Traditional molas are made by the Kuna women, an indigenous peoples from islands off the coast of Panama. Often depicting animals or geometric designs, they are made by stacking brightly colored pieces of fabric, and cutting holes in the top layers to reveal the colors below - a process known as reverse appliqué.
My molas are inspired by raw materials, my attraction to meticulous, hand-driven work, and the hidden beauty in and around us: microbes, microscopic structures, and patterns and textures found in nature. Additionally, I'm intrigued by the process of cutting windows in opaque fabrics to reveal the richness below as a metaphor for clarity and obfuscation, what we see and what remains unseen.
