Life Inspiring Art
Mandala Art founder, Jay Petruccelli, with Bodhi.
For many years Mandala Art founder, Jay Petruccelli, ran his Healthy Living Through Art throughout Melbourne, raising awareness and funds for cancer research and support.
Jay doesn’t often discuss why he began Healthy Living Through Art, but it was his aunty’s illness that connected him with Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA) and the Cancer Council.
“I went on the cancer journey with my aunty when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Through that time I met and spoke with a lot of people in BCNA and they all said it was the stress and anxiety that was the real problem. I was teaching a lot back then and I had a lot of women coming into the classes that had been suffering from anxiety after treatment and after being diagnosed. The one thing that they all said was the classes and mosaic relaxed them, took them into a new space of thought and took them away from their illness."
Seeing the impact mosaic work was having on the wellbeing of these women, Jay was inspired to start Healthy Living Through Art.
“Art and craft offer tremendous health benefits to people suffering from all types of illnesses, especially those suffering depression, anxiety and isolation.”
Pink Lady Mosaic Park Bench for BCNA
Through a series of installations and live mosaic sessions Healthy Living Through Art helped to raise over $500k for BCNA and the Cancer Council.
Onsite for the Cancer Council Installation at Federation Square.
Stress and anxiety has become more prevalent since Jay began his work with cancer survivors. A study undertaken by the Australian Psychological Society (APS) in 2014 found more that one in four Australians experience anxiety symptoms, and almost two in five people reported experiencing symptoms of depression.
Jay has seen the benefit of mosaic art over the years and is passionate about people finding a greater sense of mental and physical wellbeing. This remains at the core of Mandala Art.
“Many people work towards a sense of unity in themselves - all the bits and pieces of life coming together to make life meaningful and whole. This is what the word Mandala means - everything having a place in the whole. Doing art like mosaic work has a very therapeutic impact on the brokenness that can strike us through illness, and it is a substantial aid to this unity we seek in ourselves.”