Tjanpi basket, Nora Holland, Mirlirrtjarra ( 35-37cm)

• Artist - Nora Holland
• Community - Papulankutja (Blackstone)
• Art Centre/Community organisation - Tjanpi Desert Weavers
• Catalogue number - 2361/13
• Materials - Woven Basket
• Size(cm) - Diameter 35-37cm Height 7-8cm

Tjanpi (meaning ‘dry grass’) evolved from a series of basket weaving workshops held on remote communities in the Western Desert by the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunyjatjara Womens’ Council in 1995. Building on traditons of using fibre for medicinal, ceremonial and daily purposes, women took easily to making coiled baskets. These new-found skills were shared with relations on neighboring communities and weaving quickly spread. Today there are over 400 women across 28 communities making baskets and sculptures out of grass and working with fibre in this way is firmly embedded in Western and Central Desert culture. While out collectng desert grasses for their fibre art women visit sacred sites and traditional homelands, hunt and gather food for their families and teach their children about country. Tjanpi Desert Weavers is Aboriginal owned and is directed by an Aboriginal executive. It is an arts business but also a social enterprise that provides numerous social and cultural benefits and services to weavers and their families. Tjanpi’s philosophy is to keep culture strong, maintain links with country and provide meaningful employment to the keepers and teachers of the desert weaving business.

Nora is a senior law and bush woman who was born in 1934 at Yambil south of Mantamaru . She lived with her husband Ben Holland in Warburton before coming to Warakurna. Nora Holland along with Dora Lane and Kantjupayi Benson from Blackstone were the first women to start making baskets when the NPY Women's Council iniated basket weaving in early 1995. Nora's early pieces were made with vines off her verandah, mixed with bush turkey feathers and a few stray pieces of grass,woven around a billycan. These loosely woven forms reflect Nora's personality, open and full of humour.

‘The way Tjanpi knowledge spread everywhere is like the wind blowing across the Lands.’

Made from a combination of native desert grasses, seeds and feathers, commercially bought raffia (sometimes dyed with native plants), string and wool, Tjanpi artworks are unique, innovative and constantly evolving. Some baskets and sculptures contain raffia which is purchased in Australia, imported from Madagascar. Natural hanks of raffia can sometimes be dyed with commercial dyes and less often with natural dyes. Most popular grass used in artworks is Minarri (greybeard grass, Amphipogon caricirus)

We realise that it's not always easy buying artworks sight unseen but we are so confident that you're going to absolutely love them when they turn up that if for any reason you change your mind or you're not feeling the feng shui you can return them within 14 days for a full refund.

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