Ana Perches
You deserve a lover who takes away the lies and brings you hope, coffee, and poetry. Frida Kahlo
I paint flowers so they will not die. Frida Kahlo
Ana Perches
“You deserve a lover who makes you feel safe, who can consume this world whole if he walks hand in hand with you; someone who believes that his embraces are a perfect match with your skin.
You deserve a lover who wants to dance with you, who goes to paradise every time he looks into your eyes and never gets tired of studying your expressions.
You deserve a lover who listens when you sing, who supports you when you feel shame and respects your freedom; who flies with you and isn’t afraid to fall.
You deserve a lover who takes away the lies and brings you hope, coffee, and poetry.” ― Frida Kahlo
Ana Perches
In the morning of Saturday, October 3rd, I panicked, “is our salon tomorrow?” I asked myself. Not checking the calendar, I decided, well…let’s try to get started, which I did.
I had an unused frame, 30 in. x 20 in., that I planned to use. First I approached it vertically, then I decided to turn it horizontal because my objective was to showcase Frida’s wardrobe.
On Friday, October 2nd, I had been disappointed at having to cancel my reservation at the de Young Museum where they were featuring Frida’s wardrobe. I canceled my reservation due to poor air quality in the Bay Area, but was able to reschedule October 28th.
About my medium - I’ve been in the collage mode. Partly due to the fact that I don’t feel like drawing and, partly because I haven’t been able to come up with any ideas to paint. So, I’ve been collecting visuals from magazines, old postcards, pamphlets and such. They aren’t always well organized but sort of.
Someone recommended a fantastic découpage glue that I adore (Liquitex, which is superior to Hodge Podge). I like my Cutco scissors which retail for about $100 and which were my mom’s who believed in buying the best. I love cutting and pasting like in elementary school. Okay, so I had plenty of materials.
Manos a la obra! Let’s do it!
I started with a silly sketch of the Mona Lisa, because I planned to merge Frida with Mona (but about 90% Frida) because somehow the theme of becoming was there.
We want to become like someone else but we want to become ourselves. And, what if, what if, what if, Frida had met Mona or had married Da Vinci and what if Diego Rivera had painted Mona Lisa, nude, of course. Now, that’s an idea for another art piece.
Ana Perches
See what a theme like Becoming can do? To sum up Saturday, my first day working on my project, which took me all day, I got most of it done. The next day I added a few things (worked on it for a couple hours) and today I hope to finish it, but it’s basically done and it will be framed.
I will explain more on how the theme fits in when we meet on October 17th.
The art and words are by Ana Perches.
Ana Perches, living in Berkeley, California, is a founding member of the Art Junket (2015-2020).
You can see the de Young Museum, “Frida Kahlo: Appearances Can Be Deceiving,” in San Francisco from September 25, 2020 to February 2021.