Baltimore, Maryland
Community cultural work takes many forms, but a
common underlying theme is its purpose in bringing
people together to celebrate, solve problems,
communicate, or address issues that they cannot
solve alone. The collaborative mosaic created
by members of the Maryland State Arts Council is a
prime example. I was asked to design and
facilitate a process to initiate the
Council’s important strategic planning work
in the Spring of 2008.
I worked with staff to design a mosaic-making
session for the entire Council to help them
accomplish their goals of team building, dedication
to the importance of the planning work, and
acknowledgement of each person’s strengths,
talents and commitment. The result was a
rollicking and intensely focused session in which
each member created a 6” X 6” mosaic
from an array of materials chosen to form a
harmonious palette with varied textures and
forms. The resulting pieces were
spectacular! I then strove to create a
visually cohesive work from the 25 mosaics –
a meta-mosaic or metaphor for their collaborative
process.
