I was able to attend an amazing workshop by author/ illustrator Susan Roth last week. The workshop was for Cache County teachers, but I have some good connections, and was able to sneak in! Susan's latest work is the book Listen to the Wind, New York Times bestseller. The workshop was incredible; I loved hearing about how the story was initially formed, and also her process in creating the illustrations for the book and experiences during the process. She is a beautiful person, and throughout her presentation I felt a burning desire to finally make a book of my own! What am I waiting for?!

Anyway, she shared with us how she is trying to reach out to the people in the remote Pakistani village where the story takes place. She has started a project called "Let's Hold Hands," in hopes of sending a message of peace, love and humanity to the people of that cold, war-torn land. She has been encouraging educators, students, and anyone else to create a paper doll, like the ones she made for this book to become part of a huge installation at the Manhattan Museum of Art. Paper dolls from across the country will be holding hands together, symbolizing the peace we all want. Some of those dolls will then be selected to travel to the school in Pakistan!

So- my little Thursday afternoon art class all created a paper doll of themselves which we will be sending to Susan in New York. It was exciting for the girls to feel a part of such a big project. They stayed a little longer than usual, and my living room was a complete wreck of snips and scraps of fabric, paper, ribbon, etc. It was so much fun! The boys made one later that day too. We are all inspired by Susan Roth!