This is an important resource for designers, textile lovers, and African art scholars. Over 200 color photographs beautifully illustrate the mud-cloth art of the Bogolan people in Mali, Africa. Their art form, in which geometric, abstract, and semi-abstract patterns are hand painted with mud dyes on hand woven cloth, has gained enormous popularity internationally. Informative text, by noted African art historian Irwin Hersey, examines the evolving cultural role of mud-cloth art, and gives technical information about traditional methods of its production. The mud-cloth designs featured in this book come from African artists, who have depicted scenes of African village life, and exciting geometric and abstract patterns in rich earth tones. The CD included with the book contains over 200 patterns, and is compatible with most graphic, design, and editing programs.