Mandala artist gives back to DVINA

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For Jasmine di Caterina, art is like meditation – it keeps her grounded.

She first tried painting seven or eight years ago, but soon found herself attracted to drawing mandalas instead.

The geometric patterns, often circular, are used in various eastern religions to focus the mind.

“I do it all freehand,” she said.

“I don’t know what I’m going to draw (when I start); I just draw and let it flow.

“Art isn’t meant to be perfect.”

What it is meant to do is leave an impression, and there is nothing di Caterina enjoys so much as making other people happy through her art, which she shares under the name “the Heart of Mandalas”.

She hopes to make a difference, too.

In recent weeks, she has begun selling T-shirts and hoodies featuring two of her designs to raise funds for DVINA, or Domestic Violence Is Never Acceptable.

The Murray Bridge charity runs an op shop on Standen Street and helps survivors of domestic violence, people preparing for job interviews and court appearances – anyone badly in need of support.

That mission means a lot to the artist.

A decade ago, she was one of those DVINA helped.

It took her years to escape a violent partner who controlled every aspect of her life.

She wasn’t allowed to look at other men, or go out in places where other men might see her – “even the kids, when they went to friends’ houses, if I took too long, it wouldn’t be good when I got home.”

When she and her children got out and moved away, to Mannum at first, DVINA’s Milli McInerney was one of those who was able to help.

Now happily married, di Caterina recognised that the aid the charity’s founder had provided to so many women, and others, had come at great personal cost.

Ms McInerney confirmed that the costs associated with running DVINA came out of her own very limited personal income.

“I live off a pension, I don’t get paid, and 100 per cent of my money goes into the shop,” she said.

“I would like to retire, but I don’t think I ever will.”

The two designs di Caterina chose to support DVINA were “the warrior”, which reminds the wearer of their inner strength, and “you are never alone”.

“People living with domestic violence, mental illness, cancer, everything everyone lives with every day – I want to give them a little bit of hope,” the artist said.

“I want to give other women who have been through DV that courage to be able to talk to somebody else – a friend, a stranger – and to say ‘I’m a survivor, I’m a warrior’.

“A strong survivor who’s come out of it knows there’s light at the end of the tunnel.”

T-shirts and hoodies are available to pre-order on di Caterina’s Facebook and Instagram pages.

She will donate 20 per cent of the proceeds of any sales to DVINA.

She also encouraged everyone to donate directly to the charity via a fundraising page it set up earlier this month.

Practical items like clothing could wind up being the first step on the road to independence for women coming out of abusive relationships, or so many other locals who had trodden hard roads in their lives.

“Even now it’s a little bit hard in big crowds, or starting conversations,” she said of her own experience.

“I’m forcing myself to get out and face those fears.

“I just want other women to know that they’ll get through the same fears, they’ll push those boundaries … I’m working through this to become the person I’m meant to be.”

• Pre-order a T-shirt or hoodie: Contact the Heart of Mandalas on Facebook or Instagram .
• Donate to DVINA: www.gofundme.com.
• Get help: Visit the Haven at Murray Bridge Community Centre between 9am and 4pm on weekdays, or the DVINA Centre at 1 Standen Street, Murray Bridge; call the Domestic Violence Crisis Line on 1800 737 732, or Murray Mallee Adelaide Hills Domestic Violence Service on 8228 8960; or, in an emergency, dial 000.