‘Stream of Stories’ mosaic gathers residents’ keepsakes in Whitesburg

Local artist Lacey Hale said a planned mural at Cowan evolved into a community-built mosaic that preserves residents’ personal objects and stories. "We've created a stream of all the stories of the pieces," Hale said, describing contributions that ranged from broken ceramics to family jewelry.

Hale told Cal Creek TV that the project invited people to donate items — everything from a grandmother's earrings to an RC Cola bottle found after a flood — and to record the stories behind each piece. "One person brought their grandmother's earrings… so her son, who is blind, could feel the piece on the wall," Hale said, calling that donation "incredibly moving." Joan Holt, an intern who assisted on the project, described adding a small emerald brooch that became the eye of a hummingbird in the mosaic.

Hale said she coordinated volunteers and interns on the installation, estimating "probably 10 or 15 folks" helped apply pieces and prime the wall. The design work, she said, was hers but contributors and interns were given space to shape elements such as a hummingbird and flowers.

The mosaic — titled Stream of Stories — intentionally includes native flora and fauna imagery discovered during Hale's research; she cited chicory as one native plant she added after learning it was indigenous to the area. Hale and Holt emphasized that the piece is meant to strengthen local ties and to ensure contributors can always find and feel the items they donated.

The Cowan Community Action Group will continue to steward the site. The artists said the mosaic is intended as a lasting public work and a daily reminder of community connections and recovery.