Way to go: Tamara Benny, Long Beach

Tamara Benny turned a lesson on drawing the human body into a first-place win.

Benny, an eighth-grader at Long Beach Middle School, recently won a T-shirt design contest coordinated by the Surfer's Way Foundation, a Long Beach-based nonprofit that gives local autistic children a chance to experience the thrill of surfing.

Her illustration, made using colored pencils and markers, featured an adult and a child holding hands on a surfboard with the sun in the background. It is being used on the foundation's T-shirts.

"On that day, we were learning to draw people and proportions," said Benny, 13. "I love to draw. It relaxes me. I do it when I'm bored or when there's nothing else to do."

The contest was initiated by Long Beach art teacher Judith Knoop, who said she is a friend of representatives of Surfer's Way and was asked to draw a design. Knoop, however, suggested inviting students to submit designs, and she received about 25 entries.

"It was a standout," Knoop said of Benny's design. "She is a very talented young artist."

Benny also is a member of her school's National Junior Honor Society, Mural Club, Set Design Club and soccer team.