​Emily Benatar

This year's project was inspired when Lisa and her friend Hiromi were on a walk in June near Stanford campus and they spotted art in a garden they were walking by — tall stacked-art sculptures.

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They took a closer look and noticed a sign next to the art. The sign explained that the individual clay pieces making up the poles were created by neighbors, separately, and then the artist at this home had put the pieces together to create the unified art on display. A line at the end of the sign caught Lisa's attention in particular:

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"Even though we all worked alone, we created a bit of art that brings everyone together in spirit."  

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This reminded Lisa of Emily, bringing people together, doing art. And the idea for this year's Honoring Emily event was born.