Gee’s Bend Quilters Paper Quilts

This Black History Month, we are celebrating the women quilters of Gee’s Bend as our featured artists of the month. What began as a way to keep their families warm in a small Alabama community grew into a powerful art tradition known for bold patterns and beautiful designs. Their quilts are now celebrated as masterpieces and have been shown in major museums—and even featured on U.S. postage stamps. Look for quilt-inspired MakerSpace activities throughout February.

Quilt patterns are made by repeating shapes like squares, triangles, and diamonds, which is a fun way to use math in art. The Gee’s Bend quilters used these geometric patterns to tell stories, show creativity, and turn everyday materials into beautiful designs. By arranging shapes in different ways, they created quilts that are both works of art and examples of how math can be used to make something meaningful and unique.