Sew to Speak

In a wide range of techniques, from quilting to collages, Mary Milne of Ithaca, N.Y., creates elaborate pictures and banners out of fabric.

Since 1984 she has devoted much of her time to exploring fabric art, a medium that is frequently devalued because of the historical association of textiles with women's domestic labor. But for Milne something special happens when she is working with cloth. The tactile, sensual, and aesthetic qualities of fabrics generate her creative energy and stimulate her to incorporate themes of social protest into her craft. Many of her pieces offer potent messages.

This study of Milne and her art brilliantly illustrated with 36 pages of color photographs, accents modern folklife as a creative outlet for outcries against apathy and injustice.