Material: Tjanpi (grass), raffia

Dimensions: D24cm x H10cm

About the Maker: Erica Shorty is an artist belonging to the Ngaanyatjarra language and cultural group and lives in the remote community of Warakurna, Western Australia.

Erica first became involved in making Tjanpi by participating alongside senior Tjanpi artists in the Trench Art Camp near Mutitjulu in the Northern Territory in early 2016. Erica is the aunt of artist and Tjanpi Remote Arts and Culture Assistant Cynthia Burke, who has assisted Erica to develop her weaving skills and knowledge. Soon after beginning with Tjanpi, Erica took part in various exhibitions with group and individual woven works. She soon established her own whimsical and quirky sculptural style which she continues to develop and refine. Alongside weaving, Erica also paints and makes punu.

'It's fun to work with the ladies. I like trying new things and making new animals. I mostly make tjulpu (bird) but once I made a giraffe and a llama!’ - Erica Shorty

About the Group: Tjanpi Desert Weavers, a signatory to the Indigenous Art Code, is a dynamic social enterprise of the NPY Women's council. Tjanpi (meaning 'dry grass') supports Aboriginal women living in remote Central and Western desert communities to create contemporary fibre art.

When collecting desert grasses (minarri, wangurnu and yilintji), women visit sacred sites and traditional homelands, hunt and gather food for their families, and teach children about country. Grass is bound with wool, string or raffia and combined with yinirnti (red seeds of the bat-wing coral tree) and wipiya (emu feathers).

Photos: Tjanpi Desert Weavers