Donna Purse – Watiyatjuta (hand printed)

Fabric: Cotton feature base cloth, cotton/silk lining and cotton inner.
Color: The base cloth color is maroon (deep pink) and the ink is pale ice pink.

Dimensions:

• 19 cm (7.5 inches)
• 9 cm (3.5 inches)
• 2cm (0.75 inches)

This purse was made by Villageworks, our partner social enterprise that has been employing, training and supporting disabled artisans since  2001. In 2015 they became certified members of the World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO). The fabric was hand printed by bespoke print studio Publisher Textiles in Sydney.

Limited Edition: All our products are made in small batches as all the fabrics are handprinted in very limited quantities, we rarely take more than 2 metres of fabric for any order of multiple styles of product. Please note that each purse is unique and the placement of the fabric design is different and wonderful on each item.

Design story: Watiya Tjuta (Many Trees)
Mitjili paints her fathers Tjukurrpa (ancestral creation story), the ceremonial spear straightening in Uwalkari country (Gibson desert region). The Watiya Tjuta (acacia trees) are the trees that are used to make these spears. Uwalkari country is abundant with Watiya Tjuta, as well as sand hills and other plants. This story was passed down to her by her mother; she remembers, “After I got married, my mother taught me my father’s Tjukurrpa in the sand, that’s what I’m painting on the canvas”. Mitjili and her brother Tjupurrula both inherited the right to paint works related to Ilyingaungau in the Gibson Desert. This site, south of Walungurru (Kintore), some 520kms west of Mparntwe (Alice Springs), is where the artist’s Mutikatjirri ancestors assembled their kulata (spears) for a conflict with the Tjukula men.

Mitjili is a member of Ikuntji Artists, a non-profit Aboriginal owned art centre in Haasts Bluff, Northern Territory, Australia. Ikuntji Artists arrange for fabrics to be printed on behalf of their members. The artist is paid a royalty fee for every metre printed.