Pieces of History: Community Memory Mosaics with Lisa Scarbath
Saturday, November 1, 2025, 9:00am
At SAMA’s 2021 online conference, Julie Sperling’s Communion and Elizabeth Raybee’s Art from the Ashes presentations deeply inspired me to create community memory mosaics. My hometown, Ellicott City, Maryland, had recently endured two devastating “100-year floods” just two years apart, and I felt compelled to honor the resilience of our community through art.
Drawing from both Julie and Elizabeth’s approaches, I created a community-sourced mosaic in celebration of Ellicott City’s 250th anniversary in 2022; a six-part mosaic which included more than 80 items collected from people with a connection to the town. Building on that experience, I made a public art project in 2024 for a neighboring county’s 250th birthday which included more than 120 donated materials and had an interactive element.
In this presentation, I will share how these projects came to life, focusing on community engagement, collaboration with local government, the challenges and creativity involved in using unconventional tesserae, the ways I incorporated technology into the mosaic-making process and lessons learned.
Lisa Scarbath: I have been a Resident Artist at the Howard County Center for the Arts in Ellicott City, MD since July 2020. I enjoy working with a variety of materials from smalti, stained glass, stone, slate, and found objects, to create fine art mosaics, public art projects, and home decor. Being active in my local and regional communities is important to me, as is volunteering in art organizations. I sell work in galleries and stores in central Maryland, belong to 4 local and state art organizations, am a member-owner of the Artists’ Gallery in Ellicott City, and am a board member of Artists Open Studios of Maryland. Focusing on mosaic art, I teach small workshops in my studio, am a Board member of CMA2, Contemporary Mosaic Art 2, where I also host monthly CAMP (Community and Public Art Mosaic projects) presentations, and am one of three co-chairs planning the March 2026 Conference.
In 2019, I began working as a full-time mosaic artist. Before that, I was an adjunct professor of undergraduate law classes for 10 years, a stay-at-home mom, and a trial attorney. I’ve been married for 28 years and have 3 grown children and a crazy English Cream Golden Retriever.
