Kitchen a la Mexicana & my obsession with Frida

It's hard to tell, if my fascination with iconic artist Frida Kahlo (full name: Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo y Calderón), have began in art school, after watching 2002 biopic (starring amazing Salma Hayek), or when I visited Mexico in 2011. She is one of the, if not the greatest, female painter of them all, but also extremely interesting character!

I could talk about her for hours, and her legacy is an inspiration for many artists.

Frida created deeply personal work and although much of her work is self-portraiture, a lot of her life’s work also centres around her illnesses and struggles. Of her approximate 200 paintings, drawings and sketches, 55 are self-portraits.

Although she also depicted her life struggles and her turbulent relationship with Diego, her image was the subject matter that she most often returned to. Frida once said, "I paint myself because I am often alone and I am the subject I know best".

Frida personifies femininity, strength, confidence, courage and expression of oneself. Her paintings are celebrating nature and realness; soaked in juicy colors, vibrant, just like her. To me personally, her paintings feel like home and kitchen is the heart of it. They are warm and inviting - exactly like traditional Mexican décor. My dream kitchen would definitely be "hacienda style". Happy place, where you just wanna be at and the food just tastes better!

Characteristic elements of Mexican style kitchen are arches, warm clays, cheerful tiles, and antique woods, ceramic on display and easy accessible pots and pans. I'm in picturing myself cooking in it for my large family (which I don't have yet) with a glass of Rioja in my hand. Bless!