Portrait of a Textile Worker

In 1990 Milwaukee artist Terese Agnew began making art quilts in addition to sculpture. Her quilts are intricately detailed and intensely embroidered using a process that she describes as “drawing with thread.”

Two years ago she began to create a portrait entirely out of clothing labels, based on a photograph by Charles Kernaghan that depicts a textile worker. When completed it will be approximately 8 feet high and 9 feet wide. The National Labor Committee and the Coalition to Abolish Sweatshops will be given posters and prints of the quilt to help with their work to improve sweatshop conditions.

Terese says, "I need thousands more labels to complete the image. That’s where you come in. If you send me labels cut from your clothes, I’ll include them in the quilt and your name in the list of contributors. You will be helping the effort to give a face and a name to the all-too-frequently anonymous textile worker."

Mail labels to:
Terese Agnew
P.O. Box 11093
Shorewood, WI 53211


Portrait of a Textile Worker