Gee's Bend

After my post yesterday I came across these quilts made by the women of Gee's Bend.  I can't get them out of my head- the color and composition,  the meaning of craft and community... it's all too much. I'm in awe.

Thank you Purl for this old post (which sent me on my search):

Gee's Bend is a small Alabama community geographically isolated by a winding river. The population are primarily descended from former slaves who worked the land for plantation owners in the nineteenth century and as share croppers for most of the twentieth century. Their self-sufficience was born of this hard-laboring life, and it yielded incredible creativity, resourcefulness, and spirit. To learn more about the quilters themselves, their work, and their community, visit their excellent website.