound, encircled by the crown of thorns, surmounted by a cross, and bleeding. Of course paintings of Corazons can be regular valentine hearts to express the love the participant has for the person they are creating the Corazon for.

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Southwestern Wall Pocket Planters  4th -Adult  2 Days

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Recalling the beauty of desert landscapes, Southwestern decor is warm and full of energy with a hint of rugged appeal. This style evokes a sense of place with its unique geometric patterns, artisan-made pottery, and rough-yet-cozy aesthetic. Using rich colors, such as turquoise and terracotta, bright sunny yellows, reds and greens for the pallet. Common Motifs can include the cactus, flowers, Native American patterns, Mexican lore and Chicano(a) symbols. The Wall pockets can also be made into Decortive Wall Corazons.

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