Fridal Kahlo first caught my attention when a group of women of Mexican heritage wanted to do a Fridal Kahlo Inspired Female Portrait Photography shoot here in Portland, Oregon. To be utterly vulnerable to you all, I knew so little of Frida Kahlo, but something about her story and her work hit me so deeply; as someone who has experienced immense suffering and pain through different autoimmune diseases, undergone surgeries, and has permanent injuries from childhood abuse I felt her life experience so profoundly.
It wasn’t until three years later that I deep dive into her story with my women’s study and poetry classes with Chelsie Diane, a powerhouse and renowned researcher, poet, and teacher who travels the world to tell the true stories of women. Hearing her story, the power of her art, and her ability to always tell the truth in everything she did, I knew she was an artist I could only hope to live up to.
So now, years later, I”m finally sharing these photographs inspired by Frida Kahlo, giving her the respect that she was one of the most powerful women of her time and that she deserves continual credit for overcoming so many barriers and continuing to be an astounding artist that knew her voice and how always to tell the truth, damned be the consequences.
Thank you, Frida, and thank you to the amazing team that helped make this possible.
Special credits to Blanca Pena for the inspiration, invitation, and masterful hair and makeup. Thank you to Kvetka Sanchez, one of the models who contributed so deeply to Frida’s energy.
If this photoshoot inspires you, consider checking out my Women’s Retreat in Oregon. Where on one date we’ll tap into the stories of our ancestors and honor them by doing our own research, learning the stories through guided visualizations, meditations, and then gather in person at a women’s dinner party with portraits dressed up like our ancestors.
Join my Women’s Retreat honoring your ancestors!
We’ll gather for a vintage dinner party to discuss ancestral healing, channeling, and embodiment. Maybe you have a witchy great-great-great grandmother you’ve never met before, a passionate warrior grandfather, or an aunt who was a priestess in one of the goddess temples.
Join me (and I hope you’re new best friends!) on this journey to meet your ancestors before we meet up through ancestral work, and then gather with women to share your stories and celebrate the people who said yes to making sure YOU would be here today.
Frida also inspired me to do my own self-portrait study in more depth, which you can find some here: