Commonalities-Mola and Stained Glass

Laura on January 15th, 2008

I am neither a maker of mola or a stained glass craftsman. Still, I can’t help but admire both arts and in my appreciation and passion notice similarities. Of course there are the tangible differences, glass versus fiber and the rigid outer form of stained glass contrasting the supple functionality of the mola.

A rather brief list of opposing characteristics given the abundant similarities. The mola, due to the concentric nature of its design (a result of cutting down through layers of fabric to reveal the desired shape all the while tucking under and sewing border upon border) is strongly linear. This is true for stained glass due to the nature of the art. The piecing together of carefully cut, brilliantly colored glass pieces married together by a graceful orchestration of soldiered metals.

Further, the mola is a meticulous art requiring imagination, precision and time, time, time. I believe this is also a requirement of the stained glass panel and artist. In each art cutting and connecting are key. The mola adorns the body and tells a story in its design. Stained glass has story telling ancestry (when was the last time you entered a protestant church without allegorical glass panels) and although, as far as I know, not created to adorn the body, stained glass most commonly embellishes sacred human spaces such as the home.

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The Mola as Tourist Fodder

Laura on January 15th, 2008

Panama is ever increasing its infrastructure and services for the tourist industry. The artisans of Panama follow suit altering their arts to provide the widest possible array of options to the traveler in hope of becoming satellite beneficiaries of this booming industry. As I have mentioned in earlier posts, one can find numerous mola “doo […]

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Island Influence on the Mola

Laura on January 15th, 2008

The earliest recorded history recognizing the Kuna people comes from the travels of 16th century Spanish explorers. At this time the Kuna wore little in the way of clothing. In the mid 19th century the Kuna who had lived inland along rivers along the northeastern coast of Panama migrated to the string of islands just […]

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Mola Art is More Than a Consumer Trend

Laura on January 15th, 2008

I have heard that the Kuna Indian art of mola has reached its height as a fad. This from a veteran in the business who recollects that the textile art of reverse applique, hand designed cut and stitched by the Kuna women of Panama (and a very few men) had its vogue in the early […]

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Creation of a Mola-Part Two

Laura on January 15th, 2008

Prior to the creation of molas to adorn blouses worn by the Kuna women of the San Blas Islands body paints were used to create designs directly on the skin. Paints were made using local plants which produced yellow, red and black colors. Today body paint has all but vanished save for a thin bluish/black […]

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The Creation of a Mola-Part One

Laura on January 15th, 2008

The infinitely unique mola begins its journey to art as a humble stack of cloth. Two to six panels of cotton fabric cut to an abdominal-sized rectangle (as these panels are prepared in sets to become blouses) are aligned with the bottom most color representing the future primary accent color and the uppermost layer the […]

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Panama Arts Will Return Soon

Laura on December 16th, 2007

Hi, thanks for visiting PanamaArts.com. We’re redesigning our website and will return soon. Please check back.

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