Compose two styles
Rather than blending two styles into a middle, this assigns them roles: one carries the structure, the other appears as an accent. Where the two fight, it says so before you start.
How to divide the work
- Composition
- Follow Mola: Center the main figure and fill the leftover ground with maze-like slits
- Type
- Set in Mola's manner (Run several contours around the figure at even spacing), and let Tapa (Barkcloth)'s lettering (Treat the motif unit as insignia and repeat one combination) appear only where you want the eye to catch.
- Material
- Ground in Mola's material (Stack colored cloths, cut down from the top, turn the edges and stitch); bring in exactly one thing from Tapa (Barkcloth) (Beaten and joined bark, earth pigments stamped, drawn and smoked in).
- Colour
- Build on #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615 and admit one accent from #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615.
Where they fight
- Both belong to Textile Traditions, so the difference is small. Push the roles further apart than feels comfortable.
- Two techniques rather than two looks. Decide which one runs last in the process, because that is the one that will show.
Caution
- Mola Fewer layers and a single contour stop the color from emerging through the cuts, and the panel goes flat.
- Tapa (Barkcloth) Cutting the patterns loose from the island they belong to strips them of the insignia function and leaves only decoration.
Image prompt
An original image that takes its structure from Mola (Technique, late 19th century–) and its accent from Tapa (Barkcloth) (Technique, prehistory–). Structural cues: Layered reverse appliqué; Multiple contour lines; Maze-like ground filling; Animals and geometry. Accent cues, used sparingly: The beaten texture of bark; Repeating geometric pattern; Earth-toned pigments; Great ceremonial sheets. Composition: Center the main figure and fill the leftover ground with maze-like slits. Type and lettering: Run several contours around the figure at even spacing. Let one material quality come from the second style: Beaten and joined bark, earth pigments stamped, drawn and smoked in. Mood: Play, Intimacy, Exhilaration, Calm, Trust. Color: build on #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615 with a single accent drawn from #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615. Constraints: do not imitate, reference or name any specific artist, studio, brand, character or copyrighted work. Produce an original composition in the general period languages described above.
Related entries
- Mola late 19th century– / Technique / Textile Traditions
Guna women in Panama make reverse appliqué. Layers of colored cloth are cut back and stitched down until every contour ripples in several lines, printmaking in fabric that is worn daily as the panels of a blouse.
- Tapa (Barkcloth) prehistory– / Technique / Textile Traditions
Across the Pacific islands, bark is beaten out into cloth. Geometric patterns stamped, drawn and smoked onto it serve as communal insignia in ritual and gift exchange, and every island keeps its own pattern system within this Pacific graphic language.
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