Meet the maker: Indigenous artist Nita Williams on her artwork for this year’s Mother’s Day collection
This Mother’s Day, we’re extremely proud to introduce you to Nita Williams, the acclaimed Indigenous artist behind the artwork featured on our limited-edition seasonal packaging.
Since 2013, Nita Williams, an artist of the Junjuwa community, has been creating art at Marnin Studio, an Indigenous arts and therapy studio based at Marninwarntikura Women’s Resource Centre in the West Kimberley, Western Australia.
Our ongoing partnership with Marnin Studio allows us to share the prodigious talents of artists such as Nita, and support and empower local Indigenous women and their families. Resident artists at Marnin Studio were commissioned to create designs for our Colour range, an ongoing feature on the range’s packaging, with a portion of the range’s retail sales going back to support the development of social enterprise at the studio.
Nita was making and displaying colourful baskets on her balcony near Fitzroy Crossing in outback Western Australia when June Oscar, the CEO of the Marninwarntikura Women’s Resource Centre, happened to be driving past. June stopped and asked Nita if she would be willing to come into the centre to show the women how to make baskets like these. From there, her relationship with the Resource Centre and Marnin Studio was born on the spot.
Nita began painting boab nuts at the studio in 2013, a practice that was passed down by her mother. “Painting is really big in our family and my mum painted for Mangkaja Arts [gallery] in Fitzroy Crossing,” Nita explains.
The artwork
As a member of the Junjuwa community, Nita’s incredible art is inspired by her mother, her grandmother, and the natural world around her. Her Indigenous dot painting is rich in colour and detail that is representative of the Australian environment and all it grows.
"In the middle are yupina or bush orange,” explains Nita. “We eat them raw or cooked. They have a strong smell like mango. The green shapes at the edges are magabala or bush banana. They are long, and you peel off the skin like a banana. It's sweet too. We find them along the creeks,” she adds.
This year, we’re dedicating Mother’s Day to all the wonderful women who inspire, care, and lift up other people on a daily basis, so it feels especially fitting that Nita, who credits the women in her life for her love of art, has shared this beautiful design with us. “My mother Nada Rawlins, Rosie Goodjie, Jewess James and Myapu Elsie Thomas. They were all my teachers," she explains.
The collection
Nita’s work adorns our entire Mother’s Day offering, both in stores and online. So, if you’re looking to share some love for some of the women in your life (and we hope you are), we’ve curated a few of our favourite gifts below.
Natural Sanctuary Pack
Natural Sanctuary combines four thoughtfully blended essential oils to inspire different emotions, whether that’s uplifting, soothing or inspiring.
Body Kind Pack
Give the gift of soothed muscles with Body Kind, a pairing of our Clove & Mint Recovery Balm and Cork Peanut Roller. When used together, these work to soften knots and dissolve tension.
Hydration Duo
This set combines two endota favourites — our Signature Hand Cream and Hydrating Lip Balm — in a sustainable gift box. Packed with organic cocoa butter and calendula, our Lip Balm will soothe your pout while the Signature Hand Cream delivers lightweight nourishment on the go.
Reusable Tote Bags
Our Reusable Totes come printed with Nita’s beautiful art and 10 per cent of all proceeds are donated back to Marnin Studio. Plus, it saves you the need for additional wrapping!