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SAINT LUKE ACADEMY SCHOLARSHIP FUND

Saint Luke Academy, a Lutheran school for students in grades Pre-School through Grade 8, turns away no student who desires a quality Christian education but does not have the resources for tuition.  50% of each purchase will go to the Scholarship Fund to help make Christian education accessible to all, regardless of their means.

What makes a FINE Mola?

 

Most women imitate.
She who has created a new mola lends it out.

Another copies it and improves the colors.

Then many are the women who remake it . . .

The mola thus goes from one to another . . .

But while it is being created

it is forbidden to see it, it is secret.

When the mola is finished,

It is shown to friends, and worn.

People see it and they copy it . . .

So the name of she who created it may last,

May grow, may be “spread abroad.”

The maker can also give her mola a name.

So, from one island to another the name is taken,

And sometimes the name of she who created it . . .

(recounted by a Malatupu Islander, 1996)

 
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Molas are discussed according to how they are made and what they show.

  1. They have a number of layers of cloth.
  2. There is an outline of the main pattern using an additional color.
  3. A pair of Molas, the front and back of a blouse uses “interlocking” or reverse colors.
  4. Additional layers of color are sewn into the openings of the main pattern.
  5. Appliqués of images are stitched to the top layer of cloth often with inserts of colors shapes or narrow strips of color inset into the fabric.
  6. Filler motifs of simple repeated patterns are used.
  7. Notched or serrated borders are included.
  8. Embroidery details done with thread are added to surfaces.

 

Each Mola can be judged by the following criteria:

  1. It looks good, is beautiful and attracts attention.
  2. It is well sewn using small and evenly spaced stitches.
  3. The design is intricate and shows time-consuming skill.
  4. The colors are well coordinated and easy to distinguish.
  5. The cuts are sharp and clean.
  6. The filler motifs are well spaced.

 

All of the Molas that I’m making available meet these criteria.

Dennis Grabowski, Mr. Mola

For further information see Michel Perrin, Magnificent Molas, The Art of the Kuna Indians (1999) and Mari Lyn Salvador, The Art of Being Kuna, Layers of Meaning Among the Kuna of Panama (1997)

 
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St. Luke Academy Chicago 2007 c.