It’s been some time since we shared an “Exploring the Great Artist” feature here on Red Ted Art. The children and I have been creating “arty” projects behind the scenes, but we haven’t always managed to write them up afterwards!
Last summer, the V&A in London hosted a wonderful Frida Kahlo Exhibition, and naturally, the children and I had to visit. Afterwards, Pip Squeak felt inspired to try a Frida Kahlo Portrait in our Sketchbooks (and yes, I WILL WRITE IT UP! Ha).
For now, I’d love to share this fantastic collection of Frida Kahlo Crafts, Art Projects and Activities for kids!
About Frida Kahlo – Biography for Kids
Here’s a brief overview of Frida. If you’d like to read about her in greater detail, take a look at this excellent article about her.
Frida Kahlo was a Mexican artist born in 1907 in Coyoacán, Mexico. She was raised in the well-known “Caza Azul” (blue house) alongside her parents and 6 sisters! Art and drawing were lifelong interests for her, even during childhood.
At 6 years old, she contracted polio, a disease we can now prevent through vaccination. It is a serious illness that can leave many people with disabilities, and it damaged Frida’s leg. Later, at 18, she was involved in a devastating bus accident, leaving her confined to bed for months. Both illnesses caused her considerable pain and also meant that she was unable to have children. Her physical and emotional suffering appears frequently in her artwork, so it is helpful to understand a little about what she experienced.
Frida married another celebrated artist, Diego Rivera. Her artwork was shaped by Mexican culture and folk art, featuring plenty of vivid colours. Although Frida is often labelled a surrealist, she herself disliked the description. Her paintings combined realism with symbolism. She is especially famous for her self-portrait projects!
Three Pieces of Frida Kahlo Art for Kids we love
The Frame – a brilliant mixed-media activity that encourages children to make their own; read all about it here
Self Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Humming Birds – illustrating how she faced pain and remained strong in life. Full of symbolism, find out more about it here
Viva La Vida is believed to be Frida Kahlo’s final artwork before her death, although this is debated. In any case, it reflects her affection for life despite pain and difficulty.
What are 3 things Frida Kahlo is known for?
- The way a serious accident transformed her life – including her inability to have children
- Her self-portraits – through which she examines pain and sorrow
- Her distinctive features, which she never attempted to alter or conceal
What are the main themes of Frida Kahlo’s art?
When preparing a lesson plan for your classroom or for children at home, it is useful to think about the central ideas in Frida Kahlo’s artwork. To keep things straightforward, her primary body of work, as noted earlier, consisted of self-portraits exploring themes such as identity, the human form and death. Her paintings also contain many Mexican cultural references and influences.
Characteristics of Frida Kahlo for Kids to explore
- self-portraits in general – especially those featuring flower headbands
- Casa Azul
- Floral headbands
- Portraits or crafts depicting Frida herself, including her distinctive eyebrows
- Frida’s affection for animals, particularly her pet monkey
- A passion for bright colours and traditional Central American textures and textiles
- Because of Frida Kahlo’s Mexican background, she is also frequently connected with Day of the Dead activities
Frida Kahlo Crafts and Art Projects focussing on Frida
We’ve gathered a selection of wonderful Frida Kahlo art and craft activities for children of various ages. Middle school students will probably enjoy these projects most, although elementary students can take part with some guidance. They make a lovely addition to any Frida Kahlo art lesson, and these concepts can be explored with many different materials, from oil pastels to watercolour paints! We hope these suggestions provide plenty of creative inspiration for a brilliant session at home or in the classroom.
Simple Frida Kahlo-style Mini Pinatas! Ideal for Cinco de Mayo festivities! (The video tutorial is also set to autoplay in this post!)
Try making these charming paper dolls – this collection includes 8 Great Artists Dolls colouring pages. The Full Color Frida, however, is available as a free download. Enjoy!
Sweet Frida Kahlo Peg Dolls that can also be worn as a necklace! Isn’t it lovely? Created by Artcampla
ArtCampla has created another wonderful activity: this paper doll Frida. Isn’t she beautiful?
Here’s one more brilliant Artcampla project – exploring “continuous line drawing”and then crafting a beautiful frame from craft sticks!
Since flowers meant so much to her, I think this Frida Kahlo plant pot by Buddies Babies and Biscuits is absolutely charming!
Lucky Mary Sunshine combines bleeding tissue paper, tracing techniques, and flower crafting to create these Frida Kahlo portraits.
A Playful Mama introduces preschoolers to Frida Kahlo portraits through this engaging sticky art project!
Naturally, we also need this Toilet Paper Roll Frida from Aventures in Mommyland
Mini Mad Things creates some wonderful Rock Frida figures
Stay At Home Fun Ie shows you how to craft these simple Frida Kahlo Masks.
Frida Kahlo inspired head wear
Drawing inspiration from Frida Kahlo’s self portrait “Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird”, TishTeach created this stunning hair piece.
Raising Kinsley creates GORGEOUS flower headbands.
Frida Kahlo and La Casa Azul
Lotta Leoni explores La Casa Azul
4 Kids 2 Moms present this enjoyable egg-decorating project featuring Frida Kahlo and her Casa Azul
Fun for Spanish Teachers created these delightful Origami Casa Azul models for kids. Aren’t they fantastic? I can never say no to some Easy Origami for Kids!
Self Portraits make Fantastic Frida Kahlo Art Projects for Kids!
Making Mini Masters demonstrates how to create mixed-media Frida Kahlo self portraits
Woo Jr. offers this art project for making your own colorful self portraits.
Self portraits can be even more enjoyable! I adore the idea of combining mixed media with glued-on butterflies. What other materials from your home or art room could you include? Tissue paper flowers? Fabric flowers? Additional animals and leaves? Visit Snuggle Bug University for more details.
Other Frida Kahlo Resources
Jenny Knappen Berger created this printable poster and coloring page (and I adore the quote).
Because of Frida’s Mexicn heritage, she is frequently connected with the Day of the Dead and, consequently, Halloween (which take place around the same period). Many people enjoy decorating pumpkins with Frida-inspired designs. Isn’t this example from Alisa Burke beautiful?
As noted earlier, Frida LOVED her pets, which frequently appeared in her artwork. Following Classic Play’s example, you could draw Bonito, her pet parrot, OR concentrate on your own animals and illustrate them using bold, vibrant colours!
Frida Kahlo: The Artist Who Painted Herself (Get it here US/ UK)
This is my favourite among all the books recommended here. It offers the ideal balance of facts and original artwork!
Featuring original artwork from acclaimed artist Tomie dePaola—a longtime admirer of Frida Kahlo’s work—as well as lovely reproductions of Kahlo’s paintings, this latest Smart About book examines the creative, imaginative world of Mexico’s most celebrated female artist.
Frida by Johan Winter (US/ UK)
Gentle illustrations designed for younger children.
When her mother became exhausted from looking after her five sisters, her father taught her brushwork and color. After polio left her confined to bed for nine months, drawing became her salvation.her from tedium. After a bus crash caused her unbearable suffering, her artwork conveyed her anguish and despair – and, in time, her happiness and affection. Again and again, Frida Kahlo transformed the obstacles in her life into creative expression. Now Jonah Winter and Ana Juan have used both the artwork and the story of her life to produce a lively, perceptive homage to one of the twentieth century’s most significant artists. Viva Frida!
Frida Kahlo ( Little People, BIG DREAM)- US/ UK
Easy-to-follow pictures and tales for younger children
As a teenager, Frida experienced a devastating road accident that transformed her life permanently. Since she could not walk, she started creating paintings while confined to her bed. Her self-portraits, revealing both her suffering and sorrow as well as her love of living and determination to endure, established her as one of the twentieth century’s best-known artists. This heartfelt book contains distinctive and playful artwork, together with additional information at the back, including a biographical timeline featuring historical photographs and an in-depth account of the artist’s life.
Little People, BIG DREAMSis a popular collection of books and learning games that investigate the lives of remarkable individuals, including designers, artists, scientists, and activists. Each accomplished extraordinary achievements, but all started out as children holding onto a dream.
Find more fantastic Great Artist Projects for kids here:
