Who made mola art?
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 does mola mean in Panama?
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!
Who makes molas in Panama?
Guna Indian tribe
Molas are colorful panels sewn by the women of the Guna Indian tribe, who reside here in Panama in the San Blas Archipelago on the Caribbean Sea. Molas are part of traditional costumes worn by Guna women. Four mola panels are formed into the front and back panels of a blouse.
What does mola mean in Kuna?
What is a Mola? 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.
How are molas created?
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.
What are molas for kids?
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.
What do molas symbolize?
Molas are often used as “living history books”, showing hidden symbols of medical plants, protective symbols, or legends and stories. Typical Mola colors, such as burgundy, orange, or black are referring to the vegetable colors as used for body painting.
How are the designs of the molas?
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 finest molas have extremely fine stitching, made using tiny needles.
What does molas mean in Spanish?
mola Adjective. Translate “mola” to English: nice, cute, pretty.
What are molas made from?
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.
How are molas made now?
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 finest molas have extremely fine stitching, made using tiny needles.
What colors are Molas?
Each mola consists of two to seven layers of cotton cloth in the dominant colors of red, black, and orange.