Figure 1
Angilyiya Tjapiti Mitchell
Angilyiya Tjapiti Mitchell is a custodian of the Seven Sisters Tjukurrpa (Dreaming) at Kuru Ala. Born in 1953 near Kumanarra Bore in the Blackstone Ranges, as a child she travelled between the remote desert communities of Pipalyatjara, Irrunytju and Papulankutja, learning to survive in the harsh desert environment. One of the original Tjanpi Desert Weavers, she has been creating baskets and sculptures since 1995. She is a respected artist and an expert in bush medicines, which she sells through Papulankutja Artists.
Paula Sarkaway Lyons
Paula Sarkaway Lyons, born in 1980, made her first tjanpi as a teenager, when artists from the Papulankutja region created the life-sized Tjanpi Grass Toyota that won the 22nd Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award in 2005. Paula’s contribution was to stitch together many metres of the grass coil used to build up the car body. Seven Sisters Are Flying is her second foray into tjanpi making.