how do you do mola art

Molas

are handmade using a reverse appliqué technique. Several layers (usually two to seven) of different-coloured cloth (usually cotton) are sewn together; the design is then formed by cutting away parts of each layer. The edges of the layers are then turned under and sewn down.

Full Answer

What is Mola art?

Mola art developed throughout the years when Guna women had access to store-bought yard goods. The mola originated with the traditional practice of Guna women painting their bodies with geometrical and zigzag designs, using available natural colors which were available on the Islands and in the Jungle.

How to make an outstanding mola?

The ability to make an outstanding mola is a source of status among Guna women. The quality of a mola is determined by such factors as the number of layers, fineness of the stitching, evenness and width of cutouts, addition of details such as zigzag borders, lattice-work or embroidery, and general artistic merit of the design and color combination.

How are molas made?

Molas are hand-made using a reverse appliqué technique. Several layers (usually two to seven) of different-colored cloth (usually cotton) are sewn together; the design is then formed by cutting away parts of each layer. The edges of the layers are then turned under and sewn down.

How do you make Molas invisible?

Often, the stitches are nearly invisible. This is achieved by using a thread the same color as the layer being sewn, sewing blind stitches, and sewing tiny stitches. The finest molas have extremely fine stitching, made using tiny needles.

What technique is used to make mola designs?

Molas are handmade using a reverse appliqué technique. Several layers (usually two to seven) of different-coloured cloth (usually cotton) are sewn together; the design is then formed by cutting away parts of each layer. The edges of the layers are then turned under and sewn down.

How are Molas constructed step by step?

Molas are handmade textiles from Panama which use a reverse appliqué technique. Several layers of different-colored cloth are sewn together and the design is then formed by cutting parts of each layer away. While that technique is pretty intricate, the look can be imitated by layering construction paper.

How do you make a mola textile?

To make a mola, you are essentially layering several pieces of fabric, and then cutting away the top fabric and hand reverse appliqueing it, one layer at a time, to the fabric beneath, to create a multi-dimensional, multi-layered piece.

What is mola art made of?

Molas, a traditional textile craft, are made from layers of colored fabric that are stitched and cut using applique techniques to create patterns and pictures. They originated in Panama, with the women of the Kuna tribe in the San Blas islands.

What is a mola design?

A mola is an appliqued fabric panel created by Cuna women, an indigenous people from the San Blas Islands of Panama. The term "mola" refers to a traditional blouse made by women to serve as front and back panels of the blouses they wear everyday. Now molas are also sold to collectors and framed and exhibited.

What are the colors in a mola?

Each mola consists of two to seven layers of cotton cloth in the dominant colors of red, black, and orange.

What purpose do Molas serve?

Mola panels have many uses. They can be framed as art or made into pillows, place mats or wall hangings. Some people even make them into bedspreads or incorporate them into quilting projects. Molas are very sturdy and well sewn.

When was the first mola made?

150 – 170 years agoOrigin of Molas After the arrival of the Spanish the Kuna had access to fabric and they started to transfer their motives onto textiles. The exact date when reverse applique was used for the first time, is not known, but it is assumed the first Molas have been made 150 – 170 years ago.

What is a mola in Panama?

Molas are simple yoke-type blouses richly decorated by intricate needlework. Mola can mean the blouse that is daily wear for Guna (previously spelled Kuna or Cuna) women but most often refers to its front or back panel. They have been made for about a century.

What makes a mola valuable?

Crossroads Trade molas are priced by quality. The more expensive molas reflect more complexity, outstanding craftswomanship and fine design. We've also made a difference by providing reading glasses to the women. The older women are thrilled to be able to continue their work.

What kind of art are Molas?

Molas are simple yoke-type blouses richly decorated by intricate needlework. Mola can mean the blouse that is daily wear for Kuna (sometimes spelled Cuna) women but most often refers to its front or back panel. They have been made for about a century.

When was the first Mola made?

150 – 170 years agoOrigin of Molas After the arrival of the Spanish the Kuna had access to fabric and they started to transfer their motives onto textiles. The exact date when reverse applique was used for the first time, is not known, but it is assumed the first Molas have been made 150 – 170 years ago.

What are Molas for kids?

Molas are a brightly colored textile art created by the Kuna tribe from the San Blas Blas region of Panama. Mola means cloth or clothing in the Kuna language. These panels of stacked cloth are used to make women's blouses. Girls learn to make these at an early age and can spend up to 100 hours making one Mola!

Why did the name change from Kuna to Guna?

Etymology. Guna Yala in Kuna means "Land Guna" or "Guna Mountain". The area was formerly known as San Blas, and later as Kuna Yala, but the name was changed in October 2011 to "Guna Yala" when the Government of Panama recognized the claim of the people that "Guna" was a closer representation of the name.

Where is Panama?

Central AmericaLocation: Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Colombia and Costa Rica. Panama occupies the southeastern end of the isthmus forming the land bridge between North and South America.

What is a mola?

Create a “Mola:” Folk-Art from Panamá. Make a mola: a fantastic example of folk-art from Panamá! Beautiful Panamá: the tropical and mountainous isthmus with coasts on the Caribbean and Pacific that connects the Americas. Off the northern coast of Panamá, there is a string of idyllic islands (an archipelago) called the San Blas Islands.

What is the best known handicraft in Panama?

One of Panama’s best-known handicrafts is the mola, intricate reverse-applique handwork made by the Kuna, and now an important symbol of their culture. The layers of brightly-colored fabric form animals or geometric shapes, and are used to decorate the blouses of Kuna women.

Where did the Mola originate?

The mola originated with the traditional practice of Guna women painting their bodies with geometrical and zigzag designs, using available natural colors which were available on the Islands and in the Jungle. Later, the mola designs were sewn into cloth bought from the foreign settlers in Panama. Recently in the past decades, these same zigzag designs were woven in cotton and became commonly known as molas.

What is a mola in Guna?

Geometric/zigzag molas are the most traditional form of Guna art. They were developed from body painting designs that were used by the Guna’s in special occasions. Nowadays, many hours of careful sewing are required to create a outstanding mola, this is also a source of status among Guna women. The quality of a mola is determined by multiple factors such as number of layers, the fineness of stitches, evenness and width of cutouts, addition of details such as zigzag borders and animal patterns, lattice-work or embroidery, and the general artistic merit of the design and color combination. The more complex the mola is the more status the Guna woman will receive.

How are Molas made?

Molas are made with a technique called appliqué. Each color in a mola is one layer of fabric. Rather than cutting all the shapes and sewing them together along the edges, the layers are stacked and stitched together to make the design. Take a closer look of a mola here. Observe the fine details and level of complexity of the designs. These were cut and sewn by hand. What incredible craftsmanship!

What is the art around the world in 30 days?

Art Around the World in 30 Days – Day #23 – Panama Molas. Today on Art Around the World, we’re doing a molas lesson, a fabric appliqué folk art from Panama. The Kuna people on the San Blas Islands cut and sew these bright and colorful panels and stitch them to the front and back of their clothes. Molas are made with a technique called appliqué.

How long does it take to make a Mola?

A mola can take from two weeks to six months to make, depending on the complexity of the design.

How are Molas made?

Molas are hand-made using a reverse appliqué technique. Several layers (usually two to seven) of different-colored cloth (usually cotton) are sewn together; the design is then formed by cutting away parts of each layer. The edges of the layers are then turned under and sewn down. Often, the stitches are nearly invisible. This is achieved by using a thread the same color as the layer being sewn, sewing blind stitches, and sewing tiny stitches. The finest molas have extremely fine stitching, made using tiny needles.

What is the link between traditional dress and Guna culture?

There was a strong link between traditional dress and Guna culture and identity. Molas have such an importance for the Guna people and their traditional identity that they can be considered responsible for the independent status of the Comarca Kuna Yala .

How did the Guna start to transfer their geometric designs?

Only after colonization by the Spanish and contact with missionaries did the Guna start to transfer their traditional geometric designs on fabric, first by painting directly on the fabric and later by using the technique of reverse appliqué. It is not known for certain when this technique was first used.

What are the Guna's inspirations?

As an inspiration for their designs, the Guna first used the geometrical patterns which have been used for body painting before. In the past 50 years, they have also depicted realistic and abstract designs of flowers, sea animals and birds, and popular culture.

What does "imperfections" mean in Molas?

These "imperfections" indicate that the mola is authentic and not made solely to be sold to tourists. Molas are often sold in pairs, the pair consisting of the back and front panels of a blouse. The two molas are usually two variations on a theme.

What do Guna women do when they tire of a blouse?

When Guna women tire of a particular blouse, they disassemble it and sell the molas to collectors. Since mola panels have been worn as part of the traditional dress of a Guna woman, they often show signs of wear such as fading and stitch marks along the edges of the panels.

Cuna Mola Designs

Appropriate for grades: K - 12 Subject areas: History and Social Studies Visual and Performing Arts

Lesson Objectives

Students will learn about how molas are part of Cuna women's dress and culture in Panama. (Responding: Understanding and evaluating how the arts convey meaning.)

What is the meaning of Mola?

The meaning of the mola is polyvalent to Kuna communities and to mola collectors. I believe that the benefits of promoting molas as Panamanian souvenirs include the continuation of this form of textile craft and encouragement for high quality production. The authenticity of molas may be important to tourists who purchase them “in an attempt to experience the authenticity, vitality, and spirituality” not encountered in their homeland and also the “childlike” attraction of the exotic (Belk and Groves 1999: 30).

What does "mola" mean in Indian?

Mola, which originally meant bird plumage, is the Kuna Indian word for clothing, specifically blouse, and the word mola has come to mean the elaborate embroidered panels that make up the front and back of a Kuna woman’s traditional blouse.

Why were molas traded?

Sewn by Kuna women and girls to be worn as part of their dress ensemble, molas were traded for cash from early in the twentieth century, most likely to enable purchase of store goods, such as cloth, food items, and metal objects. Molas in museums were collected in the first two decades of the twentieth century by Americans living in or near ...

What is Kuna art?

The Kuna have been making their art works for over centuries now and are pretty skilled in it. Because they where a nomad tribe back in the days they did not make much art in forms like statues or buildings but they did decorate themselves with their artworks. This decoration is also called Mola or Molas, in Kuna this means shirt or clothing.

What are molas used for?

Some old mola panels are removed from blouses by Kuna women, then sewn together to form larger rectangles and used to line the walls of their huts. Some are used on the floor, perhaps for babies to lie upon. Smaller blouses made for young girls involve less elaborate work on the panels, and have a short lifespan. Sewn by Kuna women and girls to be worn as part of their dress ensemble, molas were traded for cash from early in the twentieth century, most likely to enable purchase of store goods, such as cloth, food items, and metal objects. Molas in museums were collected in the first two decades of the twentieth century by Americans living in or near the Panama Canal Zone who visited the San Blas islands, by adventurers sailing in the area, and also by anthropologists carrying out research. Some of these were likely to be molas no longer deemed fit to wear, although some molas in early collections show no evidence of wear.

What is the process of change in function of a mola from part of an item of dress to a?

The process of change in function of a mola from part of an item of dress to a tourist souvenir can be understood in terms of the “cultural biography” of an object, an approach proposed by Kopytoff (1986: 66‒83).7 In the case of the mola, this progression as a tradable commodity began soon after its origin, although it did not become a major contributor to income until the 1960s.

Why do Kuna Indians sell their molas?

These days the Kuna Indians sell their Molas to tourist but not as clothing because they don’t want tourists to wear the traditional clothing.

How long does it take to make a mola?

Depending on the intricacy and complexity of its designs, a mola can take anywhere from two weeks to six months to produce. In this technique, the mola maker stacks several layers of brightly colored rectangles of fabric and then bastes them together. She then sketches out a design and begins cutting intricate geometric and/or representational patterns as little windows at the appropriate places in the different underlying layers of cloth to expose their various colors. The cut edges are neatly folded back and stitched into place. Sometimes these reverse appliqué designs are enhanced by traditional ribbon appliqué and embroidery. Occasionally small patches of colored cloth are placed between the rectangular panels to create visual surprises.

What is a Mola made of?

Once students have listed all the visual elements they can see in the mola and explained that a mola is made of cloth and thread , begin asking simple analytic questions that will deepen your students' understanding of the work.

What are the steps of exploring a work of art?

This discussion-based approach will introduce you and your students to the five steps involved in exploring a work of art: careful observation, analysis, research, interpretation, and critique.

What do Kuna women wear?

Today, traditional Kuna women's attire consists of a large scarf, wrap-around skirt, and colorful puffed-sleeve cotton blouse, or mola. Kuna women further adorn themselves with a gold nose ring and earrings, colorful bead strings wrapped around their forearms and shins, and a blue-lined nose. Despite increased globalization in Kuna Yala, Kuna women continue to wear this attire today for everyday use as well as for celebrations.