Frida Retablo

A central image in my Web of Life papercutting is that of Frida Kahlo’s eyes, or more recognizably, her eyebrows. Frida’s popularity seems to grow exponentially as time goes on. Her life and her art have meaning for many of us.

For me, she is a source of deep support within my web because she embodies one simple word that I carry into my art as well as my day-to-day life. Honesty.

Art was a means of honest, self exploration for Frida. “I paint my own reality.” She painted herself over and over again…self portraits as well as images of her own experiences and inner world because, as she said, “I am the person I know best.”

She did not censor what images came forward, what she created, or what she presented to the world. “The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through my head without any other consideration.” As a result, her body of work is often bold and daring. It speaks openly to the world telling us who she is with no apology or veiling.

Since that honest, self-explorative approach is prevalent in my own creativity, Frida’s bold and honest gaze found their way from the Web of Life onto this retablo.

Collage - mixed-media including Tyvek papercut, acrylic, Solarplate print, paper, beading and found objects on upcycled cupboard door.

Web of Life

I designed this papercut image so it would center on the Lonely Tree painting I had done in pastels about 15 years previously. I always loved the color and form of my Lonely Tree piece and can distinctly recall the time I spent creating it…undisturbed, intent, completely focused, confident, and solid. I framed it immediately and it hung in various spots in my home for several years until one day I looked at it and thought, “My, that’s a REALLY lonely tree. Maybe it needs some company.”

Having learned the art of papercutting around that same time, I decided to design a Tyvek paper Web of Life that supported that tree…that supported me. I filled the web with the forces and resources that are the core of my existence, including all of the goddesses that are part of my goddess series and this exhibit. And then I cut three of them, each from its own sheet of Tyvek - one to mount on the Lonely Tree, one to mount on a white background so the images were crisp and clear, and the third to mount on handmade marbled paper that I created with an artist friend of mine, Diane Schafer.

I really love how this last one resulted in the point of the web resting in the swirl of the marbled paint. That point feels like the heart of everything. The swirls of the marbling provide me the opportunity to visually reach into and through this multitude of layers of the web of my life. I can feel the depth that this and the other two backgrounds provide. The web of my life is not flat or one dimensional. Rather it has layers and indefinable perspectives.

Web of Life on Tree - Tyvek papercut mounted on pastel.

Web of Life on Marbled - Tyvek papercut mounted on handmade marbled paper.