Susan M. Gallagher Scholarship Endowment

CraftStudies believes that all members of our community should have access to the tools, materials, and process of craft, but most importantly, that everyone should be surrounded by a community that supports hands-on creative learning. The Susan M. Gallagher Scholarship Endowment has been created to ensure this essential support for years to come.  

Susan found her creative voice and community at CraftStudies, as a student in both the metals and ceramics studios. This endowment has been established in her honor by her family–at this pivotal moment in CraftStudies’ history–to provide both a springboard for, and a strong financial foundation from which CraftStudies can grow our strategic commitment to access and equity. 

Scholarships through this endowment are awarded each year using the interest earned from invested funds, ensuring that a principal balance remains secure and continues to grow. As more funds are raised and invested, more scholarship funds may be awarded. 

Help us begin this investment from a place of strength! Aligned to CraftStudies’ strategic Promise to Community Access and Equity, in this inaugural year of the Susan M. Gallagher Scholarship Endowment Fund, members of CraftStudies Board of Directors will match all contributions up to $5,000 made to this endowment before March 1, 2024, doubling the funds’ initial investment. Help us reach–and even surpass–this monumental goal!

Susan M. Gallagher

About Susan

In the words of one instructor, Susan was “truly an exceptional human being. Her voice and its output came from a self-defined mixing of her heart, intelligence, and extraordinary skills in the ‘real’ world of computer coding. Her professional background – in both medical technology and computer science – added a unique perspective to the art she made. This can be seen in the precision of her designs, where she was clearly inspired by the geometry of life.” In testimony to her skills, she was a guest artist for an exhibition at the League of NH Craftsmen, a juried member of the Vermont State Craft Center in Montpelier, and a successful vendor at regional galleries and through her Gallagher Elemental website.

In addition to her work in metals, Susan was a ceramicist and an accomplished weaver who used her computer skills to develop programs that took complex design ideas and created the loom set-up and weaving sequences necessary to produce the designs. Throughout her creative life and across all media, her designs were inspired by a love of nature.

She valued the quality, caring instruction, and mentorship she received through CraftStudies. The confidence she gained through the program led her to begin selling her work and, in retirement, it became her greatest source of joy and sense of accomplishment.

Thanks to Susan’s generosity our metals studio has inherited her tools and equipment. In the words of an instructor, “each time I pick up one of her tools I feel her quiet but truly grounded presence. We are all truly lucky to have had her in our lives.”

Contribute to the Endowment

Endowment gifts are welcome at any level and are greatly appreciated. For more information about the endowment or to contribute, please contact CraftStudies Executive Director Lisa Brahms at lisa@craftstudies.org.

Investments and scholarships funded through this endowment are determined on an annual basis by the CraftStudies Board of Directors based on the approved endowment investment policy.