Samantha Koehn (left) holds her new art by Papermolas' Miriam O'Brien. (Contributed photo)
Samantha Koehn (left) holds her new art by Papermolas' Miriam O'Brien. (Contributed photo)
This Saturday, The Market at Sawyer Yards returns, 11-5 p.m., at 1502 Sawyer Street, on the Sawyer Yards campus in the heart of the First Ward, in Arts District Houston.
I always envisioned The Market at Sawyer Yards as an outdoor market with packaged foods, artisan crafts and a heavy emphasis on folk art.
Folk art is generally referring to traditional art of a region, community or nation. Most often, everyday items embellished with designs specific to a group, ie., clothing, pottery, tools and even weapons. My folk art experience in Houston is the Art Car Parade artists and The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art.
The Market at Sawyer Yards has been getting there (my vision), but that’s just one of those things that has to happen organically. There just aren’t folk artists around every corner ready to jump into the market life.
Enter Miriam O’Brien, Panamanian by birth, with Chinese parents and living in the U.S. for the past 23 years. O’Brien considers herself Panamanian all the way, but growing up, says she didn’t appreciate Panamanian culture as she should have.
She’s turned that around now, O’Brien designs digital art inspired by molas, a textile art form from the Guna Indians of Panama and Colombia. The mola is part of the traditional outfit of a Guna woman.
What I love the most is her combination of creating the traditional design using modern tools, a tablet and computer. She calls her company Papermolas.
“Typical molas consist of patterned cotton pieces of clothing with cheerful color combinations, where modern geometric graphics are often predominant,” O’Brien stated. “My designs convey the basic looks of a mola, usually known as “the labyrinth,” and I combine that with everyday objects, animals or landmarks from cities I’ve lived in and surrounding areas.”
“I started with making actual paper art, but it wasn’t sustainable for me because, not only was it time consuming, but also the demand wasn’t there,” O’Brien said. “I transitioned to a digital medium and print my own art in my home office with a professional photo printer and inks. I also print my designs on greeting cards, coasters, magnets, keychains, and other things that people may be interested in, with my own equipment. I do use production partners for things I can’t make myself, like vinyl stickers or enlarged prints, but they are still my designs.”
O’Brien told me her future plans include creating her molas using wood, she’s got the tools ready, she’s just waiting for the weather to get a little cooler.
Follow O’Brien on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/papermolas/ and find her at The Market at Sawyer Yards this Saturday, September 10.
Cohen is an artist and founder of the First Saturday Arts Market and The Market at Sawyer Yards. Find him at ArtValet.com for additional highlights and artist’s stories.
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