Meet the Mom Behind This Beloved Women’s March on Washington Poster Design
As excitement builds over the upcoming Women’s March on Washington, much of that protest energy has translated into an outpouring of Facebook love for an emblematic poster design created by a mother of two.
Narya Marcille of Rhode Island knows that traveling to the post-Inauguration Day march with her sister and aunts will be too difficult with her 4-month-old son, so instead the talented artist created a poster for her family members to carry, at her aunt Ginny Kerslake’s behest. She then posted her inspired creation, also at Kerslake’s urging, to the Facebook group Pantsuit Nation on Sunday evening, where it has since received more than 82,000 reactions.
“It’s overwhelming,” Marcille, who has a BA in fine arts from the University of Rhode Island, tells Yahoo Beauty. “I didn’t expect it. People have been so kind.”
The stay-at-home mom (also to another son, 3½) and freelance graphic designer says she spent just over a week on the vector drawing, digitally created in Adobe Illustrator. She was also able to submit it to the Women’s March call for official artwork, a deadline she made by “six minutes.” But whether or not Marcille’s design rises to the top of the pack or not (and announcement is expected any day now), Pantsuit Nation fans have deemed her a winner.
The thousands of commenters have called her poster design “amazing,” “beautiful,” and “outstanding,” with some noting they would be posting it to their walls and crediting the artist. In response, Marcille, 34, announced that she had set up an Etsy page with various digital downloads available ($5 to $15, depending on sizes) for T-shirts, hats, and posters, with half the profits going toward Planned Parenthood and Running Start.
Although the artist included Hillary Clinton and Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the forefront of the image, the other women depicted were imagined. “I wanted it to be that everyone can join the fight, not just famous women,” she explains. “But I really admire them.”
Since the election, Marcille admits, she has felt frightened for the country. “I’m really scared,” she says. “I’m just baffled by [Donald Trump].” But the positive and supportive posts on Pantsuit Nation have lifted her up. “It’s inspiring, and it’s made me braver and given me hope that people are willing to stand up for each other,” she adds, noting that such hope is particularly inspiring for her goals as a mom. “I’m going to raise my boys to be feminists.”
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