Dulcie Sharpe

Dulcie Sharpe was born at Jay Creek. Her mother is from Papunya and she is a Luritja speaker. Sharpe spends time out bush at Jay Creek with her sisters. She was enrolled in the Certificate II in Art and Craft with Batchelor College when Yarrenyty Arltere was a training program. Her inspiration for her art comes from animals and bush tucker. She enjoys teaching children about bush tucker and bush law.

Dulcie Sharpes helps to coordinate the important cultural program that happens from the Yarrenyty Arltere Learning Centre. She has been involved in the public art works for the Alice Springs Hospital, Gillen primary school and the Yarrenyty Arltere Learning Centre.. She is a respected elder of the community and a positive role model for other artists, working across soft-sculpture, batik and primtmaking. 

Yarrenyty Arltere is a Western Arrernte community arts enterprise. It is part of the Yarrenyty Arltere Learning Centre; an intergenerational program that began in 2000 as a response to the chronic social distress faced by families. It has helped people to rebuild lives. The art centre has been at the heart of this healing. It is an Indigenous owned and managed organisation. Profits from sales go to the artists and towards the purchase of materials.

I like sewing birds and porcupine. I like birds the most. I sew after work, on the weekends and even in hospital. I think too much (a lot) about what sewing to do and what colours for each bird.

I have been coming to the Learning Centre for 15 years. I did painting, pottery, printing and now I sew. We learnt everything here. Sewing and dying and print making. Now we have this really good building.

I was born at Hamilton Downs. My father and mother been leave me to stay with my sister Trudy. Then we came back to Jay Creek for school. Everyday after school we used to go swimming at Jay Creek. My grandmother taught me everything about culture; how to find honey ants, bush tucker, dancing, language. This made me strong.