It’s about creating a sense of calm, a little joy, and healthy connections.
The 18 survivors of domestic violence who helped create a colourful 12-foot X 6-foot mosaic recently installed on an exterior wall at the Women’s Interval Home, also call it therapeutic.
Their work is a reminder to the entire Sarnia-Lambton community that domestic violence happens here, that there are people and places where help can be found, and there can be healing afterward, says Jennifer Vansteenkiste.
She is the executive director of the local Women’s Interval Home (WIH) where more than 200 women a year seek refuge and participate in outreach programs. The WIH’s 17 emergency beds are 100% filled year-round with women and their children who have escaped domestic violence.
Vansteenkiste and local artist Mary Abma brainstormed ways of promoting healing through art and came up with the concept of the large mosaic as part of the WIH’s restorative programming.
It was easy to find 18 participants to spend a day with Abma and learn how to tell their own stories using broken glass, pottery pieces, scattered objects and words.
One participant, who prefers to remain anonymous, says she went to Abma’s workshop with her 17-year-old daughter to help both of them work through the psychological abuse they suffered for more than seven years.
“My daughter is the artistic one. I’m not,” said the mother of six. “Art is how she expresses herself. This was one-on-one time together to talk about why we were there.”
Their smaller mosaics are connected within the finished mosaic that Abma created using the work of the survivors.
The anonymous survivor said she used bright colours for her piece to reflect the happier place she is in now. It also incorporates a key, which she says is a sign to others in our community that there is help available for them if they are suffering within an abusive relationship.
“It’s the key that unlocked my story and it can unlock someone else’s story,” she said.
Abma worked for months to connect the mosaics and create the art piece that was installed by Habitat for Humanity in December on the WIH’s south wall.
“It’s very uplifting for me to see,” said Vansteenkiste. “It shimmers in the sunlight. I look at it and think of all those broken lives reassembled.
“Our hope is to scatter more mosaics around town so people are reminded there is a problem and that the women have done their healing and are stronger than ever,” she said.
Abma, a former teacher from Bright’s Grove, has focused on incorporating the community in her art for years now.
“This piece is called ‘We all have a story’ and it enabled me to teach strategies to be expressive using colour, texture and objects,” she said. “I believe it honours their stories. I’m very happy with the result.”
There are plans to hold more workshops and create more mosaics that can be installed in other locations throughout the community.
Survivors of domestic violence, gender-based violence, intimate partner violence or sexual assault are invited to participate in future workshops. Email [email protected] and ask for details.
If you are concerned that you may be a victim of domestic violence or suspect that you know someone who is, the Women’s Interval Home has this reference: http://www.nnadv.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/4.-Power-and-Control-Wheel.pdf .