Lyric, a bright and curious child, is surrounded by a world that nurtures her imagination. She envisions herself speaking with fish, her thoughts drifting freely while her spirit remains calm and centered. Mosaic artist Carolyn Elaine captures the essence of her granddaughter in this work, honoring the importance of creating spaces that embrace and support neurodivergent children. The Joan Dameron Crisler Sensory Room at Doolittle Elementary School was designed to offer an atmosphere of peace, possibility, and belonging for children such as Lyric who have special needs.
Carolyn Elaine, whose practice is deeply rooted in color, community, and cultural connection, has dedicated her career to storytelling, healing, and collective expression. Within the sensory room, she created a larger mosaic to tell an even broader story—one that pays homage to Joan Dameron Crisler, the beloved retired principal of Arthur Dixon Elementary School. Crisler established the school’s Cultural Connections program, which each spring transforms the gymnasium into a vibrant marketplace where art and community flourish together.
Artist Adedayo Laoye reflects: “For over fifty years, Joan Dameron Crisler’s nurturing hands have touched and shaped thousands of students’ lives.”
Carolyn titled this mosaic BJ’s Mom, in honor of Joan’s son BJ, a licensed scuba diver who passed away at the age of thirteen.
In what felt like divine intervention, Carolyn had unknowingly placed a scuba diver in the upper corner of the work, only later discovering that BJ himself was a diver with dreams of becoming a marine biologist.
Adedayo describes BJ’s Mom as “a mosaic in blues, reds, and yellows—a composition that carries the viewer into deep waters.”
