A labor of love for Lynbrook

While some teenage students may be preoccupied with their school wardrobes, Jaclyn Stamile’s attention is focused on something different: a mosaic she will create — with the help of artistic Lynbrook residents — for the village’s 100th anniversary.
Stamile, 17, is busy preparing and gathering all the materials for the project, in which decorated ceramic tiles will be made into a mural with a Lynbrook theme, which she is doing for her Girl Scout Gold Award. “I chose to do the mosaic as my project because I love art,” she said. “Ceramics have always been one of my favorite things to do.”
Stamile, a senior at Valley Stream South High School, explained that she came up with the idea in January, but there were many obstacles she had to overcome.
“I had to get the project idea approved by my Girl Scout counselor, which was hard,” she said. “You have to do community service [for] a certain number of hours, too.”
The Gold Award is the highest honor a Girl Scout can earn. The project is usually an action, event or tangible gift that fulfills a need in a local community. A scout must develop a project timeline and goals, complete 30 hours in a leadership role and create a budget for any money-earning related to the project.

Stamile got a lot of help from her mother, Lisa. “It was my idea, but my mom is doing a lot of stuff,” she said. “My mom ordered [the] tiles.” In addition, Lisa Stamile made several calls to local businesses to begin turning the idea into a reality.
In one of their first tasks, mother and daughter visited an art studio to work out how much paint was needed to decorate the nearly 60 tiles they ordered. Jaclyn also designed fliers inviting members of the public to paint tiles with a Lynbrook theme.
“The whole reason for the mosaic is Lynbrook’s anniversary,” she said. “It’s about what you love about Lynbrook. If you have an important date or specific memory, you can paint it, or draw a family tree.”
Lisa said she is thrilled about her daughter’s project. “I believe it’s a wonderful thing,” she said. “Jaclyn does a lot of charity, and she likes to help people. She’s always considerate of others.”

Be part of the mosaic
Art-loving Lynbrook residents are invited to decorate tiles at Greis Park on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. for $10 per tile. The tiles will become part of the village-themed mural. There will also be a fundraiser during the event to raise money for background materials for the display. For more information or to reserve a tile, call (516) 599-3425.

Comments about this story? CHamlin@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 246.