Thursday, February 23, 2012

Molas, the Textile Art of the Kuna People of Panama


Molas is a textile art of a group of native people of Panama called the Kuna.   It involves reverse applique.  Two or more layers of cloth are sewn together after the top layer is cut away to show the under layers of fabric.   Molas are also often embroidered.  Each piece is unique and may depict everyday nature, legends, or even political stories.  
I found several sites online to get us started on our study of molas.
This first one from the Museum of Anthropology in Missouri has a brief overview of molas, and the National Museum of the American Indian’s  website shows pictures of traditional molas created at the beginning of the nineteenth century.
This travel site has excellent pictures of molas being created today along with an interesting article suitable for kids all about this art form.
We used paper to create our molas.   First decide how many layers your molas will have and which colors you will use.  

A Day in the Life Mola and Cubism Art 010A Day in the Life Mola and Cubism Art 011
Next plan your design. 
A Day in the Life Mola and Cubism Art 015A Day in the Life Mola and Cubism Art 016A Day in the Life Mola and Cubism Art 017A Day in the Life Mola and Cubism Art 019A Day in the Life Mola and Cubism Art 023A Day in the Life Mola and Cubism Art 024

Cut, layer, and glue. 
A Day in the Life Mola and Cubism Art 030A Day in the Life Mola and Cubism Art 031A Day in the Life Mola and Cubism Art 032A Day in the Life Mola and Cubism Art 035A Day in the Life Mola and Cubism Art 036A Day in the Life Mola and Cubism Art 037
We found a hole punch made an interesting pattern.
A Day in the Life Mola and Cubism Art 013A Day in the Life Mola and Cubism Art 018A Day in the Life Mola and Cubism Art 020A Day in the Life Mola and Cubism Art 025
A Day in the Life Mola and Cubism Art 027A Day in the Life Mola and Cubism Art 040
  Molas!

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3 comments:

  1. What a cool art project! Love the way yours turned out!!!

    Thanks for sharing with learning laboratory at mama smiles =)

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is a great project! I'll be pinning it on the Thinking Mothers Art/Crafts board. Thanks for linking up!!

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  3. Thank you for linking up with Look What We Did Wednesday!!!

    I am trying to do art every day with my girls. I think we will try this one!!!

    ReplyDelete

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