Meet the Makers: The Alabama Black Belt Makers Trail Is 2026's Most Hands-On Road Trip

Picture a table in Gee's Bend covered in bright fabric, scissors moving, a quilter explaining how a pattern came down through generations. Or a workshop in Selma where a pile of discarded metal is slowly becoming a creature with personality. Or a dye garden in Greensboro, where the plants you harvest in the morning color the cloth you take home by afternoon. This is the Alabama Black Belt Makers Trail, and it asks something different of travelers: do not just look. Make.

Created by Alabama Black Belt Adventures, the Makers Trail invites visitors into the studios, homes and workshops of the region's artists, cooks and craftspeople for intimate, hands-on encounters. You meet the makers, learn time-honored traditions and leave with a meaningful keepsake you created yourself. As the trail puts it: Intimate by Design. Distinctly Black Belt.

What is the Alabama Black Belt Makers Trail?

The Alabama Black Belt Makers Trail is a collection of hands-on art and craft experiences led by working artists across Alabama's Black Belt, offered in small-group and private formats. Each experience is paired with nearby places to stay, eat and explore, so a single workshop can anchor a full road trip.

The Black Belt takes its name from its rich, dark soil, and the region carries a deep cultural legacy in quilting, folk art, food and music. The Makers Trail turns that legacy into something visitors can feel in their own hands. These are not demonstrations behind a rope. They are conversations, lessons and collaborations.

• Formats: small-group and private experiences
• What you take home: a one-of-a-kind piece you made with the artist
• Plan it: Makers Trail at AlabamaBlackBeltAdventures.org

Who are the makers on the Alabama Black Belt Makers Trail?

Featured makers include Claudia Pettway Charley and Andrea Williams in Gee's Bend, Butch Anthony in Seale, Aaron Sanders Head at Sumac Cottage in Greensboro and Charlie "The Tin Man" Lucas in Selma. The trail's website also lists experiences with Chef Scott Peacock in Marion and printmaker Scott Peek at Standard Deluxe in Waverly.

Makers Monday: Claudia Pettway Charley and Andrea Williams, Gee's Bend

Few places have changed how the world sees American art like Gee's Bend. Andrea Williams, whose work is held in the permanent collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, is part of the quilting lineage that reshaped the global understanding of the art form. Alongside her, Claudia Pettway Charley carries the Gee's Bend legacy forward through major fashion collaborations with brands including Adidas, Ralph Lauren and Target. Together they guide guests through a patchwork workshop that bridges heritage and runway.

Take-away: a custom-made, Gee's Bend-inspired, one-of-a-kind garment.

Cabinets of Curiosity and Memory Jugs: Butch Anthony, Seale

On an 80-acre property he has shaped over decades, Butch Anthony creates an ever-evolving world of art, objects and ideas, blending storytelling, collecting and his philosophy of "Intertwangleism." His work has been exhibited in museums and galleries nationwide, and his Museum of Wonder in Seale is an experience all its own. Guests build either a Cabinet of Curiosity or a Memory Jug, the Southern folk tradition of encrusting a vessel with meaningful objects.

Take-away: a Cabinet of Curiosity or Memory Jug created from found objects and your own personal keepsakes. Bring a few small treasures from home.

Rooted in Craft: Aaron Sanders Head, Greensboro

Textile artist Aaron Sanders Head works with natural dyes, hand stitching and quilt traditions to create pieces that reflect the rhythms of rural Alabama. Based at Sumac Cottage, his studio and dye garden, his practice bridges agriculture, craft and contemporary textile work. Guests work with indigo and resist techniques such as shibori.

Take-away: harvest natural plant material and develop dyes for your own textile work of art, or make a custom kudzu basket.

Something From Nothing: Charlie "The Tin Man" Lucas, Selma

Known as the Tin Man, Charlie Lucas transforms discarded materials into powerful sculptures shaped by a lifetime of making. His work is held in major collections, including the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, a testament to his place in American art. A studio visit becomes a recycled-materials sculpture workshop guided by the artist himself.

Take-away: a one-of-a-kind objet d'art designed from your own imagination.

More stops on the trail

The Makers Trail continues to grow. Its website also features the Alabama Biscuit Experience with James Beard Award-winning Chef Scott Peacock at Reverie 1858 in Marion, and custom silkscreen printing with Scott Peek at Standard Deluxe in Waverly, with more experiences announced as they are added.

Why is fall a good time to visit Alabama's Black Belt?

Fall brings milder weather to the Black Belt, which makes it a comfortable season for road-tripping between small towns, lingering in outdoor studios and dye gardens, and exploring the region's history. It is also the start of the hunting season the Black Belt is famous for.

The season opens with the Moundville Native American Festival at Moundville Archaeological Park, held October 1 to 3 in 2026. Through fall and winter, the Black Belt's sporting tradition comes alive: Alabama Black Belt Adventures notes that deer season generally runs from mid-October through January statewide, with many Black Belt counties extending into February, and waterfowl arrive in the winter months.

And with the holidays ahead, a Makers Trail experience doubles as a gift. A Gee's Bend-inspired garment, a hand-dyed textile or a memory jug made from family keepsakes is the kind of present nobody else will be unwrapping.

How do you plan a Makers Trail trip?

Choose one or two makers, book through the Makers Trail page, then build the trip around the nearby stays, restaurants and sights paired with each experience. Many experiences can be booked privately for families, friends and organized groups.

• Selma: pair a Charlie Lucas workshop with a walk to the Edmund Pettus Bridge and the historic downtown
• Gee's Bend and Greensboro: combine quilting and natural dyeing for a textile-focused weekend in the heart of the region
• Seale: build a memory jug, then explore the Museum of Wonder grounds
• Contact: Marina@alabamablackbeltadventures.com or 205-299-2104

Learn more on our Alabama Black Belt Adventures destination guide, and explore more historic and cultural travel.

Meet the makers. Make the journey. Read more in the Fall 2026 Special Holiday Edition of Explore USA Magazine.