AUSTIN (KXAN) – Two local artists are displaying a Christmas message of compassion in a big way.

Artists Marj Wormald and Caro d’Offay constructed a 10-foot letter made of plywood outside Wormald’s house near Windsor Park. The display features a letter to Santa from Lucinda who is the mother of a fictional young-boy named Bobby who sometimes acts out and is learning how compassion and understanding can affect others while dealing with his own problems.

The letter is in honor of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that happened back in December of 2012. The artists are hoping that when reading the letter visitors feel some compassion and empathy for others.

“The goal is just to try and give people a pause and maybe they stop before they read the letter, and think and feel certain things and then after they read the letter; they’re thinking about different things,” said Marj Womald, Project Collaborator.

 This national project began in Chicago in 2012 and features stories written by Cara d’Offay. This year is the first time the letter is in Austin and each city is said to feature a “tiny” voice of a person who is trying to get through their struggle.

The artists also constructed a giant teacup and paintbrush to lie next to the letter.

Wormald says the display will be up until the second week of January and will feature a new letter next year.

For more information on the Giant Letter project, visit their Facebook page.