Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far. We're almost to our goal - and if those of you who have supported this matching challenge could share this with friend or two who shares your passion for Susan Bennerstrom and for recognizing our art students, we could easily reach and surpass our goal. Thanks again to you all!

Abby Kuchar is the first recipient of the Bennerstrom Prize. She has recently been accepted for the Shannon Point Marine Center Internship for Summer 2017. Below is an excerpt from her recommendation. It speaks to the quality and depth of her work, as well as the breadth of her contemplation and learning.

[Abby's] profuse, layered paintings overflowed with a sense of life, weather, leafage, tactility. The paintings signaled sensitivity to the living, physical environment and an unusual ability to translate that sensitivity into visual art...Abby is an excellent maker and thinker, with the drive, technical ability, and intelligence to engage with science and the ecologies that make our cultural lives possible. She richly deserves our nurture and support to help her fulfill her extraordinary promise. - Cynthia Camlin, Professor of Art, WWU

Photo by Christina Becker