Molas Exploding with Color

Create a vibrant paper version of a traditional craft from the Cuna Indians, who live on islands in the Caribbean.

1. Cuna/Kuna Indians, who live on the San Blas Islands near Panama, make a popular type of art with fabric, called molas. Layers of colorful cloth are carefully cut away and sewn in simple designs. Most molas are pictures of nature and animals with interesting designs placed inside and around them.

2. On paper, use Crayola® Erasable Colored Pencils to outline an animal or bird. Use a simple circle for an eye, or a line to suggest a mouth. If you change your mind, just erase.

3. Draw your design in a mola style on Crayola Color Explosion Paper with the Color Reveal Markers. Make up an interesting pattern for the inside, using shapes that are separate from each other. Leave black areas inside the outline, too.

4. Make thin dotted lines all around the outside edge of your outline to look like stitches (the Cuna use a blind stitch, but your lines will help people understand that it is a replica of sewn artwork). Leave the background black or add a simple design to fill the space.

5. Display your beautiful mola for your family!

Adult supervision is required for any arts & crafts project.

Color Explosion™ Black—Wash hands well with soap and water after use.

Fast & Furry Bear Puppets

Udder Under--Milk Cow

Pet Chore Chart

Crafts

crayola supplies

• Color Explosion™ Neon
• Color Explosion™ Rainbow
• Erasable Colored Pencils

household supplies

• white paper

"I found a real mola at a garage sale. My grandchildren really enjoyed creating their own versions with amazing Color Explosion. "
Lori T., grandmother of seven.

"Our PTA held a culture fair. This project was a huge success! Thanks!"
Sue D., parent volunteer.

Cuna women wear shirts that are decorated with molas in the front. The inspiration for which animal to put on a mola usually comes from qualities that the animal has that are like the person’s. What kind of mola would you wear?