Description

Rosa –  Giclee

Canvas size 20″ x 30″ Artist Proofs Edition of 45

As a child, me and my family would stay for the summer on an island located off the coast of Georgia known as Sapelo Island. My father worked as a scientist for the Marine Institute located on the south end of the island where he could conduct his scientific works. Nearby was a dormitory where we stayed while on the island. It was during this time in the late 1950s early 1960s that I met a real nice elderly black lady and her name was Rosa. Rosa’s job at that time was preparing meals for all the guests that stayed in the dormitory. On occasions while eating in the mess hall, I would hear her sing while she was working in the kitchen. Across from the dormitory, was a marsh area with a dock known as “Laughing Gull Creek”, where ocean tides would come and go. From its dock, my brothers and I would fish for Atlantic blue crab. We used circular crab traps and tied bait to the middle of the trap, this would serve as a lure for the blue crab. Within minutes we noticed crabs finding their way to our unexpected trap. We would then pull the traps out of the water and discover several captured blue crabs, then proceeded to dump them into a big washtub. Me and my brothers would then transport the crab by foot back to the dormitory. As we passed by the kitchen window, Rosa came out chuckling with a big smile and said “way to go boys”. We stopped to talk to Rosa and she then expressed to us her love of blue crabs. As my brothers and I huddled together to discuss this dilemma, we decided to share our bountiful catch with her. As she came back from the kitchen with a bucket for the crabs, in her other hand she carried a big beautiful chocolate cake.

After all these years, I still remember her giving us that cake and how great it tasted. I not only realized that was my first experience bartering but more importantly me and my brothers enjoyed the spirit of giving.