Mola Bird is Appliqued

The Mola bird is fully emerged from a driftwood photo taken in Desolation Sound this summer. I loved the organic, flowing crack pattern. The bird was a bonus discovered on my computer screen much later.
The history of molas and the colourful outfits of the Kuna Indians (First Nations?) of the San Blas Islands off the coast of Panama really captured my interest. Molas (literally meaning blouse according to the web site below) had me tempted to use a flowery blouse as the base fabric. The primitive animal shapes in traditional molas made it easy for me to draw my crude bird shape. I think the combination of simple shape with complex geometrical patterns and colours is very exciting. The freedom of design and brilliant colours are a big lure for me. My bird mola will be trimmed to 13"X16", the approx. size of traditional molas. Molas often came in pairs, one for the front of the blouse and one for the back. http://www.galenfrysinger.com/mola_panama.htm
Stumbling Block- I wasn’t sure about the legs. The original legs were short and stubby. I decided to appliqué the body first and worry about the legs later. 'Later' came, as it always does and I just couldn't find legs that made me happy. I'm trying to accept the leg outcome by convincing myself that most birds have legs way to small for their bodies.
I really enjoyed all aspects of this exercise-except the legs.

Mola Bird

This picture of driftwood was taken during our boat trip to Desolation Sound this summer. I like the quilting potential of the cracks. The bird shape was an after the fact bonus. The history of molas and the colourful outfits of the Kuna Indians (First Nations?) of the San Blas Islands off the coast of Panama captured my interest. Molas (literally meaning blouse) are generally extremely complex layers of colour and pattern. The designs range from complex geometric patterns to primitive animal shapes and everything in between, often all on one piece. The freedom of design and brilliant colours are a big lure for me. Molas are usually 13"X16" and come in pairs, one for the front of the blouse and one for the back. I wanted to use a flowered blouse in background like some of the images shown on this website. But the directions for this activity said to create a 2 colour mola http://www.galenfrysinger.com/mola_panama.htm

I extracted a version of the mola bird from the driftwood quite quickly; took a smidge longer to pick the colours and one hour to baste the layers around the motif. By the time all was said and done I forgot to watch the Survivor finale. I am really enjoying this technique. He looks a bit silly right now but I have hopes he will improve. A tail and legs will help.

I wish I knew how to get a photo in the middle of posts.