Author and artist Linda St. John will be at YDS on Tuesday, Dec. 12, for two events: a workshop followed by a reading.
“The Skinny Girl Workshop” 4 p.m., Common Room
The Skinny Girl Workshop is an opportunity to join St. John as she shows children of all ages how to turn their junque into something beautiful. Plastic bags, scraps of fabric and felt and bits of plastic will be transformed into fashionable ensembles for skinny girls made of pipe cleaners. Everyone will leave with a Skinny Girl of their own and a new perspective on trash!
Bring scissors, a plastic bag in a pretty color, and your favorite fabric scraps. Needles and thread, pliers and additional fabric scraps will be provided.
“Hell’s Bells Holiday” 5:30 p.m., Niebuhr Hall
St. John will read new stories and stories from her critically acclaimed memoir Even Dogs Go Home to Die that focus on the unique and sometimes hilarious horror that filled the holiday season as she was growing up in Southern Illinois coal country. Alcoholism, poverty, and scavenged Christmas trees decorated with festive trash form the backdrop for these memories. As harrowing as some of these tales are, they are redeemed by the author’s cautious optimism and her budding relationship with Jesus, who figures in whether he likes it or not.