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. 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!
Photo Credit: S/V Moonrise
These artworks have bold color and stunning designs of animals, geometric patterns, and more. Many of the examples we can find online are of plants and animals, but the Kuna women don’t stop there. From designs inspired by pop culture or images telling stories of their ancestors, the subjects are only limited by the imagination of the artist.
Check out many more mola designs in this slideshow from YouTube.
The Kuna people pass along knowledge of making molas from generation to generation and take great pride in their work.
Molas Art Discussion Questions
- Study the designs and colors. How do you think it was made? Which colors were layered first and last?
- How do you think the Kuna people feel about these molas?
- How do you think the rise in tourism and increased desire for molas as a cultural souvenir has impacted the Kuna people?
Molas Lesson
Well, you clearly need to make molas about of paper with your kids. Obviously. Here is a video showing you how to do a molas lesson.
Molas Lesson Resources
Paper Molas Lesson from Blick Art Materials
Paper Cut Molas Lesson from Deep Space Sparkle
This molas lesson from the Helpful Art Teacher does a good job at showing the layering process.
That’s it! Thanks for reading. I’d love to hear your thoughts about the artwork in the comments. Click here to find more art from around the world, and come back tomorrow for a trip to Colombia!
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Fascinating! I eventually got to this website through some links, and ordered a small purse I can use when I go bike riding! http://www.molaartandcraft.com/index.php?tx=13784041HW9355349&st=Completed&amt=20%2e37&cc=USD&cm=&item_number=#.VHJoDot9IxE
Oooh, awesome! I was on that same site when I was writing the post and was eying some of those as well. 🙂
Hey! This information was very helpful as I am studying mola’s as part of bohemian fashion in A level textiles. I’ve been looking for re-searchable artists who create work similar to mola’s but can’t find anything anywhere. Would you happen to know of anyone who creates these who I can look at? Thank you.
No, I had the same issue when writing this post! Good luck.
Hi! My son and I are homeschooling around the world! We are in Central America and the Caribbean looking for art to represent the places we “go.” This page was perfect! Thank you so much 🙂
Awesome! Glad it was helpful to you. 🙂