Stage 3 of my Sparrow Painting

Step two of "Every One Counts" painting - I have chosen to paint a sparrow to symbolise that even small insignificant birds count - I stuck stencils of paper dolls on the background. (These will be glazed over & eventually become more subtle.)

I have started a painting in response to my friend Lara Mellon’s initiative “Every One Counts”

Lara wrote:

In response to an article written by Vivian Attwood in the Sunday Tribune Sept 6^th 2009 in which she reported on the possible after effects of the 2010, the question of the likely increased number of abandoned new born babies was put to the founder of Shepherd’s Keep Colin Pratley, whose concerns were raised.

Shepherd’s Keep is a home for abandoned babies, mostly new borns who have been ‘discarded’ down latrines, pits and increasingly left in black bags on highways. 

A comment was also made that relative to the total population of KwaZulu Natal, that even a thousand unwanted babies was not significant.

                                                                       

My own response to this was that just one unwanted baby, just one abandoned was too many, and that finding new born babies ant-eaten, starving and traumatized to the point that for the first couple of hours they are unable to feed … is one too many!

The article ended with Colin Pratley asking: “Who would speak for these (abandoned babies)? My response:  “I will”

I will be co-coordinating ONE thousand artists from around the globe, each donating an artwork of 30cm x 30cm collaborating in ONE exhibition where each work will be sold for ONE thousand rand (no more, no less – regardless of status.  Equity= each and every ONE child is just as valuable regardless of talent and gifting) …  Every ONE counts.”

A web page will soon be up and running where artists can join and donate artworks. In the meanwhile if you want to learn more join the Facebook group “Every One Counts”