Herta Puls was born in 1915. She was a radioghrapher/medical technician in Germany and moved to England in 1939. Herta was introduced to embroindery by Constance Howard. She studied embroidery and textile design at Newport College of Art as a part time student.
Herta was awarded first prize and silver medal of the Merchant Taylors' Company for her City and Guilds certificate in Advanced embroidery in 1970. Research for her thesis on 'Applique of the Kuna Indians of Panama' culminated in her first visit to the San Blas Islands in 1970.
Herta had a life long interest in tribal textiles and visited Panama three more times. She taught and lectured widely on cutwork and reverse appliqe and really expanded the western worlds knowledge of the embroidery and life style of the Kuna Indians.
The embroidery of the Kuna Indians is seen on the "molas" which in Dulegaya the Kuna's native language means "shirt" or "clothing".The mola forms part of the traditional dress of the Kuna women.
The mola origionated with Kuna women painting their bodies with natural dyes. Only after Colonization with the Spanish and contact with missionaries did the Kuna transfer their designs to fabric. They began by painting directly on to the fabric and later by using the reverse applique technique we know and use today. The ability to make an outstanding mola is a source of status among the Kuna women. The quality of a good Mola is determined by:
- The number of layers
- Fineness of stitching
- Evenness and width of cutouts
- Addition of details such as zigzag borders, latticework or embroidery
- General artistic merit of the design and colour combination.
The original mola designs were often based on religious symbols.
Cut work and reverse applique are techniques that are now widely used in the Western world. The fabric used in traditional molas is usually bright and single block. Even the most simple molas require a lot of work and patience. To achieve a good quality applique practice and skill are required and I would say quite a lot of patience!
The above picture is taken from Herta Puls book "The Art of Cutwork and Embroidery". It shows a Kuna woman wearing a mola blouse.
This mola shows an abstract design inspired by paddle steamers.
The top picture above shows a lino print with a drawn and painted surround. This picture reminds me of some of the pictures painted by Kandinsky with a black ribbon line running through.
The bottom picture is an applique picture of a Cuna Shell that is typically found in the Caribbean sea off the coast of Panama.The stitches look so small and I love the curves.
References
Textiles of the Kuna Indians by Herta Puls
The Art of Cutwork and Applique by Herta Puls
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