32 November 2014 SchoolArts

Elementary Studio Lesson

A Cloth TraditionNancy Walkup

added, and an intricate mola may take between forty and seventy hours to complete. Though traditional mola subjects include animals, birds, and other liv-ing creatures of the San Blas Islands, global culture has inspired designs based on movie posters, comic books, and other modern images. Many of the designs are symmetrical, perhaps because the fabric can be folded and two designs cut out at the same time.

Molas in the ArtroomShare the background information about molas with your students and have them find the San Blas Islands of Panama on a world map. Ask them to choose local animals or birds to serve as their subject matter. Explain that

and exhibited, providing an economic benefit for the Kuna.

How Molas Are MadeEach mola consists of two-to-seven layers of cotton cloth, and usually come in red, black, and orange. Pieces

of the top layers are cut out, folded back, and hand-stitched down to expose the underlying colors. The process of cutting away the fabric is some-times described

as “reverse appliqué,” since layers of cloth are removed rather than stitched to the surface. Embroidery stitches of colorful thread are sometimes

Among the Kuna people in the San Blas Islands of Panama, there is a tradition of making brightly colored

panels of cloth called molas. In the Kuna language, mola is the word for shirt or clothing. A mola is made from many layers of fab-ric, and the artist cuts out shapes from the top layers to show the beautifully colored fabric below. Molas are tra-ditionally made in pairs and worn by the Kuna women and girls to serve as front and back panels of the blouses they wear every day. Nowadays they are also sold to collectors to be framed

A mola is made from many layers of fabric, and the artist cuts out shapes

from the top layers to show the beautifully colored fabric below.

MOLAS

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ObjectivesStudents will:1. understand that cultures create

fabric traditions that have specific functions within the culture and draw upon local symbols and motifs.

2. identify and describe distinguishing features and organization of molas created by the Kuna of Panama.

3. create a cut-paper mola with symmetrical balance, positive and negative shapes, and motifs with local significance.

Materials• assorted colors of 9 x 12"

(23 x 31 cm) construction paper, including black and red

• pencils• scissors• glue

using a creature with an easily identi-fiable shape is helpful.

ProceduresHave students lightly draw the shape of a native animal or other creature on a folded piece of construction paper. Encourage them to fill the space with-out touching the sides of the paper. Students should carefully cut out the folded paper to make two separate symmetrical pieces. Have students place these in a sym-metrical arrangement on a different color of paper. Students should carefully cut these out, leaving a thick border of the second color. This process should be repeated two or more times, using different colors of paper each time. Finally, glue the completed shapes

to a sheet of dark paper, leaving some space between the shapes. Repeated shapes and details can be added inside the main shapes and in the back-ground.

Nancy Walkup is the editor of SchoolArts and taught this lesson at W. S. Ryan Elementary in Denton, Texas. nwalkup@davisart.com. It is adapted from Explora-tions in Art (Davis Publications, 2008), Grade 4, Unit 5, Studio Exploration for Lessons 25 and 26, pp. 128–129.

N A T I O N A L S T A N D A R D

Connecting: Relating artistic ideas and work with personal meaning and external context.

W E B L I N K

davis.davisartspace.com/the_tradi-tion_of_molas

Left to right: Traditional mola, artist unknown. Kate, grade four. Alora, grade four.