Now considered one of Africa’s most important women artists, Reinata began to make traditional water vessels in the Makonde style at the age of 9. Such vessels were an important part of daily life and the only type of ceramic that women made.  After Reinata’s mother passed away, she started dreaming about figures which upon waking she would mold in clay. Her unusual “weird and fantastic” forms did not attract much attention at first, but her work began to attract attention and she given a space by the Mozambican government behind the Museum of Natural History in Maputo where she continues to work today. Now world-famous, Reinata has three works in the permanent collection of the Musée del l’Art Brut.