Finished Frida

At last, Frida has been dressed and is ready to debut on Etsy. 

I settled on a rough weave, slubby cotton blue plaid that has a Guatemalan feel for her skirt.  And of course, her tap pants are edged with crocheted lace and embroidered with her monogram in that color of magenta pink she liked for her lips.  The skirt has a hand crocheted lace ruffle salvaged from a pillowcase.  I finished off her huipil with a geometric pattern that I feel is sympathetic, if not authentic. 

This has been quite a little journey to her world, after two biographies, Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo, by Hayden Herrera, and Frida Kahlo, an Open Life, by Raquel Tibol, and  the delightful Self Portrait in a Velvet Dress, Frida's Wardrobe.   I believe I may have captured her likeness and something of her presence much more than before; this one is my third Frida doll, and by far my favorite.  She expresses my sense of gratitude to this great woman and her allegria in the face of immense suffering; I found myself hugging her and expressing a wish to soften her losses.

I have turned her head to a 3/4 view as she poses in her self portraits, making for a rather challenging silhouette in such a doll, but I like that little bit of provocation.  She measures 31-1/2 inches, head to toe.

My next read is Dreaming With His Eyes Open, a Life of Diego Rivera, which, from the little peek I have had so far, will round out my view of both Frida and her Dieguito, two magnificent revolutionary artists.  Who knows, I may even be moved to make a Diego bed doll.  Eventually.  I am already thinking of the next Frida.