I kept coming back to Mary Burns’ hand-woven jacquard portrait of Rachel Carson. This photo-realistic fiber tribute, to a marine biologist and conservationist whose work advanced the global environmental movement, stood out from all the entries as one of great craft, energy, and topical relevance. From the gleam in the subject’s eye to the thought of the labor involved, the artwork provoked deep curiosity in me, both about the subject of the piece, a woman I was happy to learn more about, and the maker of the piece, whose commitment to her craft is impressive.