Would you believe? Ana found a mola store!

Frequent visitors to Ana Darcy's blog know of Ana's love of the folk arts and textile arts of Earth. She visits every exhibit she can find of folk toys, dia de los muertos artifacts, paintings, arpilleras (textile sculptures), and molas from Panama (essentially folk paintings with fabric). We have covered many of these here.

One post, on the mola, elicited a comment from a woman in Panama who sells molas online. Florymola.com is a lovely website with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of molas on sale, plus information about the art form, the women who create them, and more.

We couldn't help it: we had to order some. They measure about 10 x 15 inches (25 x 40 cm) and are pictured below, front and back. At the same time very simple yet extremely intricate, they are immensely creative and colorful: totally unique, lovely art.

They could be framed, made into cushions, handbags, or added to clothing to stunning effect. They weren't expensive: only about $10 each. They mail all over the world. Mail to the United States takes three to six weeks.

We wouldn't be surprised if Ana Darcy accumulates quite a collection--but she'll do it under an alias, of course!

(Click for a full-size slide show.)

A frog

Two birds

Birds and...a bat?

http://www.florymola.com

(See the first paragraph above for links to other posts to Ana's favorite folk art.)

Do you know Ana Darcy, our Distant Cousin? 

Meet Ana!

Reader comment: "What makes a book outstanding to me is that I am sad when I come to the ending and the characters stay with me for a long time after reading. This series is one of the few that is on my "Must Read" list when others ask me for book recommendations."  

Is this an arpillera or not?

Those familiar with Ana Darcy's blog will know her fascination with folk arts and folk toys. Apparently there are similar features among the people of her own planet, Thomo--similar, but different, of course, given the variations of human cultures.

We have shown many examples of the lovely textile sculptures of the Americas, called arpilleras in Spanish. Here is yet another one...we think. Maybe. The arpilleras shown on other pages of this blog maintained for the extraterrestrial Ana are all entire compositions, pictures, as it were, usually with a theme of some kind, often moral.

The example above is not like that. It's a collection of 32 handmade fabric dolls which in other contexts could be members of a classic arpillera. Whether it's an arpillera or not, we can agree that it's a striking piece of art. (It was created in Honduras.)

To better show the three-dimensional character of this bag, here's a photo from one side:

Both photos are generously sized to show details. Merely click either one for a much better look. The X in the top right corner will bring you back to Ana's blog.

Ana's discovery of arpilleras

More arpilleras

Art you can wear: a wearable arpillera

Arpilleras photographed from the side

There is much more of Ana's favorite art in the column to the right, under the photo of the blue-eyed kitty, including molas, murals, clothing, dia de los muertos figurines, and folk toys to name just a few!

NOTE: There is a great deal of art, poetry, music, architecture and the like on Ana's blog, yet the Distant Cousin stories do not dwell on these. They tell the tale of the first human to return to Earth. The fact that that human loves our art, music, and so forth is celebrated here, but to enjoy Ana herself and learn to know her well, you should try one of her books!

Meet Ana Darcy!

From a reader: "What makes a book outstanding to me is that I am sad when I come to the ending and the characters stay with me for a long time after reading. This series is one of the few that is on my "Must Read" list when others ask me for book recommendations."