{"id":71225,"date":"2016-02-23T22:09:40","date_gmt":"2016-02-24T03:09:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=71225"},"modified":"2016-02-23T22:09:40","modified_gmt":"2016-02-24T03:09:40","slug":"crafts-mola-tradition-from-panama-has-fans-worldwide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2016\/02\/23\/crafts-mola-tradition-from-panama-has-fans-worldwide\/","title":{"rendered":"Crafts: Mola tradition from Panama has fans worldwide"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Traditional<\/a>
Traditional frog mola (Photo by Brian Gratwicke<\/a>\/Flickr)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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.<\/p>\n

They originated in Panama, with the women of the Kuna tribe in the San Blas islands. But they have fans worldwide. They’re in museum collections from the Smithsonian to the British Museum, and have inspired textile artists and do-it-yourselfers.<\/p>\n

The tradition is characterized by tiny, fine stitches, bold designs and bright colours. Early 20th century photos show Kuna women dressed in blouses and long wrap skirts decorated in the style. Over the decades, molas were increasingly marketed to tourists, and today you can buy not only mola blouses, with designs front and back, but also mola panels created as textile art for display. Handmade, authentic Kuna molas are labeled as such to distinguish them from imitations.<\/p>\n

Molas typically use a reverse applique technique, in which fabric is layered and then cut away to create a design. Traditional designs range from complex geometric patterns to depictions of turtles, jungle birds and other things found in the Kunas\u2019 environment. But over time, molas began to include references to the modern world: coins, helicopters, pop culture.<\/p>\n

The craft \u201chas evolved with technology and changing times,\u201d said Joan Sasse, who works at the Tucson Museum of Art and included molas in an exhibition on view through June 19 called \u201cLa Vida Fantastica: Selections from the Latin American Folk Art Collection.\u201d<\/p>\n

The show\u2019s name translates to \u201cthe fantastic life,\u201d and Sasse wanted to include molas because she liked \u201cthe idea of embellishing an otherwise functional garment to raise it up to the level of something fantastic and visually appealing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kate Mathews, a mola collector and author of \u201cMolas!: Patterns, Techniques, Projects for Colorful Applique,\u201d said the technique involves more than just cutting away material. Mola makers also trim scraps into shapes that are then sewn on top of panels, she said, while other molas use inlay applique, with small bits of fabric sewn between layers, and overlay applique, where the design is rendered with visible stitches on the top layer.<\/p>\n

Mathews\u2019 book, various online videos and other resources show how molas can be adapted for DIY projects and kids\u2019 crafts. One simple example: You can layer colored construction paper and cut away shapes \u2013 a cat, perhaps, or a diamond pattern \u2013 to reveal different colours in different sections of your final picture.<\/p>\n

Why are molas so captivating?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s the bright colours and the kind of folk-art appeal of simple shapes and interesting interpretations of the world,\u201d said Mathews. \u201cThe women get their ideas from the world around them. Molas might show flora and fauna or other types of natural shapes, or they might be manmade objects like a Coca-Cola bottle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joan Jacobson, who gave the Tucson Museum some of the 40 to 50 molas she has collected, said she bought her first molas on a trip to Panama decades ago. The women \u201cwere selling them. You\u2019d walk around and see them doing the needlework,\u201d she recalled. \u201cI\u2019ve always been interested in textiles \u2013 I\u2019m a weaver.\u201d<\/p>\n

She loved the molas\u2019 bright colours and whimsical designs, featuring everything from geometric patterns to airplanes or hot-air balloons.<\/p>\n

Anna Bonarou, a contemporary textile artist in Greece, has studied molas for inspiration in her own work, and marvels at the Kuna women\u2019s skill in creating designs with little more than needles and scissors. She used a computer to recreate the complex geometric patterns.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough I had studied architecture, it was very difficult to do,\u201d said Bonarou.<\/p>\n

She also became interested in Kuna culture. \u201cFor me the best way to love something is to learn the story behind the craft,\u201d she said. \u201cThe craft is not only the materials and the technique.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bonarou has incorporated elements of molas in her abstract wall art, often in black and white rather than the Kunas\u2019 bold colours. The craft, she says, is time-consuming, requiring \u201ca lot of patience, so that your hands, with the needles, start to feel pain.\u201d But it’s \u201calso something to bring you inspiration.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Molas, a traditional textile craft, are made from layers of colored fabric that are stitched and cut using applique techniques …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":71226,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1080],"class_list":["post-71225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-lifestyle","tag-ap","mauthors-beth-harpaz","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71225\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}