Ms. D's Art Room: Modern Mexican Art for All

I had so much fun....

I am so lucky to have a job I love teaching what I love... What could make it better? Training at one of the best places to visit...only 40 minutes from my house.

I went to go see the México 1900–1950: Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, José Clemente Orozco, and the Avant-Garde exhibit at the Dalla Museum of Art and receive training on creative ways to get students to look at and experience art.

I was so excited to see some of my favorite artists, and experience some new artists I was unaware of before today. It was also inspiring to see some work by artists whom I love, but had never seen these specific pieces.

Learn more about this exhibit here: Mexico 1900-1950 at the DMA . The exhibit runs through July, and they have free entry most Sundays, although it tends to be packed those days. As I always do, before I visit the museum with my students, I'll take this moment to remind you that many artists chose to represent the human body, and you should be ready for that if taking children.

Here are just a few pictures and observations from my training.

Image may contain: 2 people, people sitting, eyeglasses and closeup

Image may contain: 2 people, people sitting, eyeglasses and closeup

Here I am ready to leave for my training.
Can you see the excitement on my face?

When We first got to the museum, we met for some introduction and information on the Workshop and the Exhibit.

The first painting we saw was this Diego Rivera Mural which is in 4 sections. Here are a few of the panels. It's called Río Juchitán. 1953-1955. We did a fun activity involving looking and reflecting on the art.

I also saw one of my favorite Rivera paintings, Calla Lilly Vendor (Vendedora de alcatraces), 1942:

Then we moved on to Olga Costa's The Fruit Seller (La vendedora de frutas), 1951. We talked about identity and also got some fun ideas for bringing a painting alive for students through other senses like smell and texture.

Before I talk about the highlight, Frida, here are some other amazing artworks I saw:

The culmination of my day was seeing art by Frida Kahlo!

Have you ever seen these wonderful fruit paintings?

Here are some other paintings by Frida Kahlo that are rarely seen, since her Self-Portraits are what she is most famous for:

I spent so long looking at these last two paintings, only my loving family at home could finally drag me away. The meaning and details behind these paintings are so amazing in person!