Vintage Electrified Hula Dancer Panama Mola

Vintage Electrified Hula Dancer Mola is a hand sewn textile by a Guna (Kuna) artisan in Panama. Two dancers with wide eyes and grinning mouths swing their arms beside big sunburst medallions in blue and orange, and leafy fronds sweep around their feet, and neon orange and yellow stripes zip across the black ground like a current. You can almost feel the beat of the drums, and the energy is contagious. The mola is 14 inches wide and 9.5 inches high. It belongs in a party room, a tiki bar corner or anywhere the fun starts.

Molas are built by stacking several layers of colored cotton, then cutting down through one layer at a time so the colors underneath show through, and turning every raw edge under and stitching it closed by hand. The technique is called reverse appliqué, and a good panel is judged by how fine the stitches are and how many layers deep the cutting goes. This one came from Guna Yala, the San Blas islands off Panama's Caribbean coast, where the designs draw on the birds, fish, plants and geometric patterns of the islands and rainforest. It is ready to frame, mount, or sew into a pillow or a quilt panel, and no two are ever alike.

MolaMagic was founded by Janet Marie Brockman with a simple but powerful mission: to help indigenous women of color in Panama share their art with the world. For over twenty years, all profits have gone right back into the artisan community, supporting education, medical care, land, tools, and daily needs. Buying a MolaMagic mola means you are part of that story too.

Width: 14"
Height: 9.5"
SKU: 22052891T