"The plantation is imaginary. I was drawn to the subject while reconstructing the lives of my grandparents. With artistic license, I have fused the historical times of my great grandfather and my grandfather.

My great grandfather fought with the Confederate Army in the Alabama 22nd Infantry. (This also accounts for my "Waiting for Orders" print). He was discharged at the end of the war quite ill and died a few years later leaving young sons to manage a cotton farm near Montgomery, Alabama. My grandfather grew up farming the cotton with his older brothers.

"Moonlight and Lace" is related to the meeting of my grandfather and grandmother in Macon, Georgia: He had gone by horse from his farm near Montgomery to visit a relative near Macon. While in this area, he attended a dance in a 'big' house where twin daughters lived. As the story goes, he was instantly smitten by one of the twins; he asked her name from across the room. When told her name was "Molly", he replied: 'Molly....my wife'. It was indeed a whirlwind romance. At the time they met, she was engaged to marry another - but six weeks later she eloped with my grandfather. Soon after their marriage they went to Texas by covered wagon looking for good cotton land. There they lived and had eleven children. My mother was one of those children.

If you look closely at "Moonlight and Lace" you will see the characters of my fantasy - the young men riding up on their horses, the parents and young women waiting to greet them. "Moonlight and Lace" forms an imaginary setting for my grandparents meeting but it is in the historical time of my great grandparents.

I am fascinated by this time period and I am currently working with several additional ideas related to this image."

Thank you for your interest.