Many as One

There have been some very generous initiatives that donate money to the Christchurch Earthquake Recovery, and a wonderfully artistic one has been Claire Beynon's Many as One. Claire, who is a wonderful artist and poet, has set up a website where her fellow artists have donated works, which then go in a raffle for those who donate money to the Christchurch fund.

Our family donated some money and I was delighted to get an email from Claire to say we had been drawn from the hat and won this fabulous perspex sculpture by Australian artist Lisa Roberts.

The sculpture is called Coccoliths, Carbon Sequesterers and it is so beautifully apt as I have a great fondness for unicellular organisms. So much so that I put a foraminfera into one of my novels - and I had to fight hard for that foram because my editor thought it should be an amoeba, because everyone knows what an amoeba is, but no, I wanted a foram, because they are amazing and tough little blighters and I stood my ground!!!

The Many as One initiative is still going, and Christchurch's need is immense, so if you would like to donate to this worthy cause, and have the opportunity to win some beautiful art, go to the Many as One website.

I love my little sculpture, it sits on the window ledge in my office and every time I look at it I smile. It reminds me that simple can be beautiful, and small can be mighty!