Continuing Paula’s Story

Jasmine shares many of her creator’s qualities. Paula, too, lived her life with joy, curiosity, and very little haste. She channeled her wry humor and lifelong passion for art into How to Hurry Up Slowly and myriad other projects over the years. She cared deeply for children and for all who were fortunate enough to know her well. The print version of this book was published just before she passed of brain cancer at 32. We — her mother; her brother, Randy; and her sister, Taylor — run this site in her memory. Paula hoped for kids to find a sense of wonder in her words and drawings. We hope to continue to share that wonder in her absence. A portion of the proceeds from each sale will go toward two causes near and dear to Paula: support for young adults with brain cancer and arts education. For the former, we will donate to the Dana-Farber Young Adult Program, a community of young adult patients and their loved ones. For the latter, we’re honored to partner with The Eliot School of Fine & Applied Arts in Paula’s native Jamaica Plain to establish a scholarship fund in her name. The scholarship will  support arts programming for children and teens in the Boston area. A former Eliot School student herself, Paula championed their mission to nurture creativity for all.

The Eliot School of Fine & Applied Arts Paula J Smith Scholarship Fund