People of Alabama: Marlene Bennett Jones of Boykin
Marlene Bennett Jones lives in Boykin, Alabama, better known as Gee’s Bend. She has been quilting most of her life, beginning when the quilters in her community had to pick and prepare the cotton for their quilts. (Tamika Moore / People of Alabama)
“We all played on a quilt when we was younger and we all messed around with it. It wasn’t mandatory, but it was tradition that if you lived in Gee’s Bend, you know how to quilt and patch and put buttons on things. That’s how we grew up. This right here is the easy part, because back then you had to go pick the cotton. After you pick the cotton, you’ve got to spread the cotton out on the floor. You’ve got to get all branches and beat the cotton until you get the seeds out and all that kind of stuff, and you would have to pad the quilt with the cotton. Most of the time, you couldn’t get all the seeds out. Not compared to now, we could just go to JOANN or Hobby Lobby and pick up some batting. Someday, I would like to really sit down and show people exactly what quilting was all about. It’s taught me patience. I was always hyper and it kind of calms me down and I’m in another world. Whatever is going on around me doesn’t faze me anymore because I’m into my zone. Sometimes I think I’ve become addicted to quilting. When I’m dealing with quilts, I see myself having a conversation with little pieces to see if we can get along and that’s how I do it. I think it’s getting to be a lost art. I think a lot of young people are now getting back into it. Hopefully, more young people will get into it, so it won’t be lost. This is part of Gee’s Bend’s history. A quilt tells no lie.” – Marlene Bennett Jones of Boykin, also known as Gee’s Bend.
See more of her quilts here.
Jones is part of a community of quilters whose works have come to be recognized throughout the nation and around the world as significant pieces of art. (Tamika Moore / People of Alabama)
Her quilts have been displayed all over the country. Some of her work was even displayed at the Royal Academy of Arts in London.
She displayed her quilts, with some for sale, recently at the Gee’s Bend Airing of the Quilts Festival.
These are the faces and stories of people from all walks of life who call Alabama home. People of Alabama is a Red Clay Media and Alabama News Center partnership.
