images via and here, here I've recently finished reading Barbara Kingsolver's latest novel 'The Lacuna' and I didn't want it to end. As I reached the final chapters, I actually found myself slowing down, rationing out the pages in the same way that I might savour the last few mouthfuls of a slice of chocolate cake. For me this was a book of three parts. Something about the style and content of the first section reminded me of Paulo Coelho's, 'The Alchemist.' This was partly because the author constantly referred to the main protaganist as "the boy." Reading this section I impatiently anticipated the introduction of one of the more colourful characters that I knew were going to be part of the story; Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera or Lev Trotsky. I'd just got to thinking...'Ok enough of the back story...when do we meet one of them?' when 'the boy' meets 'the painter'. As the boy, Harrison Shepherd (or Insolito/Sol, to Frieda) was precipitated into the bustling kakofanie of 1930's Mexico and the Rivera household, I couldn't help make comparisons with Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel. Both books are set in Mexico at a similar time, and food and the kitchen play a significant part in their narrative. LWFC begins each chapter with a recipe, similarly Part 3 of The Lacuna opens with the directions for making empandas dulces with a sweet pineapple and star anise filling. Each have mouth watering descriptions of food preparation and made me really want to try out the recipes for myself. Most of Kingsolver's characters are totally self-absorbed, putting their art, politics and personal desires before those of others. I've always had a soft spot for Frieda Kahlo's melancholic personality, and "dark eyebrows joined in a handshake over the bridge of her nose" but despite this, the first person that I really warmed to was 'Bulls Eye' a young boy that Shepherd befriends in Washington. Then in 'Part 4, Asheville, North Carolina 1941-1947,' Violet Brown came on the scene and I loved her. VB was my heroin, she really made this story for me. In a time of prejudice and hatred this prim widow in her mid-forties with her white gloves and porcupine of knitting, was just ace. I liked the calmness of Harrison's home "...the house is still, keeping secrets. The floors are made of the long, narrow hearts of trees brought down from mountain slopes, the chimneys are stones rolled and round as biscuits in the Swannanoa River...The mitred oak doorsills are like deep wooden picture frames, each holding a perfect view of the next room, where the walls are touched with light, and life could be waiting." It's obvious that Kingsolver had researched everything thoroughly, from the life of the real characters, to Mexican history, American and Russian politics, popular culture, and a myriad of other things. The only bug bare for me was the inclusion of newspaper articles, diary entries and letters. I had the same problem when reading 'The Wind-up Bird Chronicle' which had a similar format. I'm happy to read them in biographies but in a novel I find it all a bit disjointed. I want the narrative to flow more smoothly...but I suppose that life is like that though, that's how our own stories unfold with lots of little messy bits... Definitely one to read...
Voleva fare il dottore. Veniva da una famiglia agiata, viveva nella zona di Coyoacàn, a Città del Messico. Aveva qualcosa che le ribolliva sotto pelle.…
~ Frida Kahlo
A cold and damp day was left behind in order to visit paradise, located for now at The Queen's Gallery at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. It's an exhibition called: Painting Paradise; the art of the garden. It's a beautiful show incorporating not just paintings but also ceramics, botanical drawings and even beautifully embroidered chairs. I loved the audio tour the gallery provides for visitors. It was very informative and also had lovely music to accompany the exhibits. The catalogue too is gorgeous although I recommend buying it after visiting the show. It's a very hefty tome and you don't want to carry it around while looking at the exhibition. At the entrance to the gallery there are two facing doors, featuring the lion and the unicorn respectively, symbols of the United Kingdom, the lion being the one for England and the unicorn for Scotland. The unicorn is accompanied by a view of Arthur's Seat in Holyrood Park while the lion features Edinburgh Castle and the skyline of Edinburgh. The show will continue till the 26th February so plenty of time for a visit. I then treated myself to a cup of tea and a scone in the coffee shop next door before walking back to the car park nearby in the streaming rain. It was good to get out of the house, that feels so very empty at the moment.
Guillermo Davila, 'Frida', 1929
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So by me being an artist it was only right that I share with you guys a famous hairstyle that was worn by an artist right? I think that’s a yes. Now before I go deeper into more info on the hairstyle presented, it would only be right that I share with you guys a mini history lesson on Frida Kahlo. For those of you who don’t know, Frida Kahlo de Rivera (birth name Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo y Calderón) was a famous female Mexican painter from the between the 1920s and 1930s. She was also one of the first
Paintings by Frida Kahlo and her husband Diego Rivera are to be shown side by side in the UK for the first time. At Pallant House Gallery, Chichester, from 9 July until 2 October
If you are in the moment, you are in the the infinite. Swami Prajnanpad
Frida Kahlo with dog Xoloitzcuintle
Oct 20, 2012 – Jan 20, 2013 ART GALLERY OF ONTARIO a tribute to these two great painters, their love to their country, dedication to the communist ideas and passion for each other
The Mexican painter penned the letters to fellow artist Jose Bartoli from 1946 and 1949 while she was married to muralist Diego Rivera.
Frida Kahlo’s unpublished love letters to artist José Bartoli will be auctioned in New York
